‘Please Call Me’ inventor labels deal an insult

NKOSANA Makate, the man credited with inventing the “Please Call Me” call back service, has called a compensation deal by his former employer Vodacom an insult.

Vodacom, according to Makate, had given him the offer on Wednesday of what it termed a “reasonable compensation.”

“There is absolutely no agreement, this is an insult and it is shocking, it is horrendous,” said Makate. He was meeting his legal team to see what options were available to him, he said.

The deal comes almost a decade after Makate started court proceedings against Vodacom for credit and financial compensation for the service that allows customers with a zero balance on their cellphones to contact someone free of charge with the SMS message, “Please Call Me”.

Makate came up with the idea to develop the service, although a former chief executive officer first took credit for the product.

“Vodacom can confirm that the group CEO has met the legal representatives to convey his decision and determination on reasonable compensation,” spokesperson Byron Kennedy said in response to questions.

“In the spirit of the confidentiality agreement both parties signed as part of the negotiating process, Vodacom will not disclose the amount set by the CEO.”

Makate said: “Vodacom has not apologised for their despicable conduct for the past 18 years as found by the Constitutional Court.” He did not say what was offered by Vodacom.

Makate, 42, took the idea to Vodacom’s product-development team while he was working in the finance division in the early 2000s.

Alan Knott-Craig, who was the chief executive at that time, had to determine reasonable compensation for the idea, which didn’t happen then.

After lengthy court proceedings and a deadlock in negotiations in October last year, current chief executive Shameel Joosub has now decided on fair compensation for the idea.

About 140 000 customers made use of the service on its first day in operation.