Bubbly Barbara Pahlana: Cool under pressure

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• By Tara Turkington
• 19 January 2012

Barbara Pahlana is one of the Cableway's most loved customer assistants. She's worked for the Cableway for 14 years. All photos by Tara Turkington

When Barbara Pahlana was a child growing up in Langa, Cape Town’s oldest township, she would look up at Table Mountain and dream of being on the top. “When I was a kid, I used to look up at the cable cars and wish I was in one. But it was just a dream.”

Barbara had to wait until she was 30 before that dream came true. She had been working as a domestic worker in Plumstead, Cape Town, when she read in the newspapers that the Cableway was being revamped. She gave her CV to a friend who worked in the Cableway’s administration department, and when she was called for an interview, said she would take “any available position”.

Her first job, 14 years ago, was as a hygiene assistant, cleaning floors and bathrooms. But at least she then had her first chance to go up her beloved Table Mountain – something she has done many, many times since.

She was soon promoted to platform attendant, and then to her current position, as a frontline customer assistant. Today, she is one of the Cableway’s best employees.

Barbara's "office": Table Mountain

Barbara’s job is to greet Table Mountain Cableway’s customers as they arrive at the Lower Cable Station ready for their trip to the top, and to bid them farewell as they leave.

“I’m the first person to be seen,” she explains. “I show the customers where to park, where to get tickets, and I answer all their questions.”

What’s the funniest question she’s ever been asked? “People ask me if the wind is going to stop,” she laughs. “I tell them it might change for the better … or for the worse.”

Barbara’s colleagues speak of her glowingly. Keith Marais, a cable master, says, “She’s the friendliest lady. Every day, she has a smile on her face. She’s always smiling – I’ve never seen her in a bad mood.”

Neo Letsoso, also a customer assistant, says, “She’s a good person, and she doesn’t take any nonsense. She’s very straight. She’s like a big sister to all of us.”

Another customer assistant, Sinah Mqikela, adds, “She’s Bubbly Barbara! She’s a great friend and colleague, and yes, she doesn’t take any nonsense. If you are wrong, you are wrong. But you can share a problem with her and always talk to her. I’ve only been here for two months, and it’s like I’ve known her my whole life.”

Barbara Pahlana: Cool under pressure

Barbara has three children – two sons in their 20s and a daughter of five. Her son, Bulelani, says of his mum: “My mum is very, very friendly. She is loving, she is kind, and she is very thoughtful. She is a perfectionist – she does her best at everything. For example, if she’s cooking a nice Sunday meal, she goes all out to make it taste and look perfect.

“She gives the best advice,” he adds. “I am very proud of my mother.”

How does Barbara handle customers who can sometimes get (literally) hot under the collar, while waiting in long queues to catch the Cableway in the middle of summer?

“I keep calm,” she says, “You just have to keep your cool. The higher a person gets, the more important it is to keep yourself low. When someone’s angry, you have to just look them in the eye and keep calm. But mostly we get happy customers,” she says, giving a typically huge smile. “And if I want to get away from the crowd, I just go up the mountain for my lunchbreak.”