Walter Baloyi’s commitment to a local plumbing brand turned out to be the very reason he landed his new and much-needed job.
Soweto, South Africa (17 November 2023) – Cherene Nel shared the heartwarming story of Walter Baloyi, who spent a great deal of time engaging on a local business’s Facebook Page, earned a Top Fan Badge and went on to land his dream job at the same company.
Walter was a self-employed plumber from Soweto, struggling to land jobs and living hand to mouth. Cheren heard his story through her fiancé Richard Wiederhold, who owns the company that recently gave Walter his new job.
“Walter has been struggling as a self employed plumber in Soweto. Without a fixed salary, each month he battles to pay bills and make ends meet. But he’s passionate about plumbing and his personal motto on his Facebook profile is “you can’t fix it until you put your hands on it.”. He’s practical, ambitious, and driven. But just hasn’t been given the chance to succeed in a saturated market where he lives.
Enter a Proudly South African manufacturing company, Advanced Valves. A geyser ancillary product manufacturing company (valves, vacuum breakers, all the things that geysers need to work).”
Richard prides himself on creating jobs for South Africans and currently employs 115 people. Walter has continued to engage on the company’s Facebook page and when he saw a post for a job at the company, he jumped at the opportunity.
“His company recently advertised on their Facebook page for a qualified plumber to join their team, to run geyser demonstrations at retail stores in Gauteng.
Now Walter is one of Advanced Valves biggest fans on their Facebook page and even has a “top fan” badge to prove it! He often comments on posts or shares them to his personal Facebook profile.
A few months ago Walter was devastated to miss a plumbing demonstration near his home in Soweto, so he reached out to ask when the next one would be. Luckily it was the following week and he turned up super eager and proud to meet the sales rep and even shared photo on his Facebook page!
Walter sent his CV & motivating letter in and amongst the dozens of applications, Walter’s passion and energy just stood out! During his interview Richard discovered he was a top fan of the company, and together with his huge, sparkling personality that he would be perfect to run demonstrations to groups of people! He was offered the job on the spot!”
Walter was so excited to get the job, he arrived at work early the next day to meet the team and take on his new role.
“When Richard asked for a photo to post on Facebook in a story about “our biggest fan becoming our employee” Walter said “I tried to show my wonderful smile but my front teeth are pretty banged up, see being tall means you fall hard.” Richard has promised to get his teeth fixed early next year which will give him an even bigger reason to smile!!”
Walter’s commitment to his industry is a testament to his passion for his own career. He is excited to see where it goes and loves that he gets the perk of driving the company’s car around town. So if you see Walter, be sure to give him a wave as he makes his way to wherever he is going.
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