KATHMANDU, JUL 10 -Increased competition has prompted telecom companies to look at their customers with greater respect. They have started making customer care a priority with the mobile market gradually maturing. Nepal Telecom (NT) is scheduled to bring into operation its modern customer contact centre (CCC) within two months and Ncell has been expanding its centres nationwide.
After the rapid growth in the mobile market characterised by increased competition to attract new customers and retain existing ones, customer care has taken centre stage. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) said that there were more than 20 million telephone subscribers in the country with the penetration rate reaching 77.11 percent last month.
The increased concentration on providing better customer service has showed that companies are now shifting their focus from cheaper tariff to better service, according to Ananda Raj Khanal, director at the NTA. He added that prices had come down to almost rock bottom due to competition for market share, and now only the companies providing quality service, better customer care and more value added services would be able to attract customers.
After growing complaints from customers about poor customer care, NT last year had decided to set up an advanced contact centre where customers could register their problems to be dealt with promptly. Lochan Lal Amatya, director of NT’s IT directorate, said that the CCC would be used to receive all complaints from subscribers. It would also provide information about the company’s various services.
Customers will also be able to register their problems through voice call, email, chat, instant messaging, SMS and social networking sites. Presently, NT has been receiving complaints related to different services through different toll-free numbers.
Despite having offices in different parts of the country, NT had been failing to solve the problems of customers. Amatya said that the new CCCs would use only one toll-free number 198 for providing customer care and technical support. “Our centralised customer care system will screen the calls and forward them to the concerned division for solving the problem promptly,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ncell, after being re-branded from Mero Mobile in 2010, had started establishing customer care centres called Ncell Centre with the aim of providing effective customer service. It has set up over two dozen such centres in different parts of the country to serve its growing number of customers.
Ncell’s subscriber base has crossed the 10-million mark. Its centres provide SIM exchange, GPRS and MMS setting, international roaming, call information, balance transfer, bill payment, BlackBerry services, corporate services and ownership transfer services, among other regular services.
Besides the big telecom companies NT and Ncell, Smart Telecom is also working on a plan to treat its customers in the best way possible and solve their problems instantly. “The company that provides a quality experience and responds promptly to the needs of customers will be loved by them,” said Abraham Smith, CEO of Smart Telecom. He added that many of the frustrations and problems that mobile customers face could be prevented by thoughtful planning of the communication network.
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