Thumbs down for SA mobile service

Mobile operators' customer service channels field ever more complaints, as consumer demands increase and services broaden.

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The majority of mobile consumers are dissatisfied with the level of service they receive from SA's mobile network operators' (MNOs') customer care units, with a significant gap between what customers expect and what their service providers deem satisfactory.

This is according to local industry watchers, who corroborate a recent survey carried out by the UK's MobileSquared for network and subscriber intelligence company Astellia. The survey, conducted from late last year, included both MNOs and their consumers, across six countries including SA.

Almost 50% of participating consumers cited a negative experience when it came to engagement with their mobile operator, while 66% of customers said they expect network-related problems to be resolved within an hour. Mobile operators cite a 24-hour resolution window.

Only a small fraction of consumers are prepared to wait it out for the 24-hour period, says Astellia and, according to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), licensees must formally resolve all complaints it refers to them within 14 days.

Antony Seeff, CEO of Tariffic, says nearly every customer the cellphone bill analysis company speaks to, "has a horror story [to tell] about dealing with the network operators". He says complaints mainly stem from the length of time it takes to resolve issues, poorly trained and/or resourced customer service agents, a lack of personal engagement and the inflexibility dictated to customer service agents by their systems.

Seeff points to the Cell C banner saga last year - when a Johannesburg businessman had to resort to erecting a giant banner castigating the operator's customer service - as indicative of "the frustration that exists with current customer care channels".

Out of the three factors that drive consumers' choice of mobile operator, in Tariffic's experience, service is number two. Signal is the first determining factor, while savings comes in third. "Should service levels for customers' existing operators not improve, they would be more inclined to move to other operators who may be able to offer more in terms of these factors," says Seeff.

ICT expert Adrian Schofield says the disparity between what the mobile customer of today expects and what their service provider believes they should be delivering is significant. "When I buy an LTE device and a voice/data package, I expect high speed, reliable connection in all of the relevant coverage areas. Operators will tell me I don't get it for reasons beyond their control."

Schofield cites the current Seacom problem as a case in point. "[In Seacom's case] traffic has been diverted to WACS [West Africa Cable System] but the circuits that go west instead of east are not able to handle the traffic. Why not?"

In response to the survey's findings, Vodacom spokesperson Richard Boorman was surprised to see the satisfaction rating was as high as 50%, but says this "is nothing to do with the quality of service offered, it's more a reflection of how our relationship with our mobile devices has changed".

Mobile users spend more time on their phones and tablets than ever before, he notes. "Our phone is generally the first thing that we look at in the morning and the last thing we check before going to bed, and we're consulting it obsessively throughout the day. This means that any instance where the network (or as is often the case, the device itself) doesn't perform exactly as expected is seized upon."

Boorman says Vodacom offers customer service through a range of channels, and employs "whichever channel works best for the customer", including via phone, e-mail, in-store, Twitter, Facebook and online.

"Interestingly, the cost of dealing with queries is increasing with the complexity of devices. We've got millions of people who only ever used a phone to make calls and send SMSes, who are suddenly using smartphones and trying to get to grips with the world of data and apps, not to mention software upgrades, and seemingly infinite device settings."

This means long calls to the call centre trying to get to the bottom of the issue and to help people understand how to use their device, he says. "Customer service is a clear way to differentiate a company in this environment and it's something we're putting a lot of emphasis on. Do we always get it right? No. Are we doing more than we ever have before? Definitely."

Telkom says it is "constantly striving to improve the way we provide services to customers" and employs a range of services to understand customer satisfaction levels and identify areas for improvement. Telkom's mobile division has seen a 10% increase in volumes over the past year, a rise the company primarily attributes to new customers in the market.

MTN SA chief customer experience officer Eddie Moyce says the operator is satisfied with the level of service provided to customers. "On an annual basis, MTN reviews the current service levels with a view to identify problem areas and improve on them." He says there will always be a gap between what customers need and what companies provide. "That is the essence through which new products and services are created."

According to Tim Parle, telecoms specialist at BMI-TechKnowledge, SA has more than 73 million active SIMs, 20 million of which are in smartphones. World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck recently said 23.6 million South African smartphone users by the end of this year was a conservative figure.

1. 50% of subscribers are dissatisfied with MNO customer care.
2. 85% of mobile users want direct MNO engagement to solve problems.
3. A third of all calls to a contact centre concern network-related problems.
4. A third of mobile subscribers believe contact centre agents do not have access to the right data to resolve a network-related problem.
5. Over 50% of network-related calls require a call back.
6. 43% of MNOs want to increase first call resolution.
7. Two-thirds of mobile consumers expect MNO agents to resolve issues in six minutes.
8. 66% of mobile users expect network-related problems to be resolved within an hour, not 24 hours as cited by MNOs.
9. Half of MNOs claim contact centre agents do not have the tools needed to deal with customer problems.
10. Stated customer care priorities for the next three years are: simplify systems, reduce operational expenditure and exploit network intelligence.