Sentech promises to do better

Johannesburg, 19 Jul 2004

Following weeks of complaints about its MyWireless service, Sentech has promised improved service and better training for its call centre operators.

In recent weeks, disgruntled MyWireless users launched online campaigns against MyWireless at www.mywirelesssucks.co.za and other forums, saying the service did not deliver on its promises and Sentech did not respond satisfactorily to customer complaints. Complaints were also lodged against Sentech with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In a statement released in response to the complaints, Sentech says it recognises there are levels of frustration and is taking action to improve the MyWireless service. It notes that it is still in the process of rolling out the service, and that coverage and speed problems are all part of the development process as the network grows.

"Consumers may well recall that in the early days of mobile phones, network problems were often experienced, resulting in lost calls or dropped calls and causing frustration to users," the statement says.

Sentech appears to concede that its customer service has not been as good as it should have, stating that its call centre has been "under pressure" due to large volumes of calls. The company says it has embarked on an intensive training programme for its call centre operators, and has implemented a full escalation procedure and a high level help-desk to deal specifically with the current issues.

Sentech has also appointed a team of technical specialists to be sent out to customers who have logged complaints to assist them on-site.

A bulletin board will also be activated on the Sentech Web site to allow consumers to be kept abreast of developments and post queries.

Speed defence

On the question of the speed of the service, Sentech says both internationally and locally, companies that provide an Internet service use some sort of contention. "This means that the service is shared with other users. The Sentech MyWireless service is a contended service, and as such, the sharing will impact on speed."

However, Sentech says it has brought its international partners out to SA to assist with resolving the current issues. It says it will "introduce measures" that will improve the service on a continuous basis.

Confident about ASA complaint

In response to complaints about misleading advertising lodged with the ASA recently, Sentech says it has supplied a comprehensive reply to the ASA.

Sentech believes it has kept to the spirit and rules of the advertising code of practice and that, as a result, the complaint will be dismissed.

The company says it takes all consumer complaints seriously and is "encouraging dialogue" with customers.