The 2008 Orange Index Service Excellence benchmark reveals that even though the telecommunications industry is the most improved sector from last year, it still battles to provide consistent customer service.
The Orange Index is conducted by Ask Afrika and provides a measure of service excellence across 12 industries in the private sector. This year, the survey conducted over 15 737 customer interviews and provided conclusions based on service experiences across all stages of the service process in a company.
While key telecoms players showed improved levels of customer service, retail companies outstripped the sector. The index revealed telecoms has the largest service gap of any industry surveyed and also delivered the most inconsistent service, along with the banking sector.
“Service inconsistency clearly indicates how those industries are actively battling to improve service,” says Maria Petousis, head of business development at Ask Afrika.
Service as strategy
MTN was the winner in the cellular telecommunications category. The company achieved a service excellence score of 67.24% and improved its ranking from 46thin 2007 to 10th this year.
Eddie Moyce, MTN GM for customer services, attributed the operator's top ranking to its focus on service. “Customer service is one of the strategic objectives at MTN and, as such, we place great emphasis on providing the best in class service at every customer touch point.”
Moyce adds that MTN's approach to customer service has paid off. “Customer service is the responsibility of every employee in our organisation. We are pleased with the strides that we've made and our appetite to improve is greater than ever before. We constantly elicit feedback from our customers and this forms the bedrock of our continuous improvement effort.”
Stiff competition
MTN's competitors were not too far behind. Second-ranked Cell C, and Vodacom, which came third, also showed improved rankings, an indication that service is becoming a key strategy for the increasingly competitive industry.
The three cellular providers were also ranked top in the telephonic customer service category. Vodacom was ranked first, while MTN came in second and Cell C made the list in fourth. These companies, however, did not feature in the electronic service excellence awards, with all prizes going to the airline sector. Kulula was ranked first for its electronic customer service and was followed by 1Time in second, Mango in third and British Airways in fourth.
“Companies are now more aware of the relationship between service and customer loyalty and the impact that service has on the financial bottom line,” says Petousis.
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