Hello Sola,
I’m one of those that enjoy your column but I never knew I would soon be one of those writing due to unfair service from the telecoms industry; precisely, Zain.
I started using Zain from Econet days and I must confess that I enjoy them tremendously apart from the general hic cups which I believe is applicable, if not more, to the other networks.
However, right now, I AM NOT A HAPPY CUSTOMER! I bought two N500.00 recharge cards from a stationary vendor in front of my office but couldn't credit my phone with the cards because the system claims that it has been used by a previous subscriber. What! I tried again and again at intervals thinking it will be a mistake but the same message keeps popping up. I was mad! I work hard for my money to lose it this way. I would rather give it to the messenger in my office that runs errand for me than to lose it this way.
One of my colleagues trying to calm me down, explaining that it is possible that Zain printed the same batch number twice! I complained to the vendor who was at a loss as to what could be the problem. I sent my colleague to Zain service centre at Silver Bird Galleria and he was told that they will need to send a message to the Head Office. He even went to another centre at Ikeja on Saturday but was told that they don’t attend to these kinds of issues on weekend.
I then decided to send a mail requested that a new PIN should be sent to me as I couldn't recharge my phone with the cards I bought but the response I got was that the cards in question were loaded by another subscriber on the 2nd of June (I tried to load mine around 2nd week in June).
I sent another mail, this time explaining that the cards I bought were sealed in a foil which I personally removed and the silver lining concealing the PIN was very intact. These I personally scratched hence it beats me how another subscriber must have used the same card when I was holding it! The mail was sent over two weeks now and I HAVE NOT GOTTEN A RESPONSE!
Not even to say that they will look into it. They should find out if the error is indeed from their printing of a batch of cards twice or someone is playing a fast one on them but whatever they do, I need them to send me another PIN because I am so frustrated right now and ready to take this thing further if the need arise. I have my evidence which is the cards themselves, the person that sold them was complained to immediately and their service centres were contacted.
NB: Sola, if you read this mail please advise me on what you think I should do.I am not a hungry riff-raff as I earn an average pay working in the bank and happen to be a branch manager. I just need a PIN that works for the money I have already spent! Nneoma
Dear Nneoma,
Thank you for contacting me through this email. I would love to help you look into what your rights are in this circumstance but off my head, I would suggest you hold the vendor who sold the cards because that is the only way to verify that the cards came directly from the Zain batch or it is a fake card.
I would also suggest that you write a formal letter to the customer services department explaining the situation; but your case would be better helped if you could trace the distribution chain from your vendor to the major wholesaler via the batch number. That way, you can establish Zain's culpability in the case.
Please note that you would need to be patient and ready to follow this through as it might be a long process. I would encourage you to get to the bottom of this because you would be saving other consumers who might fall victim of this fraud if any is established. I look forward to your response and would be glad to help in any way to rectify this situation. Best Regards, Sola
Hello Sola
I am super thrilled reading your response. I nearly didn't believe that you’ll be writing back so thank you very much.
Though I can't be sure, I believe that the vendor is least culpable because he is stationary! If it were to be a hawker, then I will believe that he had played a fast one on me and secondly, this card is not the paper type that they pin together but the hard one that comes in a foil and the PIN number covered with a silver lining.
I think it is an error from Zain. It will be mighty easy for a fraudster to duplicate the paper cards instead of these hard ones but anyway, THIS IS NAIJA! I will take your advice and officially write the customer care unit via the same channel I used before hoping that this time, they will at least investigate it. Keep up this good work. Nneoma
Hello Sola,
I wish to inform you that I just got two Zain cards handed over to me now worth exactly N1, 000.00, thanks to you!
You said to follow the distribution chain and that was what happened. I sent for the vendor and complained to him and then gave him the photocopies of the card (I needed to hold onto the main card as evidence). With these, he sent it to the company he bought his cards from who in return sent it to the ones they bought theirs from and so on and so on! Voila! I have my refund back.
The advice you gave me should have simply be given to me by Zain instead of just telling me that someone has used the card. Thanks a million! I am happy not so much for the money but because I have learnt that things can still happen if you know your rights and consistently follow it through. You taught me that! Nneoma
Hello Nneoma,
Congratulations! I am very proud of you for insisting on your rights and having the patience to see the process through. Many Nigerian consumers like you would just bear that loss without complaining and that is one of the reasons our consumer rights structure is still so weak. I would like to publish your experience especially because there is a great lesson to learn from it. I hope you will permit me.
Please continue to exercise your rights as a consumer in every transaction because it will contribute greatly to the development of our great nation. I am honored to have been of help in this instance. Please do not hesitate to let me know if I can assist you in any other issue that has to do with consumer protection. Sola
Dear Sola,
The pleasure is mine for having you as an advocate, for free! Please feel free to use this experience and material as you please especially for better education of others. Nneoma
My Comments
This chain of e-mails was exchanged between Nneoma and me in the last six weeks or so and I decided to publish because I hope it would encourage another consumer to be more committed to expecting excellent service and where it is missing, to insist on it and not settle for less.
I also hope someone would learn the simple truth Nneoma learnt through this process; “If you know your rights and insist on it, follow through on the process, you most likely will get it! So while we await the body of laws that would codify our consumer rights, let’s make the effort to insist on basic integrity in transactions and good customer care.
P.S I also hope Zain will learn a thing or two from Nneoma’s experience too. A customer response system that does not respond to a customer’s need weeks after the first complaint is not efficient enough. Customer agents should also be better trained on how to help a customer get the best out of his or her experience with the brand. And what was that about not treating some particular issues at weekends? What if that was all the free time a consumer has? Is Zain trying to tell us their ideal customers are people who have time to follow through their process during the week? I sure hope not.
I however commend Zain’s prompt response down the distribution chain. It shows that the brand has made provision to accept responsibility for defaults when it can be established. One however wonders how such a fraud could have been perpetrated. NCC needs to investigate such instances to protect other consumers from Nneoma’s experience. Well done Nneoma! Thanks for proving that consumer rights can be enforced even in Nigeria! I would be glad to assist any other consumer keen on enforcing his or her rights. Just e-mail or call me. Together we can make Nigeria consumer safe and friendly.
Showing posts with label customer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Surviving Starcomms’ Service Delivery Maze
Dear Sola, as we discussed on Facebook, this is a full report of my transaction with Starcomms.
I have subscribed to the internet services and usually pay for the 100 hours option. My service ran out on Friday 26th June, 2009 and I made payment for a renewal on 30th June, 2009 at GT Bank with teller no (withheld). I immediately alerted Starcomms that I had made payment and was told that that the service would be restored within 24hrs. Alas 24hrs turned into 9 days despite the fact that I was always calling the customer service people. They always had the same story- "we are working on it"
Incidentally I work for NCC the telecom regulator and we have a bureau for consumer affairs but I didn’t want it to seem like I was flexing muscles (Nigerian style). However, when I was getting frustrated with the customer care people I decided to make a complaint on 7th July, 2009. After all I am first and foremost a subscriber notwithstanding where I work.
The service was not restored until today 9th July, 2009 and the excuse given was that there was a delay from GT Bank in notifying them of the payment I made. I find it rather difficult to believe that it would take GT Bank over a week to notify Starcomms that payment was made into their account.
I would really like that the issue of service provision by Starcomms be put in the public domain because people are definitely not getting value for the money paid and that should no longer be acceptable to consumers. Consumer X
My Own Story
I am a customer of Starcomms myself (since 2007 I think) and my numerous contacts with the brand’s service structure always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I have restrained from writing about it because as a diehard optimist, I hoped they will eventually get it right. Unfortunately it is either no one is smart enough to figure it out in the organisation or someone gets a kick from making customers go through such a tedious process repeatedly and with gross impunity too!
One of the hallmarks of service delivery is convenience to the consumer. A good service delivery structure must simplify its process continuously to minimize stress for consumers trying to access its service but from the structure Starcomms runs (especially on the internet service), I doubt if anyone copied them on that memo. Trying to buy a new Starcomms internet service is harrowing enough but once you are eventually signed on, staying subscribed graduates to being a nightmare!
To acquire internet facility, a customer has to bring their passport, utility bill (? Why this is required beats me. Has anyone considered the fact that most Nigerians are tenants or squatters who do not have a utility registered directly to them? If this was to verify my legitimacy, the fact that I can bring just any utility bill as long as it is registered to the address I give, has defeated that purpose. It is definitely not proof that I am the legal tenant there and since no one bothers to investigate, all the paperwork is just additional junk for the telecoms service provider. (Yes, I know it’s an NCC directive but how accurate is the data such a flawed process will produce?
The Payment Maze
Back to the service delivery maze at Starcomms customer service centers. (I use the Ikeja office on Toyin Street). There are at least 5 queues you must navigate through before you can complete the payment process: (1) You get on one for the service agent to write you a teller (2) you move to another queue to pay the bank cashier at a different window (3) join the third one to log in your teller details in a master book (4) then you move to the next one to register your teller so your internet service can be switched on (within 24 hours they always claim though 72 hours is the average you can get it switched on). If for some reason, you missed any of these queues, your payment gets lost in the maze and so does your connection. The last time it happened to me, I went back up to 4 times before we could locate the payment. Valuable time no one is paying for.
The fifth queue is reserved for you if you are unlucky enough to need some clarifications or issues with the process! Every time I have had the misfortune of going to renew my subscription, it has never taken less than an hour! Just to pay subscription! What happened to giving consumers an online payment choice? After all, this is an internet service so why not make payment easy for them?
Chaotic and Unhygienic Environment
Ambience at the Ikeja Service center is claustrophobic and chaotic. The place is usually crawling with touts and middle men who run the errand of navigating the Starcomms maze at a fee for wiser customers than me who are either too busy or just can’t endure the mentally and physically tasking process .The stench of human sweat mixed with various degrees of body odour in a poorly ventilated room with inadequate air conditioning is enough to discourage you from attempting it yourself. It hits you from the minute the door is opened. One wonders how much of the massive profits Starcomms is raking home is needed to at least make the environment conducive for their customers. (Maybe they don’t know about industrial air freshening process. If you are a professional in this area, please send a proposal to Starcomms with a copy of this article attached. Tell them I sent you! ) Oh! Did I mention the noise level? It’s like a market place.
The “Mystery” Subscription
This part of the maze borders on lack of transparency and accountability in the contract between the subscriber and Starcomms. As mentioned above, you have options of buying by hours or time. Whichever you choose, there is a termination point for instance, the 100 hrs expires in 30 days, whichever comes first. So if you don’t use up the 100 hours, you lose the balance after 30 days; no roll over to the next month.
My grouse with the Starcomms service is that once I am switched on, only Starcomms determines when my subscription expires! I have no means of accessing my account to check my balance hours or days to the end of my subscription. I only get to know that my time is up when my connection is cut off; which could be in the middle of the night, working on a proposal that must be sent by e mail before the next morning! They sometimes send e-mail alerts which are not consistent. For some inexplicable reason, their payment system cannot ensure seamless continuity so even if you pay a few days to expiration, the system automatically switches you off and then you wait another 48 hours to get reconnected. I have attempted it often, it just does not happen.
What does it take for Starcomms to write access to my account into their program so I can be in control of my own time (which I have already paid for by the way) or automatic recognition of payment so service is seamless? I have had to request a transaction history once and the document they emailed me was another puzzle. Somehow, I always feel I am being shortchanged because I cannot follow my usage myself. Does the Starcomms management have a problem with being transparent in their transactions with customers?
No Guarantee to deliver Service
Then there is the issue of guarantees in these service transactions. The only party protected is the service provider as he demands payment for a promised service before delivering the service. It is unacceptable that the consumer has no safety net if the provider defaults which they almost always do. For one, my Starcomms connection is usually weak and cannot stream videos so I can’t access any video clips sent to me, yet it is 3G (I have EV-DO).
Secondly, I lost count of days when I am logged on but cannot even open a web page yet the timer is counting down. I have had to wait for the connection for hours without any success yet Starcomms records my log in and out notwithstanding the single bar connection they deliver. I am so frustrated, I am about to switch to any other service that can at least ensure when I am logged on, I can access the internet. (My friends swear by IPNX or something. I am about to try them out…hope they are not just another flash in the pan because they all seem to be fast until their subscription base expands…then they start crawling.)
Conclusion: The Telecom “419” Racket
If the definition of fraud is to collect payment and not deliver the product or service paid for, then the telecom industry is probably Nigeria’s biggest 419 racket! It is the only industry that seems to have legalized ‘fraud’ because service providers are never mandated to deliver on the service they are paid for. As it is in voice, so it is in data. Drop calls and low bandwidths are never accounted for nor does NCC ensure that consumers get make good for services not rendered. The easiest way is to mandate compulsory additional airtime on every purchase so I have extra minutes free to compensate for the ones which I may not use but was charged for.
The fact that service providers in Nigeria don’t seem to have a clue about delivering the very service they set up shop for has become standard. Almost everywhere you turn, the DNA of what we term ‘service’ violates the very definition of the word. As consumers, we have become so cynical, many of us just don’t bother to expect any better anymore; we just make the best of a bad situation and keep keeping on.
While I understand the sentiments, it is obvious that the only way we can ever change the situation is to keep insisting on the basics until someone takes it serious enough to change the status quo. I believe the Nigerian consumer deserves a safe, wholesome and transparent trade environment to thrive and we can no longer settle for less. Starcomms, it’s time to raise the stakes and truly “speak our language “by improving your service delivery. The magic word is SIMPLIFY!
I have subscribed to the internet services and usually pay for the 100 hours option. My service ran out on Friday 26th June, 2009 and I made payment for a renewal on 30th June, 2009 at GT Bank with teller no (withheld). I immediately alerted Starcomms that I had made payment and was told that that the service would be restored within 24hrs. Alas 24hrs turned into 9 days despite the fact that I was always calling the customer service people. They always had the same story- "we are working on it"
Incidentally I work for NCC the telecom regulator and we have a bureau for consumer affairs but I didn’t want it to seem like I was flexing muscles (Nigerian style). However, when I was getting frustrated with the customer care people I decided to make a complaint on 7th July, 2009. After all I am first and foremost a subscriber notwithstanding where I work.
The service was not restored until today 9th July, 2009 and the excuse given was that there was a delay from GT Bank in notifying them of the payment I made. I find it rather difficult to believe that it would take GT Bank over a week to notify Starcomms that payment was made into their account.
I would really like that the issue of service provision by Starcomms be put in the public domain because people are definitely not getting value for the money paid and that should no longer be acceptable to consumers. Consumer X
My Own Story
I am a customer of Starcomms myself (since 2007 I think) and my numerous contacts with the brand’s service structure always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I have restrained from writing about it because as a diehard optimist, I hoped they will eventually get it right. Unfortunately it is either no one is smart enough to figure it out in the organisation or someone gets a kick from making customers go through such a tedious process repeatedly and with gross impunity too!
One of the hallmarks of service delivery is convenience to the consumer. A good service delivery structure must simplify its process continuously to minimize stress for consumers trying to access its service but from the structure Starcomms runs (especially on the internet service), I doubt if anyone copied them on that memo. Trying to buy a new Starcomms internet service is harrowing enough but once you are eventually signed on, staying subscribed graduates to being a nightmare!
To acquire internet facility, a customer has to bring their passport, utility bill (? Why this is required beats me. Has anyone considered the fact that most Nigerians are tenants or squatters who do not have a utility registered directly to them? If this was to verify my legitimacy, the fact that I can bring just any utility bill as long as it is registered to the address I give, has defeated that purpose. It is definitely not proof that I am the legal tenant there and since no one bothers to investigate, all the paperwork is just additional junk for the telecoms service provider. (Yes, I know it’s an NCC directive but how accurate is the data such a flawed process will produce?
The Payment Maze
Back to the service delivery maze at Starcomms customer service centers. (I use the Ikeja office on Toyin Street). There are at least 5 queues you must navigate through before you can complete the payment process: (1) You get on one for the service agent to write you a teller (2) you move to another queue to pay the bank cashier at a different window (3) join the third one to log in your teller details in a master book (4) then you move to the next one to register your teller so your internet service can be switched on (within 24 hours they always claim though 72 hours is the average you can get it switched on). If for some reason, you missed any of these queues, your payment gets lost in the maze and so does your connection. The last time it happened to me, I went back up to 4 times before we could locate the payment. Valuable time no one is paying for.
The fifth queue is reserved for you if you are unlucky enough to need some clarifications or issues with the process! Every time I have had the misfortune of going to renew my subscription, it has never taken less than an hour! Just to pay subscription! What happened to giving consumers an online payment choice? After all, this is an internet service so why not make payment easy for them?
Chaotic and Unhygienic Environment
Ambience at the Ikeja Service center is claustrophobic and chaotic. The place is usually crawling with touts and middle men who run the errand of navigating the Starcomms maze at a fee for wiser customers than me who are either too busy or just can’t endure the mentally and physically tasking process .The stench of human sweat mixed with various degrees of body odour in a poorly ventilated room with inadequate air conditioning is enough to discourage you from attempting it yourself. It hits you from the minute the door is opened. One wonders how much of the massive profits Starcomms is raking home is needed to at least make the environment conducive for their customers. (Maybe they don’t know about industrial air freshening process. If you are a professional in this area, please send a proposal to Starcomms with a copy of this article attached. Tell them I sent you! ) Oh! Did I mention the noise level? It’s like a market place.
The “Mystery” Subscription
This part of the maze borders on lack of transparency and accountability in the contract between the subscriber and Starcomms. As mentioned above, you have options of buying by hours or time. Whichever you choose, there is a termination point for instance, the 100 hrs expires in 30 days, whichever comes first. So if you don’t use up the 100 hours, you lose the balance after 30 days; no roll over to the next month.
My grouse with the Starcomms service is that once I am switched on, only Starcomms determines when my subscription expires! I have no means of accessing my account to check my balance hours or days to the end of my subscription. I only get to know that my time is up when my connection is cut off; which could be in the middle of the night, working on a proposal that must be sent by e mail before the next morning! They sometimes send e-mail alerts which are not consistent. For some inexplicable reason, their payment system cannot ensure seamless continuity so even if you pay a few days to expiration, the system automatically switches you off and then you wait another 48 hours to get reconnected. I have attempted it often, it just does not happen.
What does it take for Starcomms to write access to my account into their program so I can be in control of my own time (which I have already paid for by the way) or automatic recognition of payment so service is seamless? I have had to request a transaction history once and the document they emailed me was another puzzle. Somehow, I always feel I am being shortchanged because I cannot follow my usage myself. Does the Starcomms management have a problem with being transparent in their transactions with customers?
No Guarantee to deliver Service
Then there is the issue of guarantees in these service transactions. The only party protected is the service provider as he demands payment for a promised service before delivering the service. It is unacceptable that the consumer has no safety net if the provider defaults which they almost always do. For one, my Starcomms connection is usually weak and cannot stream videos so I can’t access any video clips sent to me, yet it is 3G (I have EV-DO).
Secondly, I lost count of days when I am logged on but cannot even open a web page yet the timer is counting down. I have had to wait for the connection for hours without any success yet Starcomms records my log in and out notwithstanding the single bar connection they deliver. I am so frustrated, I am about to switch to any other service that can at least ensure when I am logged on, I can access the internet. (My friends swear by IPNX or something. I am about to try them out…hope they are not just another flash in the pan because they all seem to be fast until their subscription base expands…then they start crawling.)
Conclusion: The Telecom “419” Racket
If the definition of fraud is to collect payment and not deliver the product or service paid for, then the telecom industry is probably Nigeria’s biggest 419 racket! It is the only industry that seems to have legalized ‘fraud’ because service providers are never mandated to deliver on the service they are paid for. As it is in voice, so it is in data. Drop calls and low bandwidths are never accounted for nor does NCC ensure that consumers get make good for services not rendered. The easiest way is to mandate compulsory additional airtime on every purchase so I have extra minutes free to compensate for the ones which I may not use but was charged for.
The fact that service providers in Nigeria don’t seem to have a clue about delivering the very service they set up shop for has become standard. Almost everywhere you turn, the DNA of what we term ‘service’ violates the very definition of the word. As consumers, we have become so cynical, many of us just don’t bother to expect any better anymore; we just make the best of a bad situation and keep keeping on.
While I understand the sentiments, it is obvious that the only way we can ever change the situation is to keep insisting on the basics until someone takes it serious enough to change the status quo. I believe the Nigerian consumer deserves a safe, wholesome and transparent trade environment to thrive and we can no longer settle for less. Starcomms, it’s time to raise the stakes and truly “speak our language “by improving your service delivery. The magic word is SIMPLIFY!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
