BUSINESS REPORTER
Telecommunication giant, TelOne, has vowed to be customer centric in response to government’s call to put customers above everything to achieve set goals.
Speaking at the launch of the new Highlands Client Experience Centre this week, Information, Communication and Technology, Postal and Courier Services minister Jenfan Muswere said TelOne should cover the gap in terms of client experience.
In response to the minister’s calls, TelOne chairman Douglas Zimbango said the company’s strategic thrust is to transform into a fully-fledged digital Telco to create value and offer convenience to the clients through a business model that responds to emerging market needs and technological trends.
“…we are witnessing at least two of the mentioned pillars in practice as we endeavour to transform our client experience both physically and technologically.
“Responsiveness and promptness, convenience and quality should be the hallmark that defines TelOne. Mindful of this, we are focused on transforming our staff culture to become more client centric,” Zimbango said.
He said the company is also refreshing its teams on the ground so that they are digitally savvy, smart and capable of handling client issues as clients are getting way ahead of us in terms of knowledge and demands.
TelOne said it has been on a transformation journey structured around four main pillars—technology transformation, client experience transformation, culture transformation and financial transformation.
“I would like to assure the shareholder as well as our clients that Management has been given this specific mandate which has resulted in the creation of a dedicated Client Experience Management Committee, which is continuously reviewing issues affecting client experience and all aspects of the business and how they can be improved to benefit our clients,” Zimbango said.
He said the company has recently registered progress in the different aspects of client experience enablers.
The launch of the Chatbot –Chommie, who is a virtual assistant, developed using the latest Artificial Intelligence Software to complement the Contact Centre service has indeed paid dividends with certain client queries being eliminated completely while others have gone down by as much as 80%.
The company has also partnered a total of 12 banks to facilitate online payments for clients’ convenience through use of USSD codes especially at a time the world is battling Covid-19 which has made service provision taking and more digital inclination.
Highlands was particularly prioritised as it is one of TelOne’s bigger exchanges servicing a total of 20 000 clients for the Voice, ADSL, FTTH and VSAT services from a capacity of 30 000.
It is also one of the top performing in terms of revenue generation.
After rolling out its various strategies, TelOne is bullish that it will be well positioned to grow its market share to 25% by the end of next year.
TelOne managing director Chipo Mtasa said the model that was launched in Harare would be replicated across the firm’s countrywide network.
“The idea is to be able to serve all our clients who include corporates, SMEs and residents in an appealing, high-tech environment and with a dynamic team that we are certain to meet all their needs,” Mtasa said.
She said the client service charter outlined the firm’s commitment to improve service.
The company was directed to collect up to ZWL$2,3bn (about US$26,8m as at August 2021) in outstanding debts owed by clients, including the government.
This was expected to be achieved by the end of last month.
