In furtherance of its commitment to customer satisfaction, leading ICT company, MTN has been going round university campuses to connect directly with subscribers, and take feedback on how to improve its services. The road show campaign is led by the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohammed Zia Siddiqui, who after recently returning from an engagement visit to the University of Port Harcourt, shared perspectives below on what has been described as ‘MTN’s Voice of the Customer initiative. Olaseni Durojaiye brings excerpts:
How important is Customer Feedback to a large organization like MTN?
In MTN, we value customer feedback because that is the core of our business. Customers are the reason we exist. Our mission statement is “To make the lives of our customers a whole lot brighter.“ In line with our mission, it is critical for our customers to be happy for us to be in business. We have an initiative titled ‘Voice of the Customer’ that helps to check the pulse of customers through regular feedback.
What is ‘MTN’s Voice of the Customer initiative’ all about?
This is a platform that ensures that MTN takes feedback to improve the experience we deliver to our valued customers. It allows senior management take feedback from customers directly without having to wait on regular customer interfacing channels like the Call Centers, Service Centers and Social media.
Interestingly, this initiative is also in alignment with the Nigerian Communication Commission’s ‘Year of the Consumer’ program which celebrates the Customer as the King.
Tell us about this recent visit to universities in Lagos and Port-Harcourt.
We believe the university environment is made up of young people who are knowledgeable and saavy and majority of them are our customers who use our products and services regularly. They are in the best position to give quality and candid feedback on our services and products.
This is what prompted the need to commence this journey with them.
Why do you have key management presence at the events?
It is important that senior management are involved because they are the leaders and decision makers within MTN. The feedback from such an event will enhance quicker decision making on major issues that will be raised.
Can you shed light on the #livewithCOO session on Twitter?
You would agree with me that the social media has become a veritable platform for interacting and engaging with customers. During my inaugural session, it afforded me the opportunity to interact with many customers simultaneously in real time. It also afforded me the opportunity to hear directly from the customers.
Also, some of the answers I provided helped to clarify many questions that customers may have.
What are some of the key issues that were raised during these sessions?
Some of the issues were around the need for improved network coverage and quality, demand for faster internet access even in the suburban areas, lower and affordable Voice and Data plans, increased bonus offers & promotions, reduction in unsolicited sms and deductions from Value Added Services (VAS).
With increasing complaints about VAS deductions, it appears MTN is not doing anything about this issue. What is MTN doing about it?
In MTN, it’s not in our policy to make deductions from customers’ accounts without their consent. We believe customers have the exclusive right and are the only ones to decide whether to join a service or not.
Our dear customers have the choice to continue on a service for as long as they want and exit whenever they choose to. We once again confirm our commitment to avail our customers this choice considering that these VAS services are provided by third parties through our network. We do acknowledge that there is lot of room for improvement in the management of VAS services. We also want our esteemed customers to be rest assured that the matter is being handled as a top priority within MTN and a high-powered committee headed by me is involved. Any VAS provider found wanting or in breach of our customer code of conduct will be severely sanctioned.
Are these visits to university campuses a one-off event?
No, it is going to be across the country and not only in universities. We will be having several direct feedback sessions with customers across different segments.
Will there be any other thing you would like to add?
We are completely aligned with the quality of service initiatives of the NCC especially around empowering our customers and increasing transparency on all our interactions with them.
