[kictanet] Safaricom Attitude - Consumer Issues

Mon Aug 23 23:24:48 EAT 2010

Muchiri,

You're "spot on" w.r.t. your analysis.

However, service provision MUST be consumer-centric (non of the providers would have any business without the consumers). We have relegated consumer issues to the back burner for far too long...hence the unfortunate incidences that go unreported.

So, yes, indeed CCK has a role to play in protecting the consumer. Infact, one of their core objectives/responsibilities are quote "Protecting consumer rights within the communications environment" - It further states that " "The Commission protects consumers in three ways. The first is through the issuance of licenses that have conditions, which address various aspects of service provision by the licensees. Secondly, the Commission has introduced competition in various market segments in line with the government sector policy.  The third way in which the Commission protects consumers is by taking up certain complaints raised by consumers with the licensees with a view to helping both parties reach an amicable solution to the problem raised."

Further, consumers have certain rights and obligations. Someof the rights listed include:-

• The Right to receive information assistance to assist in use of the services.

* The Right to fair treatment without undue discrimination from another consumer

We need to bring these regulations to life and take some of these issues very seriously.

I must correct that Ms Bernice is NOT a customer service staff, so this is not a trivial matter. It's engrained in the institution it would appear. And must change especially as a dominant player.

Edith

________________________________
From: Muchiri Nyaggah [muchiri at semacraft.com]
Sent: 23 August 2010 22:49
To: Edith Adera
Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'
Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Attitude - Consumer Issues

Hi Edith,

What a sad and unfortunate experience. Mr Joseph has a rare opportunity. The opportunity to leave a legacy of great customer service and positive brand sentiment in the face of aggressive competition. What Ms Bernice displayed today is an organizational culture (positive in itself) where the staff own the brand to the extent of taking competition personally. That in itself is hard to do. Even harder to do is maintain civility and great service when the public you are dealing with are obviously inclined to the competition.  CCK may not have the power to force telcos to be civil so Safaricom doesn’t have to be nice to consumers.

Such a culture is obviously counter-productive. A sincere apology would be good business sense but a more sustainable approach would be an internal education campaign to re-align the organisation to its primary objectives so that their staff respond to customers not to the competition.

Kind regards,

Muchiri Nyaggah
Director
@muchiri
+254 722 506400
Semacraft.com

[cid:image001.jpg at 01CB4315.55476E70]

________________________________
From: kictanet-bounces+muchiri=semacraft.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+muchiri=semacraft.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Edith Adera
Sent: 23 August 2010 22:28
To: muchiri at semacraft.com
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom Attitude - Consumer Issues
Importance: High

There's need for consumer issues to be taken VERY seriously in the Kenyan Telecommunication market. I believe CCK is listening and this should not be allowed to happen to any Kenyan consumer.

As a non-user of money transfer services (I'm a proxy user), I decided to try the Mpesa service today as I did not have a 3rd party proxy to undertake the transaction on my behalf as I usually do. The last I tried to register for the service, I was informed that I had an old generation SIM card and needed to replace it yet the agent did not have the replacement SIMs. I was directed to follow a convoluted process of getting the replacement SIM, which I did not have the time for at that point.

Today, I was rudely informed that as a non registered user I cannot send money by Mpesa (Prestige service provider) - never mind that I have a very active Safaricom line. This puzzled me as in the banking sector, you can always bank money into any account at a bank in which you're not a "member".

So in search for an answer to this issue, I decided to call a Safaricom Officer (Ms Bernice - department that issues Short Codes) to get some assistance. I called her on my Zain line. As soon as she picked the call, she was very cold and retorted "for starters, you have called me from the wrong network - meaning from Zain - and secondly, you cannot send money if you are not a registered user".

My issue as a consumer is - why should I be rebuked for using my Zain line to call Safaricom? Is it a Safaricom policy that no one should call them using a Zain line or lines from other network providers? what does the CCK regulations say about such issues? My little telecommunication background tells me that the "consumer is king" and that a consumer must exercise their "right of choice" in a competitive market. why should I be dictated to what network I MUST USE or NOT use to make calls? Is this a reflection of the interconnection issues that are currently hitting media headlines?

I have taken this issue very seriously and demand an apology and response from Safaricom. I believe CCK will take appropriate action to ensure that this is not the modus operandi in the Kenyan telecommunication market.

Edith
Kenyan Consumer

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