Zambian Mobile Operators and their Presence on Social Media: Customer Care or Not?
So many people who call the Customer Care Centres of Zambian mobile operators complain that their calls either go unanswered or answered but unhelpful. Others say they just get a rude “switch off your phone and switch it back on” response to their queries.
This is where social media comes in, dear fellow consumers. All three Zambian mobile operators have Facebook (here, here and here) and Twitter (there, there and there) presence to handle your inquiries. Sometimes they might even post an answer to a question you were yet to ask, explaining how to do something or going through the procedure of a promotion.
What this does is reduce the amount of call traffic going to their call centres because only a few people with no access to social media are calling or those that need help with complicated & immediate issues that social media cannot fully handle.
To the Zambian mobile operators that run social media sites, here’s what your customers want:
1. Quick Response time: Do try to respond to queries within an hour at most. I would personally recommend even just acknowledging that you have heard the customer’s question and will respond as soon as possible, while you resolve the issue, just to make them feel noticed and important. Any company that gives ineffective but quick answers is far much better than one that gives slow but effective answers. However do not make it a habit to be ineffective.
2. Response on the same platform: If a client tweets you, do not reply in an email unless information is very private but always respond on the same social media platform. If they post on your wall, post on theirs with a response. That way, in case any of their followers/friends have seen the query and have the same issues they may read your reply and also sort it out without having to also contact you. Killing two birds with one stone? Absolutely!
3. Explanations: Rather than having to tweet you or post on your wall, cut to the chase by FULLY explaining what promotions you have going on. Customers may not always understand the rules or procedures on radio/TV/billboards but may rather read word for word what you post so make use of your social media pages. It will cut down on calls to your call centres asking about the same thing which would be annoying to any agent to be honest. Repetition breeds hostility.
4. Care and honesty: Even if you don’t mean it, act like you care. Take every inquiry personally, like it’s your problem as well. Make each user feel special and important by responding to individual queries. Hell, use their first name when replying. It will make any consumer feel like they are ‘friends’ with you, rather than them feeling like they are talking to a wall, Facebook or Twitter wall that is.
Yes, as Zambian mobile operators you can use your pages for marketing your products and services but it is also a great way to provide customer care, that’s right, CARE. So act like you do and you will get the most loyal subscribers ever!
Picture Credits: ZacinZambia, BufferApp
