Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has stepped up its use of digital platforms to improve customer experience through the launch of a multi-purpose web self-care service.
The company says the service will give its customers convenience and control over their line account profiles by allowing them to provision services on their own – from anywhere, at any time – including the ability for customers to monitor their airtime and data usage, view their call history, transfer airtime and reset their PUK numbers, on their own.
Formally announcing the service, Econet Chief Operating Officer Fayaz King yesterday said the web-based self-service would further improve customer experience by empowering customers to perform and initiate several tasks without calling the company’s customer contact centres or visiting Econet Shops.
“The web-based selfcare service is just another example of how we will continue to exploit our digital platforms to improve the customer experience to save time and money for our customers, and drastically simplify things as far as their use of our products and services is concerned,” Mr King said.
“It will change the way our customers interact with us in that it will empower them to do most of the things they would only be able to do by visiting our shops or calling our call centre,” said Mr King.
He said using the Econet web selfcare, which he referred to as the first “truly open network in the country”, Econet customers would be able to monitor their airtime and data usage anywhere and at any time.
“Customers will have the convenience of having direct access to their balances, being able to transfer airtime, check their call history, activate or deactivate content and value-added services, and be able to change their PUK (Pin Unlock Key) numbers on their own, without calling for assistance from Econet”, Mr King said.
Econet Wireless is the market leader in the telecom and technology industries in Zimbabwe, boasting over 10 million connected customers, and offering the widest range of voice, data, content, media, as well as mobile money services.
Industry data shows that the company’s popular EcoCash mobile money service is used by more than 19 out of every 20 customers nationwide and is in partnership with over 26 000 active agents and merchants countrywide.
However, the size of the business has given rise to the need to ensure that its millions of customers are served in an efficient, quick and smart way, according to Econet’s Chief Customer Experience Officer Mr Otis Makahamadze.
“Although we have the biggest contact centre in the country, we are more than cognizant of the fact that with the size of our customer base, we must always be thinking of ways and means to better serve those customers”, said Mr Makahamadze.
“That’s why, instead of the customers calling us, or coming to our shops, we have devised a solution to take the services to them, by offering the web self-care service,” he said.
The web self-care service comes at a time when millions of Econet customers already use smart phones to access mobile data services, and when the company – which industry figures say has the widest 3G and 4G data networks – has been aggressively rolling out mobile and fixed Wifi hotspots in the major cities and towns. Its customers will now be expected to use its wide mobile data network and its Wifi hotspots to access the web self-care services.
The service will compliment Econet’s recent introduction of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven customer support.
The company recently launched a Chatbot called ‘Bud-e’, which carries out some of its customer services support via Econet’s Facebook page, including assisting customers to install Internet and data settings, recover recharge keys from over-scratched recharge cards, reset EcoCash PIN requests, and carry out EcoCash transaction reversals, among other support functions.
Mr Makahamadze said to use the web self-care service, customers can visit: https://selfcare.econet.co.zw/selfservice
