The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (
ICASA) presented its 2008/ 2009 Annual Report in parliament last week, identifying which service providers have received the most complaints. To better understand how these service providers deal with complaints and whether they take customer service seriously, this article will compare the ICASA results to the corresponding
getclosure customer centricity ratings.
According to an article on
MyBroadband, ICASA processed a total of 2 155 complaints over the last year. Telkom received the largest proportion of these complaints (21%), Cell C and Vodacom came tie second (19% each), followed closely by MTN (18%). ICASA itself accounted for 8% of all complaints while other ISPs and broadband providers like MWEB and iBurst made up 14% of the total complaints received by the regulator.
For suppliers to improve their products and services they need to listen to their customers’ feedback, and deal with their complaints promptly and effectively. Despite receiving a significant proportion of the complaints processed by ICASA,
Cell C seems to be making a concerted effort to do this, as it is the top rated cell phone service provider in the getclosure customer centricity ratings, with an overall rating of two and a half stars (out of a total of five stars).
Vodacom has two stars,
Telkom has one and a half stars, and
MTN has one star. This suggests that there is more to customer service that the number of complaints a service provider receives.
The getclosure ratings incorporate three important measures: Does the company respond to the customer’s complaint promptly? Does the business treat the customer’s concerns with courtesy and respect? Is the customer left satisfied with the resolution reached?
Click here to read the detailed ratings for each of these organisations.
To effect positive change in South Africa getclosure and SA Rocks have launched the
Don’t Complain Campaign. The aim of the campaign is to encourage consumers to affect and effect positive change in South Africa by speaking up when they receive poor service. Remember, the only tangible way a company can improve service levels is to know when they have dropped the ball.
Click here to find out more about the campaign and how you can complain effectively.
