Price wars -cheap is expensive
Hi, I have never participated in discussion on the calling tariffs mainly because when I bought my first mobile phone after using a pager for a long time my calling rate was 50/- so even at 8/- there had been a drop in my rate of calling. All that the price war has done is murky the waters, the cost of paying for the call has just been redistributed between the flasher and the flashee. My friend made a joke the other day that his askari told him he can flash him when he is on the way home. He took the askari on the offer and flashed him the following night when he was about to get home, the askari then called him back to ask exactly where he was. This seems like a way forward but the current level of support I am getting from my carrier makes we wish for the good old days of 8/- per minute. The customer service number that only rung 3 times at most sometimes goes unanswered, calls that stayed connected throughout the conversation however long and at whatever speed (sitting in the passenger seat) not any more. Even when the call to customer service goes through I have recently detected a coldness and on occasion feel rushed in the responses. With the number of support calls they need to handle now it is understandable. There is a good reason why Daimler has not dropped the price of the S class Mercedes to compete with the Marutu or Audi so I have an issue with Safaricom, please segment your market I would rather pay 8/- per minute if it means that I will receive better customer support. The effects of this lower rates is even affecting my Wimax service which as I raised before has a support desk that works 8 am to 5 pm I am sure because the staff are reassigned to handle support calls for 2/- callers. Michael, before leaving please migrate me to the 8/- per minute tariff and assign me the level of customer support I am used to, if I want to be treated like trash I will go to your competitors. Regards We might be born equal, but we are not equals Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 9:21 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Hi,
I have never participated in discussion on the calling tariffs mainly because when I bought my first mobile phone after using a pager for a long time my calling rate was 50/- so even at 8/- there had been a drop in my rate of calling.
All that the price war has done is murky the waters, the cost of paying for the call has just been redistributed between the flasher and the flashee. My friend made a joke the other day that his askari told him he can flash him when he is on the way home. He took the askari on the offer and flashed him the following night when he was about to get home, the askari then called him back to ask exactly where he was.
This seems like a way forward but the current level of support I am getting from my carrier makes we wish for the good old days of 8/- per minute. The customer service number that only rung 3 times at most sometimes goes unanswered, calls that stayed connected throughout the conversation however long and at whatever speed (sitting in the passenger seat) not any more.
Even when the call to customer service goes through I have recently detected a coldness and on occasion feel rushed in the responses. With the number of support calls they need to handle now it is understandable.
There is a good reason why Daimler has not dropped the price of the S class Mercedes to compete with the Marutu or Audi so I have an issue with Safaricom, please segment your market I would rather pay 8/- per minute if it means that I will receive better customer support.
The effects of this lower rates is even affecting my Wimax service which as I raised before has a support desk that works 8 am to 5 pm I am sure because the staff are reassigned to handle support calls for 2/- callers.
Michael, before leaving please migrate me to the 8/- per minute tariff and assign me the level of customer support I am used to, if I want to be treated like trash I will go to your competitors.
Regards
We might be born equal, but we are not equals
Robert Yawe
Hello Robert, I think yours is a very unique case. Call it hard luck, but this is different than what I get from Safaricom CCARE. I am on the Postpay and it's never been like you narrate. Save for a couple of times when I have called 200 and the call got picked, then dropped immediately (I've never bothered to find out why this happens, but surely that would not be easy, as when you redial, you'll get someone different), Safaricom Postpay Customer Care are very responsive. I think we just need to realize that there are perhaps hundreds of them working there and they are all NOT the same. Heaping a blame on ALL OF THEM seems a little unrealistic. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!!
Market segmentation is an importnat element of services provision going fward. Hoever paying more may not ncessarily means improved customer care services. ________________________________ From: robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wed, October 20, 2010 9:21:59 AM Subject: [kictanet] Price wars -cheap is expensive Hi, I have never participated in discussion on the calling tariffs mainly because when I bought my first mobile phone after using a pager for a long time my calling rate was 50/- so even at 8/- there had been a drop in my rate of calling. All that the price war has done is murky the waters, the cost of paying for the call has just been redistributed between the flasher and the flashee. My friend made a joke the other day that his askari told him he can flash him when he is on the way home. He took the askari on the offer and flashed him the following night when he was about to get home, the askari then called him back to ask exactly where he was. This seems like a way forward but the current level of support I am getting from my carrier makes we wish for the good old days of 8/- per minute. The customer service number that only rung 3 times at most sometimes goes unanswered, calls that stayed connected throughout the conversation however long and at whatever speed (sitting in the passenger seat) not any more. Even when the call to customer service goes through I have recently detected a coldness and on occasion feel rushed in the responses. With the number of support calls they need to handle now it is understandable. There is a good reason why Daimler has not dropped the price of the S class Mercedes to compete with the Marutu or Audi so I have an issue with Safaricom, please segment your market I would rather pay 8/- per minute if it means that I will receive better customer support. The effects of this lower rates is even affecting my Wimax service which as I raised before has a support desk that works 8 am to 5 pm I am sure because the staff are reassigned to handle support calls for 2/- callers. Michael, before leaving please migrate me to the 8/- per minute tariff and assign me the level of customer support I am used to, if I want to be treated like trash I will go to your competitors. Regards We might be born equal, but we are not equals Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
I think there is some form of segmentation. There is the option of a safaricom customer care line that you can call for a flat rate of 20bob (dont know whether its been revised) and it get answered within a few clicks. Post paid also get different customer care from what i gather. For the life of me I cant remember the simple 3 digit code. Just that its been a while since I have called for customer support. My 20bob.
participants (4)
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Odhiambo Washington -
robert yawe -
simiyu mse -
Vitalis Olunga