STARCOMMS LAUNCHES A NEW MULTILINGUAL IPCC AND SELF-CARE LINES

In line with its strategy of ensuring that customers continually get superior experience, Starcomms Plc, the only telecommunications firm quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange has made a multi million Naira investment in a new user friendly Internet Protocol Contact Centre (IPCC). Also, the company has launched two dedicated Self-Care lines: *444 and 07028000444. The newly unveiled IPCC comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice Record service (IVR) which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and pidgin.Consequently, prepaid voice customers now have the option of choosing from any of the languages that the IPCC offers to make balance inquiry, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self care portal to get the help they require.In addition, data customers on Starcomms broadband services would be able to carry out inquiries about the services they desire, check their balances, know their credit limits, billed amount, unutilized amount, due date, last payment details using the IVR of the IPCC.While assuring that Starcomms will continue to make customers experiences very pleasurable, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms Plc, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, said “ we have made it possible for our customers to send e-mails to Starcomms while also providing an auto-dialer through which we can inform them about new offerings and services in Starcomms using voice messaging.”Continuing he said, “We have started SMS notifications for complaints by our customers, such that whenever a customer registers a complaint at the call centre, he/she will get an SMS notifying him/her about registering the complaint and subsequently get a feedback through an SMS informing him/her that the complaint has been resolved”, he added. He also said that when a customer dials the Self-Care lines: *444 or 07028000444 a voice response will guide the customer on the task he/she wants to perform saying that “the voice will instruct you to press 1 on your mobile phone key pad for prepaid task, 2 for post-paid task,3 for data task, 4 for coverage area and # to listen to the selections again.”

PIX CAP: From L-R Richard Gill, marketing director, Starcomms Pl, Tushar Maheshwari,chief commercial officer, Starcomms Plc and Charles Igbinidu during the a press conference on the IPCC and International Roaming launch in Lagos,Nigeria.

STARCOMMS LAUNCHES A NEW MULTILINGUAL IPCC AND SELF-CARE LINES

In line with its strategy of ensuring that customers continually get superior experience, Starcomms Plc, the only telecommunications firm quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange has made a multi million Naira investment in a new user friendly Internet Protocol Contact Centre (IPCC). Also, the company has launched two dedicated Self-Care lines: *444 and 07028000444. The newly unveiled IPCC comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice Record service (IVR) which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and pidgin.Consequently, prepaid voice customers now have the option of choosing from any of the languages that the IPCC offers to make balance inquiry, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self care portal to get the help they require.In addition, data customers on Starcomms broadband services would be able to carry out inquiries about the services they desire, check their balances, know their credit limits, billed amount, unutilized amount, due date, last payment details using the IVR of the IPCC.While assuring that Starcomms will continue to make customers experiences very pleasurable, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms Plc, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, said “ we have made it possible for our customers to send e-mails to Starcomms while also providing an auto-dialer through which we can inform them about new offerings and services in Starcomms using voice messaging.”Continuing he said, “We have started SMS notifications for complaints by our customers, such that whenever a customer registers a complaint at the call centre, he/she will get an SMS notifying him/her about registering the complaint and subsequently get a feedback through an SMS informing him/her that the complaint has been resolved”, he added. He also said that when a customer dials the Self-Care lines: *444 or 07028000444 a voice response will guide the customer on the task he/she wants to perform saying that “the voice will instruct you to press 1 on your mobile phone key pad for prepaid task, 2 for post-paid task,3 for data task, 4 for coverage area and # to listen to the selections again.”

STARCOMMS INTRODUCES INSPIRATIONAL SMS, GIVES OUT FREE AIRTIME TO CALL ANY NATIONAL NETWORK

As part of its sustained effort at adding value to telephony in Nigeria, Starcomms Plc, the country’s leading CDMA operator has introduced an inspirational service that will be a motivational guide to its customers while also offering them the opportunity to win fabulous airtime vouchers. Known as Inspirational SMS, the service will provide daily quotes that will inspire starcomms’ customers to live a fulfilling life.
To enjoy this service, a customer is expected to text the word WIN to a short code 33234 and instantly he/she receives an SMS with a number and inspirational quote. If the number has 9 in it, he/she stands the chance of winning an instant airtime.
The Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari explained that if the customer receives one inspirational SMS he/she wins N100 worth of airtime, if he/she receives two he/she wins N250, and if he/she receives three he/she wins N500 worth of airtime, while four and five inspirational SMS gives the customer N1000 and N2500 worth of airtime respectively.
He added that the cost of each SMS sent by the customer to the short code is N10 noting that as soon as the SMS gets to Starcomms, the customer will receive together with the quote, the PIN number for the airtime voucher won. To recharge with the airtime, the customer is expected to follow the same process of recharging from a scratch card.
Speaking further on the promo, Maheshwari said that “while the inspirational quotes give our customers the motivational tips to survive the present harsh economic times, the airtime they win would certainly go a long way in helping them save cost in the phone calls they make. With this promo, our customers can now make money to talk with their friends and family members”.
“Beyond making it easy for our customers to talk, Starcomms is committed to providing quality, cutting-edge and affordable telecommunications services. The services that we make available to our customers are generally tailored towards making their lives easier and better. It is a commitment that we hold very dear in our relationship with them,” he added.
A two time telecom company of the year including the recent winner of the 2009 CDMA Company award given to it for its outstanding performance in the delivery of quality services and value added services, Starcomms has over the years demonstrated its leadership role in the industry. As a result it was adjudged the CDMA of the year 2009 after an online voting process in which all Nigerian customers were invited to participate.

STARCOMMS SEEKS FEEDBACK ON SELF CARE PORTAL

In a bid to serve its customers better, Starcomms Plc has initiated a customer satisfaction survey, geared towards gathering information about the impact its services are making on them. The survey is targeted at customers who have been experiencing the Starcomms self care portal, a service pioneered by the company to do business with customers without any need for them to visit Starcomms outlets.
The self care portal is open for use by all customers of Starcomms via the internet. All they need to do is visit the Starcomms website www.starcomms.com and register. Following registration, they can begin to use the self-care option for any of the available features. The customer has the opportunity of resolving all queries pertaining to the company’s services through the portal without having to visit its service centres or speak to customer care agent. With it, customers are able to update their profile information, view their call history as well as check their credit balance. They can also file complaints about problems encountered using Starcomms services as well as register for all the value-added services. For example activating their caller ring back tone (CRBT) and renewing their data access.
Starcomms’ self care portal, the most all-inclusive in the Nigerian telecommunication industry, also provides the company’s data customers with an alternative payment platform for more convenient subscription renewals. It provides three easy options to renew and pay for internet connectivity such as recharging of cards via text messaging or online and through InterSwitch debit/ATM cards.
With the ongoing survey, Starcomms customers who have not used the self care portal are invited by the company to try it for any of the services and give their candid opinion on them in the survey by going to http://www.starcomms.com/selfcare and submit their entries. Customers who participate in the survey are at liberty to express their views on the ease or the difficulties they experience in connecting to the self care portal as well as the general goods and services provided by Starcomms.
“Having pioneered the self care portal as a means for our customers to interface with our network without recourse to Starcomms Shops nationwide, we are mindful of the need for continuous interaction with them so that we can determine how to bring innovation to bear on their needs. With the survey, we seek to discover areas that Starcomms customers would like us to improve and identify new innovations for the Nigerian market. As a responsive network, the total satisfaction of our customers is a priority with us. So, this survey will help us get there,” Tushar Maheshwari, Starcomms Chief Commercial Officer said.
The Starcomms survey is a further step towards excellence in customer relations which has become the hallmark of the company. For months now, Starcomms customers have been having the rare opportunity of relating directly with the company’s CEO to lodge complaints or to make one enquiry or the other about Starcomms products and services through an email address: ceo.customercare@starcomms.com.
The company took this step in recognition of challenges that telecommunication customers face in an attempt to resolve issues on the services they are receiving. This has been a tremendous success in the sense that it has helped Starcomms and its customers to relate better creating a platform for quick response to customer enquiries

STARCOMMS DESCRIBES SUPERBRAND STATUS AS A CHALLENGE FOR MORE QUALITY SERVICE

Leading telecommunications company, Starcomms Plc., has described the Superbrand award which it won as a challenge to sustain and improve its high quality service delivery that has become a reference point in the industry.
The Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari while reacting to the news of the award said that the award came as a surprise.
According to him, “one day we just received a letter that we have been given an award. None of us in the company knew that we were going to receive such award. The award indeed was a very pleasant surprise.”
Maheshwari who could not hide his excitement further revealed that the superbrand status was bestowed on Starcomms based on a survey conducted by AC Nielsen, the world’s leading marketing research company on behalf of Superbrands Nigeria Limited.
He said that customer satisfaction, network reliability and social responsibility were some of the parameters used in the selection of Starcomms as the leading CDMA Company in Nigeria adding that the survey showed that the consumer associated with the Starcomms brand.
According to him, a grand revelation of the survey was the fact that Starcomms have consistently retained its leadership position in the CDMA market saying that the survey showed that field interviewers went to the consumers and asked them which brand they associate with.
On what the award means to Starcomms, he said, “the consumer has put his trust on us and given us his support. So we will want that trust and support to be there all year round. That means we cannot relax and so we have to keep moving in all direction in terms of network reliability, customer care and value for money.”
Maheshwari promised that Starcomms will continuously improve upon the standard that gave them the award stressing that his company was able to surmount all the challenges in the industry because “whatever we do, we do it from the perspective of customers’ satisfaction”.

He further disclosed that Starcomms primary focus is on how to make life more convenient for its customers and not just mere promises saying that “that is why we are launching different customers’ focused products such as listen to the Bible and Koran, the self care portal etc”.
Pledging more commitment to the satisfaction of its consumers, he disclosed that Starcomms through innovations have been making life easy for its customers stressing that those who do not use Starcomms mobile phone but have its internet broadband modem, iZAP can now load and check their balance from another mobile phone network via SMS.
In trying to maintain the high standard it has attained over the years, he said that Starcomms has repeatedly done research to find out what the customer feels about its services saying that it strives to benchmark its quality of service with those of other operators in developed countries and operators in Nigeria.
He added that “we also benchmark ourselves against other business organizations in the economy like airlines, hotels, and that is why you see that our products are unique i.e. our multilingual call centre. You can do a lot of request on your own without really getting someone to do it for you. That is a world class solution”.
According him, feedback is also a crucial factor that has endeared telecoms consumers to Starcomms noting that “we have been able to get feedback from our customers through our call centers, our fans page on facebook and visits of our top management to our customers”.
On the relevance of Starcomms recent subscription to Main One undersea Cable, Maheshwari said that the essence is to ensure that Starcomms customers continue to get speedy and reliability internet connection noting that although it currently provides broadband services in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja,Warri, Benin City, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ilorin,Kaduna Zaria and Jos, we are not going to stop there. We are going to go even to the rural areas just as it is done in other parts of the world”.

STARCOMMS DESCRIBES SUPERBRAND STATUS AS A CHALLENGE FOR MORE QUALITY SERVICE

Leading telecommunications company, Starcomms Plc., has described the Superbrand award which it won as a challenge to sustain and improve its high quality service delivery that has become a reference point in the industry.
The Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari while reacting to the news of the award said that the award came as a surprise.
According to him, “one day we just received a letter that we have been given an award. None of us in the company knew that we were going to receive such award. The award indeed was a very pleasant surprise.”
Maheshwari who could not hide his excitement further revealed that the superbrand status was bestowed on Starcomms based on a survey conducted by AC Nielsen, the world’s leading marketing research company on behalf of Superbrands Nigeria Limited.
He said that customer satisfaction, network reliability and social responsibility were some of the parameters used in the selection of Starcomms as the leading CDMA Company in Nigeria adding that the survey showed that the consumer associated with the Starcomms brand.
According to him, a grand revelation of the survey was the fact that Starcomms have consistently retained its leadership position in the CDMA market saying that the survey showed that field interviewers went to the consumers and asked them which brand they associate with.
On what the award means to Starcomms, he said, “the consumer has put his trust on us and given us his support. So we will want that trust and support to be there all year round. That means we cannot relax and so we have to keep moving in all direction in terms of network reliability, customer care and value for money.”
Maheshwari promised that Starcomms will continuously improve upon the standard that gave them the award stressing that his company was able to surmount all the challenges in the industry because “whatever we do, we do it from the perspective of customers’ satisfaction”.

He further disclosed that Starcomms primary focus is on how to make life more convenient for its customers and not just mere promises saying that “that is why we are launching different customers’ focused products such as listen to the Bible and Koran, the self care portal etc”.
Pledging more commitment to the satisfaction of its consumers, he disclosed that Starcomms through innovations have been making life easy for its customers stressing that those who do not use Starcomms mobile phone but have its internet broadband modem, iZAP can now load and check their balance from another mobile phone network via SMS.
In trying to maintain the high standard it has attained over the years, he said that Starcomms has repeatedly done research to find out what the customer feels about its services saying that it strives to benchmark its quality of service with those of other operators in developed countries and operators in Nigeria.
He added that “we also benchmark ourselves against other business organizations in the economy like airlines, hotels, and that is why you see that our products are unique i.e. our multilingual call centre. You can do a lot of request on your own without really getting someone to do it for you. That is a world class solution”.
According him, feedback is also a crucial factor that has endeared telecoms consumers to Starcomms noting that “we have been able to get feedback from our customers through our call centers, our fans page on facebook and visits of our top management to our customers”.
On the relevance of Starcomms recent subscription to Main One undersea Cable, Maheshwari said that the essence is to ensure that Starcomms customers continue to get speedy and reliability internet connection noting that although it currently provides broadband services in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja,Warri, Benin City, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ilorin,Kaduna Zaria and Jos, we are not going to stop there. We are going to go even to the rural areas just as it is done in other parts of the world”.

Starcomms Brings More Value to Night Time Calling

Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator, Starcomms Plc is offering its customers great value calling rates for 4N over night. Customers are to enjoy N4 per minute on-net calls between the period of 10 pm and 7 am.
The offer is to enable Starcomms customers, particularly the Muslims to share warm thoughts during the Ramadan period, while also giving opportunity to non-Muslims to extend warm greetings to their Muslim and other friends.
Designed to add value to the social life of all customers of Nigeria’s only telecoms company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, this unique offer is available to current and new customers in all cities where there is Starcomms coverage for a period of one month.
What it implies is that customers of the innovative CDMA Company will have to pay less to savour the excitement and communal activities that require people getting in touch during the Ramadan period while also enjoying other value added services on the Starcomms network. Moreover, the promo is a boom for those who are not involved in the Ramadan fast as they can have longer discussions on the Starcomms network during the off peak hours.
The Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari said that, “as a responsive network, we at Starcomms understand that Nigerians love to keep in touch with their loved ones, hence we are using this opportunity to enable not just the Muslims on our network, but the non-Muslims too, the privilege of doing that during the Ramadan period.”
According to him, this is just part of our numerous ways of making our people happier, as a network that speaks their language.” He said that as a customer focused company it is mindful of the needs of its customers and will often look for opportunities to make talking easy for them.
The current winner of the Superbrand award for 2010 and a two time telecom company of the year including the recent winner of the 2009 CDMA Company award given to it for its outstanding performance in the delivery of quality services and value added services, Starcomms has over the years demonstrated its leadership role in the industry with value for money, innovation and customer care initiatives.