Have you ever wondered how a company manages to provide its best services to hundreds of thousands of people across the nation? The same thought crossed our minds when we walked by Telenor Headquarters (HQ) in Islamabad.
Luckily, we received a chance to visit the Telenor HQ and witness the operations ourselves under their ‘Telenor Hears You’ campaign.
From its customer care service to its network operations center, we are inspired after seeing all that goes into it.
5 Pillars of Telenor Pakistan
The trip was divided into 5 important sectors of the Telenor HQ which are its main pillars. Each of these 5 elements works simultaneously to ensure that a customer receives satisfaction at the earliest whilst eliminating a problem.
The 5 pillars are Customer Pain Point Elimination and Speedy Response, Social Engagement, Customer Empowerment, Customer’s Complaint Journey and Network Operation Center.
1. Customer Pain Point Elimination and Speedy Response
While on tour, the Telenor representatives accompanying us shared that the reason why the telecommunication giant excels in the sector is that their primary objective is to resolve the customer’s pain point.
Huge investment in the past year and commitment to resolve customer queries in a speedy manner, Telenor reduced prepaid call volume by 42% as compared to year ago & witnessed a whopping 100% reduction in the postpaid call volume as well.
The representative added that majority complaints were from customers having difficulty regarding packages & other related features. For instance, the Easy Card resource (MB’s, minutes etc.) accumulation issue was a significant customer pain point that was instantly prioritized & resolved. Simply next level transparency…Do brands tell if something goes wrong? Well…Telenor does!
When Telenor claims to resolve customer queries in a speedy manner…Do they really mean it?
The representative told us that there was a 64% reduction in the turnaround time, which means that the claim sure is solid. With their 24/7 customer support service, on average 90% customer complaints are resolved within the communicated time and even the overall success ratio is on an astonishing 98%. Telenor currently receives 30,000 calls per day which used to be 100,000. The volume of calls are certainly reduced due to automation, well-coordinated structure and streamlined processes. The struggle though is real!
Furthermore, the introduction of spill charges where the PAYG rate was reduced from Rs.12/MB to Rs1/MB simply for customer convenience is uncommon & appreciable.
2. Social Engagement
Staying active on social media for organizations has become as important as being active for brands is on a platform. When we inquired about how Telenor as a leading company is setting an example, we were told that the brand understands the importance to connect with its users on all social media platforms so that an instant connection with the customers can be made & solution can be provided.
The guide further explained that this is why Telenor Sacha Yar (a Facebook group for retailers) was introduced. Since then, the group has experienced a 200% increase in engagement with retailers from the furthest corners of the country sharing their feedbacks, suggestions & even complaints. The group was made to monitor the complaints or feedback of the retailers straight out of the market and take prompt actions to ensure a perfect experience for the retail community.
Telenor bagged the Socially Devoted Brand Award in the twice in 2018 & was also declared the No.1 Facebook Brand in terms of engagement.
3. Customer Empowerment
All customers want to be treated with priority. Given the dependence we have on our mobiles for all our daily work, it’s important to be dealt with professionally and efficiently.
Telenor wants their users to feel empowered. The brand offers a number of services to provide a hassle-free experience while using the network.
The 24/7 Hassle free Self-Service Booths provide:
- Buying a Telenor 4G SIM
- Sim Replacement
- Easy Card or Easy Load
- Open Mobile Wallet Account
- Deposit & Withdraw Money via Easypaisa
- Send and Receive money via Easypaisa
- Pay Utility Bills
- All these and much more
As of now, these booths are spread across 9 cities and will be rolled out nationwide by year-end.
For those who are unable to go to the booth, they have no need to worry as the My Telenor App has been launched by the company to give them a digital front to perform multiple tasks including keeping a track of their packages and bundles for convenience.
4. Customer’s Complaint Journey
We were curious to know, what happens to complaints if a customer is busy or needs someone to get back to a query afterward?
The representatives shared that the telecommunication giant has established a unique customer-brand relationship via SMS, customer callback service and digital presence. Furthermore, by the Launch of Smart villagers Interactive voice response Telenor has empowered customers to use Interactive voice recording that is designed specifically keeping in view their usage behavior. Telenor Pakistan is the only Telco in Pakistan to initiate behavior based IVR with a mission to empower customers to get the desired services based on their usage behavior without interacting with the Call Center Agent. This clearly lets the customer know that the brand indeed cares about them and value is added.
On average, the employees dedicatedly resolve 3,500 complaint calls per day for the network. But more importantly in order to keep the relationships with its customers going strong; several different modes of communication are available for the customers:
- My Telenor App
- Telenor Self Service Booth
- Franchises and Retailers
- Social Media
- Call Center
5. Network Operation Center
We reached the 345 center, we were greeted by Qasim Awan, Director Customer Care who shared with us that that customer centricity was the central focus of the organization. The Network Operation Center (NOC) is a state-of-the-art facility in 345 to help in managing operations effectively and keeping seamless customer experience promise alive day in & out.
NOC is like a central nervous system of the entire network and as works 24/7. They constantly watch their screens to monitor towers, drops in quality of service. To maintain a high quality of service any upgrade of services are done at night when traffic is lowest.
What left us astonished is that due to unexpected power failures in Pakistan Telenor has its own energy backup team to mitigate power failures! Now that is impressive!
The amazingly coordinated chain of customer complaint & its journey from the front end call center to the NOC & the complaint ticket generation process simply shows how seriously Telenor strives to cater a single individual’s pain point. To top this all, an alarm system is also in place to rectify network complaints proactively and this shows
To involve customers from the very beginning of anything, Telenor has a customer integration lab in which customers are observed through high tech cameras and several products and service related feedbacks are gathered. The facility helps to find out usage patterns, product understanding & in the designing of a customer friendly product/service. Similarly, in the Customer Zone, customer recorded calls are placed in tabs where relevant teams can hear out the latest pulse of the call center floor and basically the voice of the customers.
Telenor also has a customer observation area in which customers are observed through cameras and this is used to figure details about customer and products. Customers are selected through vendors according to the product target audience. the team also conducts field visits to gather more data
In an interactive session with the CTO Mr. Khurram Ashfaq, company aspirations, Telenor network and future Telenor ambitions were discussed. He shared that the company is currently working on the implementation of an AI-based predictive analysis that will help to automate and streamline processes further.
Mr. Ashfaq added that Telenor is the only telecom who has upgraded its network from 4G to 4.5G!
The trip to Telenor HQ has been an eye-opener!
Kudos to Telenor Pakistan and team HQ for their never-ending commitment towards their customers.
