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A kombi or other form of public transport with wifi offers passengers an obvious convenience that ultimately elevates the quality of travel commuters can enjoy

Delta Milayo Ndou #Digital Dialogue—

I was impressed to learn of a fleet of commuter omnibuses plying the Warren Park route that offer free wifi as a complimentary service to passengers because the typical kombi owner is unlikely to concern themselves with availing such benefits to their clients. Given the state of neglect and disrepair that most commuter vehicles are in as well as the generally uncouth conduct of commuter vehicle crews it is noteworthy that someone somewhere is progressive-minded enough to consider gifting their passengers with free wifi.

One might ask, of what value is wifi in kombi? To the kombi owner, it has great marketing and promotional value whilst to the passengers it is an obvious convenience that ultimately elevates the quality of travel commuters can enjoy. And perhaps that is the crux of the matter, the fact that kombi travel, as it has manifested is rarely an experience meant to be enjoyed rather it is to be endured.

As such, few associate kombi rides with enjoyment and, since the traumas of tout harassment are well recorded I shall not rehash them here. Suffice to say, it takes an admirably innovative thinker to operate outside the norm as is the case with this particular kombi fleet owner. Certain innovations can easily be regarded as absurd but to quote Robin Sharma, “Dreamers are mocked as impractical. The truth is they are the most practical, as their innovations lead to progress and a better way of life for all of us.”

One could argue that it takes a dreamer to conceive of offering free wifi in a kombi within the context of Zimbabwe because the average kombi owner would feel they have far more pressing and immediate concerns than offering freebies to passengers who have come to expect so little from kombi travel that they are grateful if they arrive at their destinations in one unmolested piece.

Luxury coaches without luxuries

Upon learning of this wifi-providing fleet of kombis I wondered why long distance transporters are failing to up their game and introduce similar complimentary services. Surely, if a kombi, whose average commute is less than an hour, can concern itself with ensuring passengers enjoy wifi then luxury coaches that carry passengers for six or more hours should be expected to offer no less.

We have a luxury coach industry that is hell-bent on defying and twisting the meaning of the word luxury through shoddy service: bus interiors that leak when it rains, toilets that are for decorative purposes, air-conditioning that never works, seats that no longer recline and trays that have come unhinged, not to mention atrocious on-board entertainment (if any at all).

Given that these vehicles lay a claim to providing luxury and charging for the same, one would consider it a reasonable expectation that they offer wifi to their long-distance travellers who pay premium prices to keep them in business.

If a kombi owner can do it, why can’t they? Is it too much to ask that our luxury transportation industry, itself a key component of the travel and tourism sector, pull its socks up in 2017 and shock all of us by raising their standards and allowing passengers to experience the true meaning of “travelling in style”?

It is my fervent hope that by the end of the year public establishments as well as luxury coaches become synonymous with complimentary wifi as a way of rewarding clients who support their businesses. The prohibitive costs of data mean that such complimentary wifi access can very easily lend one’s business a vital competitive edge. If the choice were availed, I imagine many of us would opt to ride in a kombi with wifi rather than one without, to book a bus with wifi as opposed to one without and to spend our money in restaurants or coffee shops with wifi as opposed to those without.

The argument could be made that wifi is not a necessity but it would take someone who cannot appreciate the direction that our largely technology-driven world is going to make such an assertion. The most basic point of any innovation is to afford users convenience and improve their quality of life – requiring luxury coaches to improve the quality of our travel is well within our rights if this transport sector is to advance the broader travel and tourism objectives the nation hopes to attain.

Make 2017 the year of customer-facing technology

Serve us by saving us from queues. This is my heartfelt plea to all service providers in whatever sector because, quite frankly, too many productive hours are squandered while we stand in queues to be served at banks and elsewhere. Some of these queues could easily be dispensed with if local businesses embraced customer-facing technology to provide informational services and provide automated services so that we clients are not at the mercy of ill-tempered, lazy or ignorant workers who don’t perform their duties with zeal or efficiency.

With so many customer service technologies to pick from, one wonders why so few entities have taken the initiative to anticipate the needs of their clients and provide the appropriate customer-facing technology to meet it. I think some examples are in order.

One of the most convenient mobile customer services I have experienced have been courtesy of the FBC mobile app which has allowed me to rescue several people through the prepaid ZESA token purchase facility. Very recently, as a guest at a relative’s house, I happened to overhear an argument as to who would have to go and buy electricity because the queues would be long and the task was generally considered annoying. I was more than happy to make the purchase in less than a minute without even leaving the couch or having to interrupt my sips of holiday wine.

I would wager that in the year ahead when given a choice, most individuals performing a task such as checking their bank balance or paying a bill, would rather turn to a mobile app first or enter shortcode first for customer service rather than seek face-to-face customer service interaction.

If I can be served via my phone, you best believe, I will opt for that. And this is perhaps, the greatest and most overlooked triumph of EcoCash which has made shortcodes with menu options a regular customer-facing technology as to make us take it for granted the convenience we enjoy from being able to perform so many varied tasks via our mobile devices.

I am convinced that any business can benefit from harnessing customer service technology that allows for richer customer service experience through multiple customer touch points. Simple things like call queueing can make all the difference between frustrating clients and affording them a courteous automated reply that ensures they know how long they might have to wait to be attended to.

For instance, those who ever made calls to ZOL helplines will be familiar with the experience of automated call queueing which helps save the client time. Whatever your business may entail, start thinking of customer-facing technologies that will help you serve us better by saving us from having to queue. Innovate.

Delta is a digital expert and an advocate for technology-driven solutions. Follow her on Twitter: @deltandou