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TechnoMag Staff

In a digitally competitive world where customer service and support today is a major score pointer, service providers especially in the ICT sector cannot afford to become second to anyone and have been recently upping their game to deliver world class service in Zimbabwe. Powertel Communications, a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings, has now gone real-time in offering online customer support through introducing a live chat web service on their website: www.powertel.co.zw. The new service is coined, PowerChat. The service works hand in gloves with the self-service portal platform. The service redefines convenience with up to the second customer service support which really comes on demand as and when a client needs support but it only gets better when its being done online mainly because it is cheaper to get data connectivity than voice in Zimbabwe.

The introduction of the live chat web service by Powertel is a reflection of concerted efforts towards the adoption of new world technologies that not only support innovation but also drive and heighten the customer service experience. Instead of waiting for days or hours to get feedback from the company, customers are now guaranteed to receive instant feedback on 24/7 basis.

In the last 3 years, Powertel has been on a drive to improve the customer experience which started off with the establishment of a 24-hour contact centre, introduction of a toll free service (888 on 08611) as well as establishment of an online self-service portal: <http://selfservice.powertel.co.zw:8080/selfservice/>.

In recent years, the corporate has also moved towards improving the customer experience through availing convenient retail distribution and payment systems for its products and services. The beauty of live chat is that it allows for a win-win scenario for both the corporate as well as its customers.

The corporate is able to address and track customer enquiries real-time with the positives being higher customer engagement and interaction as well as satisfaction on the part of the customer. Another plus is that the system allows for different departments to have accounts on the platform thus specific enquiries are routed to the specific department and addressed by the right people. One agent can deal with multiple chats at the same time.

The enquiries received range from product & promotion enquiries, service enquiries, billing and even job related enquiries. With this system, there is no room for complacency as Powertel is able to track service levels by monitoring response times, waiting times, chat duration, completed/dropped or missed chats and customer satisfaction through closely monitoring the web analytics reports. These reports are available per agent thus also improving individual accountability. Conversations on live chat are private and treated with utmost confidentiality.

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