Caribbean People can all agree that we have our personal and common gripes about the telecommunication providers in the region. There are some main telecom companies throughout the region and if their representatives do read through this article, I ask that they take the following into consideration:
Coverage: Now this may not be an issue for some companies as they’ve invested their resources into ensuring that they have the widest coverage on every Caribbean Island. Other companies have a serious issue with the cellphone network coverage. The coverage is very choppy in the rural communities where most of the population lives. I’m sure many of us can relate. Cellphone network service for some providers will only work in certain areas (usually the most inconvenient) of the house and in some places. Nothing turns off customers more than this and I’m sure certain companies have lost clients residential and commercial because of this deficiency. Telecom companies invest in improving the coverage, please.
SMS Messages: Many customers appreciate the text message alerts about local promotions and events. The problem lies with the constant sales and game prize prompts. These messages pile up and take up storage in cell phones to the point where some customers can no longer get messages. Customers would greatly appreciate an easily accessible option to unsubscribe to various types of SMS messages.
A suggestion would be to categorize the messages such as games, network promotions, local promotions & government announcements. The government announcements can be mandatory. It is truly frustrating to hear your notifications go off when you are anticipating an important message only to realize it’s your cellphone provider proposing a $1 per text Game to win a prize. This is a serious pet peeve. Give customers the option to decline this.
Cost: Mercy is all we ask. Within the last 2 years, we’ve seen a gradual increase in the cost of data plans and cellphone packages with an increase in useless features that no one cares to use. The additional features include apps that fail miserably to take hold of the market. The data limit has also gradually decreased. A significant number of complaints have come up for postpaid clients mentioning the same. The cost keeps going up and the useability or rather relevance of some services are depleting. This is not rocket science and the telecom companies are treating this as a monopoly. They give you whatever they feel will make up for their unrealistic prices. It’s distasteful business. Give people the option to choose what they pay for!
Customer Service: No, this is not about in-store service, the main companies both achieve this almost flawlessly. It is problem resolution and convenience. Can someone really explain why is it so hard to get a representative from major telcom companies? Customers who call must go through the answering machine and the long wait just to report an issue. These companies need to understand that most of your customers work 9-5 jobs and will not have a dedicated 30 minutes within those hours to call and get a representative in another country to report an issue. Not many customers can leave their jobs within business hours to visit the nearest store to report and resolve issues. This is the 21st century, your need to bring more awareness to your online customer service options for reporting complaints.
The resolution time is also important and a huge contributing factor to this point. In my personal experiences, the only time I receive urgent and convenient resolution is when I act like a loud and angry black woman who is ready to take off her shoes in public to get her point across. Why must customers bring out their ugliest demeanors to receive prompt service? If that is what it takes to get service, then train your teams to recognize every issue as such.
Quality: God forbid that the wind blows too strong and the internet will lag or drop. Let’s start the conversation about the significantly reduced service between 1-3 AM in rural areas. I know because sometimes I’m working at 2 in the morning and the internet would drop for 30 minutes at a time. Telecommunication companies need to recognize that with the current pandemic, many people work remotely and are depending on the service that they pay for to earn a living. There is no better time to invest in more reliable broadband service than now.
Cable service quality is a hit or miss, the package paid for comes with a certain number of channels, half of which do not work. With the increased ability to stream shows and live programs from the internet, the working-class customers are gradually opting out of cable service and exclusively using the internet for news and entertainment. Even local channels can be streamed online. Now, if only the internet was reliable…
A business will flourish when customers feel confident with the service and that their recommendations are being recognized. While people will still buy your services, recognize that they are only doing so because of the limited options. There is no real customer loyalty, and the brand image is poor. If another major telecom provider decides to infiltrate the Caribbean market, customers will move in a heartbeat.
If consideration is made to make a few adjustments whether major or minor, the benefits and customer loyalty will be worth the investment in the long run.
Disclaimer: opinions expressed within the content are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the website or its affiliates.
