The ups and downs of customer service

Very good customer service, probably the first time in Uganda/Tanzania.

Well, or maybe I should say the very best and very worst customer service from the same company.

My internet ran out (I use a mobile internet stick that I just buy a data plan for), so I went to the local Orange Uganda store. I paid for 10 GB per month for 3 months, which totaled to 450,000 Ugandan Shillings (about 180 CAD). Not a lot, but not a small amount of money either. It was late, so I was really hoping the service would be fast and I could just get home.

How it works here is that you put the sim card into a cell phone. You scratch lots of airtime cards to load airtime (money) onto your sim card. Then you use that money loaded to buy internet plans. So they had to load 450,000 Ugx onto my card. They were grumbling that they didn’t have enough airtime to load. But they didn’t say anything, so I just said that I would go buy some groceries and come back when everything is ready.

When I came back 15 minutes later, my card was ready. I said good night and waved good bye. I speed walked home, collapsed on my bed, and didn’t really want to get off anymore (I had been checking 400+ receipts the whole day – major headache).

I plugged in my internet stick and went online to check if they had loaded the correct amount of data. It should have been 40 GB (1 month free if you buy three months at a time). There was only 12 GB. Smoke came out of my ears.

I threw on some clothes and stomped back over to the store (on a side note: I really don’t like walking at night in town in Tororo. There’re no lights, so some how I always step into puddles and half-twist my ankle). I had to use all the self restraint I had to ask them what happened in a civilized manner. Where is the data I bought? Where is my money?

The sales person (and probably the owner of the store) didn’t even blink an eye. Or say sorry. She said “We didn’t have enough airtime cards. I even told her (the other employee) that if you come back and complain, we will have to explain it.” Can you imagine? If I come back and complain? What if I never checked? They would have just swallowed the extra money I gave them? Is that what happened to my last purchase? Is that why I used up my 10 GB of data in 1.5 months?

She tried to explain how it was OK and once I finished my data she can load the rest of the money. She tried to tell me I can come back in a month to load more data. The problem is the more you buy at once, the cheaper per GB the plans are. I had to do all the math on a piece of paper before she understood what I was complaining about.

I told her no. She would either give me the full amount of data I wanted or she’ll give me back my money. And I’ll never use Orange again. She finally understood that I really wasn’t going to be stupid enough to say yes to whatever excuse she was trying to make. She said I could come back tomorrow when they get more airtime cards and she would load a new sim card for me. I can then exchange in the old one. I said that’s fine. I also asked her to write in that they owe me 200,000 shillings on the receipts.

Still steaming, I went home and wrote a scathing email to Orange customer care. I said this was deliberate fraud. The employee had not even bothered to mention she had bought a cheaper plan. She had no intention of giving me back the extra money. She even wrote on the receipt that I paid 450,000 for a 10GB per month plan. I’m very disappointed in their service and am thinking of taking my business elsewhere. I should have mentioned that I would also mention this story at every opportunity with my friends or my company.

I didn’t think much would come out of the email. But at least it made me feel better to complain.

The next day before noon, I get a phone call (note: they actually called me on my MTN phone – so they really enter those registration forms into their database because I gave them my internet sim card number when complaining). A very apologetic customer care representative said that they were rectifying the problem as soon as possible. She hoped that they have no caused me too much inconvenience and that I will continue to use their services.

At noon, I go back to the shop to get my new sim card. They hadn’t even loaded it with the plan I wanted. I stood there for at least 20 minutes waiting for them to count and scratch and load. This time she showed me directly on the phone when she bought the plan. So I didn’t have to take out my computer and check it there right in front of her eyes.

At 3 pm, I get another call. Head office had actually sent someone to check on the Tororo store because of my complaint. The person called me to confirm that the problem had been solved by giving me another sim card. I said it was fine now and I appreciate their speedy service.

Frankly, this really has been the best customer service I’ve seen in east Africa. I’m pleasantly surprised that they actually sent someone to the store to check and to make sure every was in order. And that they took the time to call to make sure the problem was really solved.

I can’t be angry when a company is so fast at correcting its mistakes. Who doesn’t make mistakes? Due to their response time and attitude, I trust that they will try to prevent further fraud like this from other stores. I’m glad to know that they take their customer feedback very seriously.

On the other hand, I’ve learnt a few things from this incident.

1. If I were in Canada, I would have probably shouted at the employee who pocketed my money. Here, I thought I couldn’t. Ugandans (and apparently to a larger extent Tanzanians) sometimes can ignore you completely if you’re impolite, even when they are in the wrong. If you shout at a waiter, it’s almost guaranteed that your food would come later than before. I still don’t have the correct gauge for how much politeness is needed in what kinds of situations. To avoid not getting my money back at all, I remained polite, but hopefully they could still sense my anger (hard not to, I think). This really applies to a work situation. No matter what, hold your temper.
2. I can’t believe the employee never even said sorry. I can’t believe how entitled she sounded when she basically said that she stole 200,000 Ugx from me. I guess saving face is also such a big deal here (and this woman who owned the store was definitely rich. You can tell just by the way she dresses and talks to the others), that she couldn’t bring herself to apologize to a younger person (and foreigner) like me.
3. Always, always, always check your purchases. Thank you Orange for having an online page to check your data plan status.
4. I really miss my slower, but unlimited, internet with Vodacom in Tanzania (and much cheaper too).

*** Wow, I just got yet another call from the regional manager of Orange Uganda. They said they are investigating and will be taking disciplinary action if necessary. I’m seriously impressed.

Making sure your brand name is reputable really is a huge incentive for better customer service. I mean, I learnt it in school, but I’ve never really felt it personally. I guess that means I’m a bit spoiled with all the “good” customer service back home (ha…”good” is in quotes for obvious reasons).

*** I just got another phone call. This time from the person who sold me the internet data plan. She didn’t sound very happy, but she apologized. I just said it was ok. Awkward, but appreciated.