Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (Econet) says demand for its virtual self-service platforms is surging as customers adapt, amid ongoing social distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zimbabwe, like most countries in the world, introduced a national lockdown in March to combat the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, which has affected millions of people globally. The authorities encouraged people to stay at home and utilise technology and digital platforms for their day to day requirements.
Econet – and its subsidiaries – embraced the digital thrust to accelerate the deployment of its virtual and digital platforms, which are fast becoming key in resolving customer issues, and has carried its customers along in the digital transformation journey.
To date, over one million customers have registered for the company’s self-care platforms, which include the USSD *111# and web-based ‘My Web Self-Care’ platforms.
Customers with smartphones are able to access My Web Self-Care on https://selfcare.econet.co.zw. The web portal is zero-rated, meaning customers can login and resolve their queries free of charge, without incurring any data charges.
Non-smartphone users can also resolve their queries from wherever they are by simply dialling *111# and selecting option 1 to register and use the selfcare services.
A company spokesman said in the past six months, the integrated telecom and digital group’s self-care portals have been busy with subscribers updating their details and checking their call and text message history, without visiting Econet shops.
“In addition to providing customers with PUK numbers to unblock their SIM cards, subscribers can also recharge their mobile phones, buy data bundles, retrieve their over-scratched recharge card numbers and transfer airtime on the platform,” said the spokesperson.
With more than 12 million interactions for the available use cases, customers have slowly warmed up to the idea of a virtually assisted customer service.
“We understand that the Self Care portal cannot be used to solve every issue of the subscriber. That’s why we added the ‘MY Queries’ section, where our customers log a ticket on the specific challenges they are facing and are contacted by the Econet Team for resolution of the issue. The beauty about this product is that our clients are able to track progress on their queries in the comfort of their homes,” said the company spokesperson.
