Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
Multichoice has managed to do what is almost impossible, offer good customer service whilst still being a monopoly.
Monopolies are known for abusing their market power by sidelining the needs of consumers. It’s a simple equation, customer service costs money but if there’s no push to provide that service why bother.
Multichoice an exception
Multichoice is fast proving that they are an exception to that rule, at least in my experience.
I had to go through to their customer care department to have my DSTV decoder tested. Not only were there ample agents but the person who dealt with my problem identified the cause immediately.
I’ve also used their helpdesk number on numerous occasions and each time it’s been a pleasure which is no mean feat, I’m notoriously intolerant of helpdesks.
I have a few gripes of course, I get my bill via email and they want you to install some sort of custom software to view it. That’s a big no-no in my books.
And then another obvious gripe is price, I’m a consumer so I want to pay less and if I could I’d pay nothing, but kudos to Multichoice for finally providing cheaper options.
One thing that does concern me about price is that there is no way for the market to know if the fee is in direct correlation to the cost or if Multichoice have done a bit of thumb sucking and come up with R468.99 a month. Competition generally takes care of this but in the absence of competition I’m not entirely certain what will govern a company’s decision.
Multichoice implementing promises
Nolo Letele, the Multichoice CEO, has stated clearly that competition is a frightening prospect for the pay-TV operator and it is something the company takes very seriously. He has told his troops to prepare for war and from the major expansion I saw in the number of call centre agents he is clearly ready to meet the challenge head-on.
Multichoice has also started to jack up their offerings and in the past few months they’ve launched HD TV and X-tra view and added various channels to their bouquets.
One thing they may want to consider is bringing back the Sci-Fi channel, Action-X is tolerable but it just doesn’t hit the mark for Sci-Fi fans like me.
Whilst I’m certain there are numerous individual cases where Multichoice has failed my experience thus far has only been positive and I take my hat off to a company that can still offer good customer service despite the dearth of competition.
Monopolies are known for abusing their market power by sidelining the needs of consumers. It’s a simple equation, customer service costs money but if there’s no push to provide that service why bother.
Multichoice an exception
Multichoice is fast proving that they are an exception to that rule, at least in my experience.
I had to go through to their customer care department to have my DSTV decoder tested. Not only were there ample agents but the person who dealt with my problem identified the cause immediately.
I’ve also used their helpdesk number on numerous occasions and each time it’s been a pleasure which is no mean feat, I’m notoriously intolerant of helpdesks.
I have a few gripes of course, I get my bill via email and they want you to install some sort of custom software to view it. That’s a big no-no in my books.
And then another obvious gripe is price, I’m a consumer so I want to pay less and if I could I’d pay nothing, but kudos to Multichoice for finally providing cheaper options.
One thing that does concern me about price is that there is no way for the market to know if the fee is in direct correlation to the cost or if Multichoice have done a bit of thumb sucking and come up with R468.99 a month. Competition generally takes care of this but in the absence of competition I’m not entirely certain what will govern a company’s decision.
Multichoice implementing promises
Nolo Letele, the Multichoice CEO, has stated clearly that competition is a frightening prospect for the pay-TV operator and it is something the company takes very seriously. He has told his troops to prepare for war and from the major expansion I saw in the number of call centre agents he is clearly ready to meet the challenge head-on.
Multichoice has also started to jack up their offerings and in the past few months they’ve launched HD TV and X-tra view and added various channels to their bouquets.
One thing they may want to consider is bringing back the Sci-Fi channel, Action-X is tolerable but it just doesn’t hit the mark for Sci-Fi fans like me.
Whilst I’m certain there are numerous individual cases where Multichoice has failed my experience thus far has only been positive and I take my hat off to a company that can still offer good customer service despite the dearth of competition.