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One of our primary responsibilities is to our customers.
We are proud that we carry customers from all walks of life.
Very few companies across the globe could boast of a customer
profile of the sort that SLT has. We know that this is a legacy
of state control and state monopoly of telecommunications.
But it is a legacy that we are proud to carry, a mantle we
are proud to wear.
As a result we are committed to treating every customer with
equal respect and concern. It is only through such a policy
that we can further broaden our customer network and earn
their loyalty and respect. We know that customer loyalty and
respect has a direct bearing on the sustainability of the
enterprise as a profitable entity and we will do all that
we can to nourish this. We will continue with our transformation
into a customer oriented enterprise that provides customers
with a consistent and high quality service.
The New Call Centre: A Solution Oriented
Initiative
In 2003 we laid the foundation for a modern customer centric
call centre to respond to a myriad of queries that SLT’s
wide range of customers have. SLT’s ‘Operator
Service’ which originally formed the backbone of the
telephone service and was established to assist the customer
to make calls, has been transformed into a state-of-the-art
customer focused problem solving centre. Previously, customers
had to dial a variety of numbers to find answers to the different
problems they had. Billing complaints, faults, alarm calls,
assisted international and trunk calls, telegrams, all had
different telephone numbers and prescribed staff to respond
to these queries.
SLT has now consolidated this into a single call centre and
trained staff to respond to a variety of queries or if they
are unable to do so, to transfer the call to someone who can
respond. Customers now need to dial any of the numbers and
could get a response to a variety of queries through this
single call. The focus of this change has been to provide
a service that is truly customer centred and solution oriented.
Waiting time is reduced and a variety of queries could be
answered in a single call. Customers with queries and complaints
need a quick, coherent and intelligent response. This is what
the customer centric call centre aims to provide.
SLT’s call centre staff has been retrained to respond
in this manner and will receive continuous training. The training
has focused among other things on, managing customer relations,
product thoroughness, courtesy, consistency in communication,
language proficiency and projecting the SLT image. The emphasis
has been to empower SLT staff to respond efficiently and courteously.
Where previously there was a division between staff in relation
to ‘voice' and ‘non-voice’ products, now
this has changed. All staff can respond to the full range
of products and it is only if specialised assistance is needed
that the call is transferred to a special help desk.
Rainbow Pages: Creating a New Brand
For the second year in succession SLT delivered its telephone
directory without outside assistance. We are in the process
of creating a new brand: the Rainbow Pages.
Last year the entire consignment of more than 500,000 copies
of the Greater Colombo Directory were printed within Sri Lanka.
Fifty per cent of the provincial directory was printed locally
while the balance was printed by NTT Quaris Corporation (a
subsidiary of NTT Directory Services)
Our Teleshops continue to Grow
Our teleshops have revolutionised telecommunications marketing
in this country. Our first four teleshops were opened in 1997
and another 21 have been established since then. With the
islandwide distribution network in place the customers can
enjoy the benefit it provides throughout the island.
These teleshops are one-stop centres and perform a variety
of functions. Customers may pay their bills, lodge a complaint,
register for a new telephone or invest in a range of new equipment,
in a customer friendly environment. The goal has been to create
a customer friendly environment at a single location and provide
a wide range of services at one spot.
Weaving IT Systems into a Consolidated
Arrangement
SLT is progressively improving its IT infrastructure through
the enhanced use of computerised information systems. Currently
finance functions, human resources administration, procurement
and inventory management, billing, fault reporting and new
connection management operate on separate systems. Our plan
is have an integrated system for these functions which would
ensure greater accuracy and more efficiency. Our new billing
system is the first step in this process. The headquarters
and all regional offices are linked by Intranet. Each division
maintains a web page and dissemination of information among
the different offices and departments has increased significantly.
Online Shopping
Online Assistance
SLT Homepage, www.slt.lk
is designed to provide up-to-date information to customers
on the products and services we offer. The benefits and the
costs of each product are found on the website. The website
will soon be upgraded to incorporate several new features.
An Online eTeleshop caters to the needs of customers who wish
to buy products through the web. Our user friendly Online
Directory enables customers to find telephone numbers with
ease. In the near future SLT will launch e Rainbow, the Classified
Directory Section, online.
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