Saudi- Customers demand efficient service from telecom operator

(MENAFN- Arab News) Residents across the kingdom who routinely seek technical support for their phone and internet woes have expressed their frustration over being kept on hold for far too long by telecom operators.

an arab news survey reveals that around 43 percent of respondents rated over-the-phone technical services as mediocre.

'i called the telecom customer care center to inquire about how to upgrade my internet package and how much it would cost" said saleh ghamdi a customer. 'i had to choose several options to get through to the call center. i went around in circles just to have a single question answered."

mohammed ahmed another customer said: 'i called a customer care line to get a landline and internet services installed at my new address.

it took them almost a week to get the job done even though i had followed up several times and registered online" said

customer dissatisfaction with telephone services is widespread among residents who complain about the multiple options they get bogged down with on the automated service the interactive voice responses (ivrs) and being kept on hold for long periods of time.

'we are often given few options that will allow us to speak with operators and are forced to resolve our issues via the ivr which often provides unclear solutions" said asma habeeb another customer.

'telecom providers really test their clients' patience with these automated services which assure us that our call is important to them while informing us that operators are unavailable to take our calls" she said.

some customers however have expressed satisfaction with the services they receive which they say can be enhanced if more lines are made available for customer queries.

'we are in the process of building a new customer service department which will have new systems and procedures along with proactive measures to ensure that subscribers are satisfied with the technical support they receive" said walid alwabel general manager of services at a telecom company.