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South Africa’s best rated call centres

Staff Writer

 ·21 Nov 2014

MTN has the best customer service of all telecoms companies in the country, the Orange Index survey shows, with the yellow network also leading all companies with the best call centre operations.

The Orange Index survey, which Ask Afrika has conducted since 2001, provides a customer service benchmark for companies which lets them compare their service levels within their own industry, and across other industries.

In 2014, 155 brands across 32 industry sectors were surveyed according to a number of different benchmarks.

One of the key categories – and often a point of frustration for customers – is call centres.

According to the report, more than 2,000 call centres across South Africa employ over 225,000 people – 175,000 of which deal directly with customers.

The call centre industry in the country is expected to grow at 15%, annually. In Africa, it is expected that 5,000 more call centres will pop up in the next five years.

In South Africa’s call centre landscape, the information and communication technology sectors dominate, holding seven of the top ten positions. Financial institutions made up the other three.

Top 10 SA call centres

Best customer service

In terms of overall customer service, this year the automotive industry topped the charts with Volkswagen taking first place from Truworths, while Toyota held on to its second place.

Representing the best of customer service to be had in the telecommunications sector, MTN came in eighth (slipping from seventh), while Vodacom placed tenth – also one spot weaker than in 2013.

Mweb won the Internet service provider (ISP) category, but did not make it into the top 20.

Methodology

Ask Afrika bases its index on the following criteria:

• Customer effort: how much effort is transparent in service delivery
• Net promoter score: reflects consumer loyalty and the likelihood of consumers recommending the brand to others
• Treating customers fairly: this applies to new legislation, such as ensuring the customer understands the terms and conditions of a contract
• First-call resolution: whether a problem is resolved with the first call
• Overall service
• Corporate reputation
• Emotional experience: a barometer of what consumers felt
• Call centre satisfaction
• Corporate social responsibility: linked to perceptions of ethics

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