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Monday, April 8, 2013

Telecel: 21st Century Africa Mobile Services


I just had to do a blurb about this! I just looove good service especially when I expect the opposite!! Telecel's service to me not even as a current user just made me gush. I know i'm sounding a tad bit dramatic, BUT these things happen around these parts sometimes. It was heavy on my heart as a demonstration of things that work, amongst many others that do and just as many that do NOT. I particularly and especially appreciated these things when they happened. When I first got to Zim I obviously needed a sim card for my phone, which by the way I bought unlocked precisely because of international travel, with a carrier who has good data and low charges and other perks. I got a NetOne  line and from day 1 it’s been reliable and pretty affordable. 

I tweet/whatsapp/email/call text and it’s all very reasonable and I don’t need to refill the airtime too often. In a week I use about $8 of it. What was good is that everyone at home has a NetOne line anyway, except for grandmother cuz she only has one phone – an Econet line. Unfortunately, she’s one of the people I call the most and when I tried to get in touch with her the across the networks it was not going through. Everyone else’s second line at home is an Econet, I figured my 2nd line should be that and so I did. 

Econet is too complicated and not user friendly though. To transfer your airtime for data use you have to *140# and then go through about 3 sms-command responses back and forth before you’ve transferred that money. ßEven that explanation is not user friendly!

Anywho, I’ve been frustrated a lot with Econet because I hardly use the line and the airtime always finishes or vanishes into thin air. I transferred some money to the data the other day and did not visit a single website or tweet a single tweet, but it was all gone. The calls don’t always go through, but somehow airtime finishes and you just find yourself feeding the phone airtime and getting nothing in return. Very very annoying.

Enter TeleCel stage right! Anytime I have tweeted any expression of frustration about Econet they have responded jokingly inviting me to them. Why this is a big deal?!?! Even in America, whenever I tweeted directly @ TMobile (@tmobile) I never got a response, but now with @Telecel_Zim they respond to mentions of them AND their competition. That's staying on top of it! 

I loosely STORIFY'd it here. Why I think it's important to note what @Telecel_Zim did and is doing is that they just go to show that one of the most important things you can do is keep your ears on the ground. For all we know that picture above could be a facade and the company wouldn't even need to be in an office to do what they are doing. Their Social Media rep could be chilling in pyjamas sipping on virgin [or not] pina coladas, but MAKING SURE to watch what's being said on the internet streets. I've never seen a Telecel ad on tv, i also don't watch much telly anymore, but I know about them!! Very Very well. 

Now to get my new line and sim card.....lol.

Bravo guys.
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*@afropolitaine*

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