The Frustrations of MTN Subscribers
By Anthony Akaeze
Sunday, April 27, 2008
MTN's services have become poorer and its subscribers are complaining of the frustrations they experience daily
That many Nigerians are getting increasingly frustrated by the quality of service provided by the telecom companies in the country is no longer news. This issue of poor service delivery has of late become the dominant issue amongst subscribers of the various networks and is as old as the history of the "phone revolution" in Nigeria made possible by the deregulation in that sector in 2001.But even amongst the various networks, MTN has gradually earned the reputation as the worst. Apart from subscribers of other networks who often complain of difficulty in connecting to MTN, many MTN subscribers on their part have been lamenting the poor service from the South African company. The complaints range from interconnectivity problem to drop calls and high tarrifs. Many of the subscribers complain that the network problems had subsisted overtime without adequate efforts by the MTN to address them.
Olusesan Banire, a MTN suscriber who lives in Agbado, Ogun State, said: " In times of emergency, you will get frustrated trying to get a call across. When I need to make an urgent call to someone, I'm denied the opportunity by response of 'not available or please try again later.' Another frustrating and most annoying thing is that a shrill voice will tell you that destination you are calling is unavailable even when you know the line is available."
Tejumade Talabi is another MTN subscriber who lives in Ojo area of Lagos. She complained that it takes time for one to get through to MTN's customer care, and that the network could be bad in terms of connectivity. "One would need to try and try and try before it connects. Also, when I send SMS at times, the delivery report comes late and when you call, even when the line is on, you are told it's off."
Funmito Ajewole stays in Odogunyan in Ikorodu, Lagos. She told Newswatch that the April fool text she sent to her boyfriend in the early hours of April 1 was received the next day thereby making nonsense of the impact of the message. Funmito who said she prefers to send messages most times also bemoaned the high tarrif charged by MTN for texts to other networks. " How can they be charging 15 naira per SMS. It is too much."
This opinion is shared by Enoragbon Itoha, a resident of Ikeja. He considers the tariff generally charged by MTN as high and disheartening compared to what obtains in other countries.
They are not alone. Kanayo Iheanacho, a Surulere resident thinks that MTN's tariff is provoking, considering what obtains in other countries. He wonders why the South African telecom company should persistently charge high fees and exploitative tarrifs.
Abiola Ibrahim, a resident of Lekki, said MTN's service in the area has not been good enough. "In Lekki phase one, the network is not stable when compared with other networks. This makes people to switch to other networks. MTN claims that everywhere you go, you will enjoy their service, but to me it's the other way round. The funniest thing is that one would need to go out of one's room or climb up the building to receive or call at night at great inconvenience."
Ibrahim's complaint of poor service in Lekki may not be different from what obtains at the Agric area of Ikorodu. Although Tolu Akinrinade, a resident of the place, described MTN's service in the area as manageable, she also complained that "MTN sometimes connects to the wrong number and voucher loading is difficult". To Biliqis Otumbambo, who lives at Mushin, "MTN's services has not been too good of late except perhaps for the midnight calls." And, "as far as excellent quality service is concerned, there is still problem of poor voice transmission, service and connectivity." Tunde Olutoto lives in Ijebu Ode, and rates MTN's service in the area just above average, considering what it used to be. But that is inspite of the fact that " we experience a lot of drop calls now compared to before."
Newswatch's attempt to get the MTN management to respond to the complaints of its subscribers on poor service delivery was rebuffed. Andrew Okeleke, a staff of the company, who was contacted over the matter a forthnight ago, asked Newswatch to send an email so it could be forwarded to the appropriate authority. The magazine did, and even followed it up by sending reminders to that effect. But there was no reply at the point of going to press last week.
Reported by Oyinlola Rosiji .
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