ABUJA - Dr Osita Ogbu, Former Adviser to the President on Economy, has tasked GSM operators to focus on satisfying the consumer instead of making revenue derivation their main objective.
Ogbu told newsmen at the 5th Anniversary of the Telecommunications Consumer Parliament (TCP) in Abuja, organised by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) that every good business should be aimed at consumer/customer satisfaction.
“Any successful company must be consumer driven, many Nigerians believe that GSM operators are mostly focused on how best to improve their revenue other than quality of service.
“There is need for us as operators to change our decision and focus on consumer centricity as a way forward in the industry,” he said.
Speaking on the topic “Consumer sovereignty and consumer centricity in telecoms services provision in Nigeria: Regulatory supremacy verses self control’’ Ogbu said consumers needed to educated and properly informed on the modus operandi of the communication sector.
He said lack of information and education on telecommunication had rendered many Nigerian consumers helpless and so are victims of shoddy deals.
According to him, Consumers rarely asked questions even when they were shortchanged adding that the agitation for a strong regulatory body was as a result of inadequate information to consumers among other things.
He added that to ensure consumer sovereignty, the regulatory body should dictate what happens in the market and act on behalf of the society.
Ogbu said that to achieve consumer satisfaction, there must also be trust and verification by government to check the regulatory body.
He, therefore, suggested that for quality of service to be improved by the service providers in Nigeria, NCC should strive to achieve “Number portability” which it launched last year.
“This is a feature in the industry that will bring all operators together since it enables subscribers to access different networks using one number (line).
“It will enhance a lot of development and equally balance pathways to hold consumers and determine success,” he said.
This project, he said, would also expose operators whose goals were not geared towards ensuring that consumers got the best service.
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