The state of internet provision in Malaysia is an ongoing hot topic. Broadband penetration rate is low,bandwidth is slow and cost per megabyte speed is higher than other countries in the region. The adoption of the internet in Malaysia however is a crucial element in its next phase of economic growth. The government is banking on the High Speed Broadband project, which is the flagship of the National Broadband Initiative, to help Malaysia catch up with advanced countries such as Japan, Korea and Singapore, which have offered high speed broadband at relatively low prices for the past several years.
Internet provision in Malaysia is increasingly competitive as the number of service providers increases. In the last 12 months, prices have dropped significantly, which is great for customers. However, one issue upon which there is a deadly silence amidst all the bellowing of lower prices by internet service providers is the issue of customer satisfaction.
None of the internet providers is touting customer satisfaction as their strongpoint. However, the poor quality of internet provision in Malaysia is the topic of choice for customers. Forums, webpage, blogs, clever youtube ads (you will have to patient while it downloads) on the topic can be found if you search the internet. Ask anyone in Malaysia today and you will be hard pressed to find someone having anything good to say about any of the internet providers.
One person complemented a provider as being “best among the worse”!
I must declare an interest here in that I am an unhappy customer. I was a subscriber of mobile broadband for over a year. When it works, it’s great. But you’ve got to get your downloads done by 10 a.m. because it slows to a crawl after! I’ve got the customer service line on speed dial on my phone. I call and diagnose the problem for them because disconnection happens on a regular basis and it is a technical fault on their side. During the year as a subscriber, I’ve had many surprises that I was never told about when I signed up.
For example, no one told me of monthly capping and bandwidth throttling. And last week, when I decided to cancel my subscription, I was told I couldn’t cancel over the phone but had to go to a customer service centre and to bring along the USB modem. When I finally got to the customer service centre, they asked me if I brought the box and a cable which came with the USB modem. I said, I was not asked to do so. He replied that he would have to charge me RM60! I protested but he said “It’s in the fine print”. Oh yes, Malaysian internet users are also familiar with other fine print such as “Best effort” and “Expected Speed”. We’re tired of being ripped off.
So do providers take customer engagement and complaints seriously? Where do consumers sit as part of their CSR strategy? A review of disclosure by the top three internet providers in Malaysia finds that all three tout community investment, human capital and nation building as core to their CSR initiatives.
Customers however do not seem to be high on their agenda judging by the lack of disclosure in this area.
The country’s largest internet provider understands that customers are one of its most important stakeholders. On its website, under CSR marketplace initiatives, the company states it has a special focus group, customer advisory panel, customer satisfaction survey, and online feedback. Its annual report states that the company conducts a face to face survey every quarter, based on which it calculates its customer satisfaction index, which is one of the Group’s major Key Performance Indicator. It is even “committed to spending at least 5% of revenue per annum for improvement in quality of customer experience”.
These are all great initiatives and I applaud them. However, nowhere in their Annual Report or website do they disclose what the current level of customer satisfaction is, how has this varied over the years, what their KPIs are, and areas of complaints and initiatives that will lead to “service excellence and operational efficiencies to continually enrich their lifestyles and experiences”.
The other two providers are relatively new internet providers with a strong mobile phone customer base. One emphasises their “Excellent Customer Experience” and highlights the number of customers switching over soon after the introduction of the mobile portability number as a sign of the markets confidence in its customer service. The other company recently listed on the stock exchange. It has a very strong community investment initiative, but does not include customer satisfaction as part of its stated corporate responsibility initiatives.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database provides a benchmark of CSR disclosure by telecommunication companies. Companies such as British Telecom and Telecom Italia have customer satisfaction and experience at the core of their CSR strategy. They disclose their targets and performance in relation to customer service, access to service, and service quality in clear and transparent manner. It informs investors and customers areas where there are issues and targets for improvement. The GRI is developing a telecommunication sector supplement which is currently at a pilot stage.
Why should Malaysia’s internet providers care about what customers think? It’s simple. Prices of broadband will reach a saturation point where internet providers will be charging approximately the same price. To differentiate from others in a crowded market, internet providers will have to focus on improving and disclose quality of service. On this front, internet providers are clearly behind as consumers are already clamouring for this. Internet providers who can back up the quality of their service with facts and data to show how they are improving users experience will be prepared to battle on this front and gain larger market share.
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