While MTN’s operations in Nigeria and the Middle East are printing money like there’s no tomorrow their local operations are taking a fairly hefty pounding. Faced with a lowered interconnect rate as well as retrenchments and the loss of over seven hundred and fifty thousand customers, things seem fairly bleak.
Every year, the Vodacom and MTN summer advertising campaigns launch and fight for domination of consumer spending. This year, MTN is fighting back on its loss of revenue by pushing their latest marketing genius, the “Ayoba” campaign. From what I’m told, “Ayoba” doesn’t have a direct translation but basically means “cool”, “hip” or “just generally great”.
The radio campaign (which is played so often it makes you sick to listen to the radio) basically entails a fairly fabulous man answering calls on the “MTN Ayobaness hotline” to which people phone in with stupid queries of whether their totally ridiculous requirement is Ayoba or not. The simple fact of the matter is that while these adverts are absolutely horrible, lack any entertainment and frankly are lies. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of phoning an MTN call-center you’d have an experience similar to the following:
First of all you get bounced around through an IVR system where you’ll have to put your cellphone number in while also choosing from around three menu’s that have nothing to do with your actual query. Eventually, you’ll get an operator after a while.
Caller: I need help with my cellphone/datacard isn’t working
MTN: Sorry, you’re in the wrong department. I’ll transfer you to the right one (this will add another 30 seconds onto your call. Round about now your cellphone is heated to a temperature similar to the face of the sun.)
IVR: This call is being recorded for quality purposes (really?)
MTN 2: *bzzz* *garble* *hummm*
Caller: Sorry, I can’t hear you. What did you say?
MTN 2: What is your cellphone number for our records?
Caller: I’ve already put my number in though? Anyway, can you help me with my cellphone/datacard?
MTN 2: No sorry, you’ll have to call your service provider.
Now considering you’ve waited for around twenty minutes all to be told your service provider is the only one who can help you is enough to make you take the leap to another cell provider.
Here’s the thing, MTN is spending gazillions on what I’d call an absolutely shocking and annoying advertising campaign while at the same time their service levels continue to drop. Between expensive call and SMS rates, dropped calls and poor call centers MTN isn’t exactly Ayoba.
Do us all a favour, drop the campaign and make sure Vodacom’s Mo the Meerkat remains the worst cell advert in South African history.
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Ayobanesss…….
It is not only MTN that diverts you to various departments as going on a mouse hunt in a dark labyrinth. Then only to be told some crappy story just before the call ends in frustration and failure and poverty. I personally think they get richer by the second just by screwing us around on these so call “Help Desks”. I have experienced the same sort of service with Vodacom and the worst is Telkom. My god, I think Telkom has at least 50 departments of which none know of the other. Just a simple task becomes impossible for them. How do these people get measured? Is it on the volume of calls a day or is it based on success rate of each call? Service delivery in the country is going down the tubes!! How awesome would it be if I get something resolved by the people that supply the service?