General News
The Pains of Operators’ Contact Centres
Last week was observed by corporate organizations as customers’ week. The week is used to celebrate customers of any organization.
In the country, apart from some banks that placed advert in the national dailies to acknowledge and express the importance of customers to the success of their business, no other sector did anything to either improve their customer experience or appreciated them.
One expected that telecommunications operators would have used the week to improve or excite their customers, not through promos but through effective customer experience at both call centres and customer care outlets.
The story of pains at call centres of all the operators’ call centres have not changed.
Few weeks back Sola Salako a columnist with Punch newspaper published an article she titled ‘MTN, where is my N3, 000 credit’. That report and MTN response to it exposed the pain that subscribers undergo in the hands of inexperienced call centres attendants.
More so, customer feedback channels provided by operators are not effective, when emails are sent on complaints, it is hardly responded to and call centres lines are so complex that one hardly gets any issue resolved as they are not meant to talk to humans.
The consumers of telecom products and services have many desires expected to be met. They want services available at all times and at every place.
The consumer wants the services to be of a good quality and affordable.
The consumer wants the operator to respond at all times when he or she needs attention, and to provide explanations whenever anything goes wrong.
The consumer wants to be protected at all times from being taken advantages of by service providers.
Just like consumers of any other services, the consumer of telecom services wants to be well treated.
The important aspect of all this rests on the preparedness of contact call centre attendants saddle with the responsibility of taking care of their customers.
The telecom industry no longer talks only about customer service instead; it is addressing the broader topic of the customer experience, which includes not just the conversation between customer service representatives and customers when something goes wrong, but the full range of customer contact from when a service is ordered to when it is delivered.
Telecommunications operators have two basic ways to attend to subscribers’ complaint on its network.
They establish customer care shops, which are centres designated for solving subscribers complaint that require them to bring either their phone or computer as the case may be in internet service physically to the shop for the problem to be resolved.
Products of such network operator are also sold at customer care centres. Another way through which complaints of subscribers are addressed by operators is through customer service contact centres. A customer service contact centre is a department in the operations of the network that addresses complaints through voice or email to a toll free line of the network.
Addressing Complaints
Having a functional customer care shop and contact centre is one leg of effort by operators to take care of subscribers, while training and monitoring of those working in these departments are another leg which to many, is the most important in customer service delivery.
A visit to some telecommunications operators’ customer care shops will explain the need for those workings at such centres who act as interface between the company and their subscribers to be well trained both in understanding the services being rendered by the operating company as well as the manner of treating customers.
Some of the ‘so called’ trained staff at most customer care centres of greater percentage of operators lack the required technical knowledge of some product at offer to talk of solving some problems that are brought to them.
This writer had issues with his data service of one of the Global System for mobile communications (GSM) operators, he called the customers service centre and the attendant that spoke to him after holding him on for 25 minutes could not resolve the issue but directed him to any customer care centre around his area.
When I got to the customer care shop, behold the problem was resolved through recharging the phone with any amount of airtime above N100.
Another subscriber that spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, narrated how he was unruly treated at a customer care shop of a telecommunications operator, when he went for a welcome back pack at the shop.
He was meant to stay two and half hours longer at the shop because he vehemently scolded the attendant at the shop.
These are few instances of pains that subscribes go through in the hands of unqualified customer care attendants at customer service centers of telecommunications operators.
The most worrisome of the woes of customers of most telecommunications service provider is their inability to resolve issues through their customer contact centres. A dial to most operators’ call centre especially for pre-paid customers will prove how inefficient they are. The Interactive Voice Response system you will be linked to will give you different options including talking to customer representative by dialing 0. When the subscriber dial 0 as requested the system will continue playing an endless music or advert jingle of the operator endless.
In spite of the ongoing competition in call tariff aimed at encouraging subscribers to sign-on to operator’s network, there should be concerted effort by all operators to make customer care service an experience one.
Federal Government is increasing collaborations with China to digitalise Nigeria Customs Service operations. This past weekend, NCS strengthened its cooperation efforts through a high-level engagement with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC).
The meeting, held in Beijing, China, brought together senior officers of the customs service and top officials from the GACC to explore bilateral knowledge exchange and capacity development in customs administration.
Abdullahi Maiwada, NCS Assistant Comptroller of Customs said that discussions were held with officials from the GACC International Cooperation Division, the Training and Education Centre and representatives of the Shanghai Customs College.
“The engagement focused on deepening cooperation in customs training methodologies, modernisation models and technology-driven solutions, especially as China plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s international trade network,” said Maiwada.
He added that during the meeting, the Chinese customs authorities shared their structured training system, which incorporates virtual reality, 5G-enabled systems, and blended e-learning approaches. In 2024, GACC conducted over 8 000 physical training sessions and developed 360 online courses.
Discussions also highlighted Nigeria’s active participation in China-led customs development initiatives, with over 200 African customs officers, including 89 from Nigeria, having received training since 2023 across various areas, such as trade facilitation, anti-smuggling enforcement, food safety supervision and digital port operations.
The bilateral dialogue between the two customs agencies also heralded new areas of collaboration, including Nigeria’s participation in upcoming Customs Modernisation Courses and officer development training at the Shanghai Customs College.
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has announced a $16.5 billion chip supply agreement with Samsung Electronics, a move expected to revive the South Korean company’s struggling foundry business.
The deal will see Samsung’s new chip factory in Taylor, Texas, manufacture Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip.
Musk revealed that Tesla will help optimise production at the plant, located near his home, adding, “I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress.”
“The $16.5B figure is just the minimum — actual output will likely be several times higher,” Musk said in a post on X.
Samsung’s shares surged 6.8% to their highest level since September 2024 following the announcement, while Tesla stock gained 1.9% in premarket trading.
According to analysts, the Taylor facility previously struggled to attract major clients. The Tesla order marks a significant breakthrough, especially after reports in October 2024 revealed Samsung had delayed equipment deliveries due to a lack of customers.
Samsung currently produces Tesla’s AI4 chips for its Full Self-Driving system. While TSMC is set to make the AI5 chips, Samsung has now secured the more advanced AI6.
Though no specific timeline was shared, AI6 production is expected to begin in 2027 or 2028. Musk previously stated AI5 chips would be ready by late 2026.
Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, is working to expand its contract manufacturing business, which currently holds just 8% of the global market — far behind TSMC’s 67%.
The chip deal, running through 2033, had been initially announced without naming Tesla as the client. However, multiple sources confirmed the U.S. automaker as the buyer.
The partnership comes as Samsung faces intense pressure to compete in the booming AI chip sector. Earlier this month, the company projected a 56% drop in Q2 operating profit, with foundry losses exceeding $3.6 billion in the first half of the year.
Industry analysts say this deal could help reverse Samsung’s fortunes, offering a much-needed win in its race to stay competitive in a capital-intensive and technologically demanding field.
The newly enacted Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, has empowered the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), renamed Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), to impose fines for individuals and companies for failing to register, file returns, use tax technology, or disclose basic information like a change of business address.
The Act is among the tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu on June 26.
The tax administration law is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026, under a renamed agency — the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), currently known as the FIRS.
The Act, which is an updated version of previous fragmented tax enforcement provisions, outlines a comprehensive list of offences and corresponding penalties, with fines ranging from N10,000 to N10 million, as well as prison terms of up to 10 years for serious breaches.
Under the general offences and penalties section of the law, a taxable person who fails to register with the relevant tax authority is liable to a N50,000 fine in the first month and N25,000 for each subsequent month of default.
The Act stressed that companies that award contracts to unregistered vendors will face a N5 million penalty.
The law also imposes a N100,000 fine for failure to file tax returns, plus N50,000 monthly for as long as the failure continues.
“A taxable person who fails or refuses to file returns or knowingly files incomplete or inaccurate returns to the relevant tax authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty of (a) 100,000 in the first month in which the failure occurs; and (b) N50,000 for each subsequent month in which the failure continues,” the Act reads.
“A taxable person who Failure to books (a) fails to keep accounts, books and records of business transactions and income, to allow for the correct ascertainment of tax and filing of returns to the relevant tax authority; or (b) upon request by the relevant tax authority, fails to provide any record or book prescribed in this Act shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty of- (i) in the case of a person other than a company, N10,000, and (ii) in the case of a company, N50,000.”
Also, the law states that failure to notify the tax authority of a change of address within 30 days of such change, giving a wrong address, or failing to comply with the requirement for notification of permanent cessation of trade or business under the relevant tax laws shall be liable to an administrative penalty.
“A taxable person who fails to notify the relevant tax authority – Failure to notify change of address (a) N100,000 for the first month in which the failure occurs; and (b) 45,000 for each subsequent month failure persists,” the law reads.
In a bid to modernise tax compliance, the Act makes it compulsory for businesses to allow the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to deploy fiscalisation technology or face a N1 million fine for the first day of refusal and N10,000 for each day after.
Any business that fails to process sales through the fiscalisation system will also be fined N200,000, pay 100 percent of the tax due, and accrue interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy rate.
The Act is especially punitive toward those who fail to deduct or remit taxes.
“A person that deducts, collects, or withholds any tax under this Act, and fails to remit the amount deducted, collected, or withheld by the 21st day of the month immediately succeeding the month in which the amount was deducted, collected, or withheld, is liable to pay,” it added.
“Failure to remit tax deducted source or self-account (a) the amount deducted, collected or withheld but not remitted; (b) an administrative penalty of 10% per annum of the tax deducted, collected or withheld but not remitted; and (c) interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria monetary policy rate. “A person convicted of any of the offences under this section shall be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine of not less than the principal amount due plus a penalty of not more than 50% of the sum, or both.
“A person who (a) fails to comply with the requirements of a notice served under this Act or any other tax law; (b) fails to attend or provide answers to a notice, summons or process served under this Act or any other tax law; or (c) having attended, fails to answer any question lawfully put to him, is liable to an administrative penalty of N100,000 in the first day of default and N10,000 for every subsequent day where the default.”
FG Asks Banks to Report Individuals with N25m Monthly Transactions to FIRS
NIBSS: Active Bank Accounts in Nigeria Hit 320m
FG Collaborates with China to Digitalize Customs
Glo Boosts Network Capacity for Enhanced Customer Experience
InfraCredit, AMDA Sign Partnership to Unlock Local Financing for Africa’s Mini-grid Sector
E-Business2 days agoHuawei Unveils AI Computing System to Challenge Nvidia’s Flagship Product
E-Financial2 days agoUnion Bank Rewards Customers with ₦5 Million Each in Save and Win Palli Promo Season 4 Grand Finale
E-Financial2 days agoEdun, Finance Minister Inaugurates NDIC New Management
General News2 days agoNew Tax Law Empowers NRS to Fine Offenders up to N10m
News2 days agoLawyers Drags NLS to Court for Alleged Election Fraud, Data Violation
Broadcasting2 days agoCourt Upholds AVRS Legal Rights to Licence Audiovisual Works in Hotels
Telecom2 days agoNASENI, Nigerian Air Force Renew Strategic Partnership to Drive Indigenous Defense Technologies
General News2 days agoTaskforce Arrests Six for over Fake Lottery Scam