Vodafone Ghana has reassured customers of its unflinching commitment to protect and respect the rights of its consumers.

The telecom celebrated the 2022 World Consumer Rights Day event in partnership with the Ghana Chamber of Communications at Kejetia-Pampaso, Kumasi.

Speaking on a panel as part of the celebration, the Head of Regulatory and Compliance at Vodafone Ghana, Ernest Osei-Poku highlighted some initiatives from Vodafone Ghana as well as the telecoms industry in general, aimed at providing superior customer service that protects and respects the rights of customers.

Commenting on respect for customers and their rights, Mr Osei-Poku rehashed Vodafone Ghana’s commitment to protect customer rights and privacy while providing them with optimal network quality and exceptional value propositions.

For this reason, Vodafone continues to invest in technology and tools that empower its workforce to provide quick and improved customer service.

“We receive about 400,000 calls a month. Even if you assume that half of that number are complaints, that equates to 200,000 complaints in total. While the industry is relatively mature, certain aspects are still developing. One of the ways in which we’re working to improve our customers' experience is by introducing digital tools that give them much more power and independence to address many of the issues they call us about.”

Vodafone is well-known for consistently innovating new ways to improve customer experience. A recent example is the addition of self-reversal, a new option on the Vodafone Cash menu *110# that enables consumers to quickly reclaim money transferred to another Vodafone in error.

According to Mr Osei-Poku, initiatives such as the ongoing SIM registration exercise and the use of the National Identification System for biometric identity verification have, for the first time in the industry, making it possible to legitimately confirm the identity of subscribers.

This ultimately serves to protect them from fraudsters and curb SIM boxing activities.

“In line with our commitment to building a digital society that improves people’s lives, we are leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to transform our customers’ experiences and enhance the efficiency of our operations. We have a host of digital platforms, which include a machine learning chatbot and a self-service app,” he added.

The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the telecommunication industry to augment their customer services with digital tools, maximising the protection and respect of customer rights.

The 2022 World Consumer Rights Day was held under the theme "Fair Digital Finance" in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and other telecommunication networks to educate and inform traders and commuters of their rights and responsibilities as customers of telecommunication services.