Globe tests local language as VisMin market’s come-on

Thursday, February 23, 2012

TO BETTER serve the growing Visayas-Mindanao market, Globe Telecom yesterday launched its Cebu-based Visayan customer service, the first trilingual customer service to provide Visayan language option to subscribers.

In a press briefing at the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, Joe Caliro, head of Globe’s customer experience, said this new customer service from Globe will allow Globe subscribers to communicate easily in their language of choice.

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“We can best explain our concerns and needs when we are using the language we are comfortable with,” Caliro said.

Globe’s customer service has evolved from being standardized and specialized to personalized. “Now with Globe’s trilingual customer service, subscribers can now choose which language to use,” he said.

Partnership

According to Globe, the Visayan language is the second most-widely spoken in the country, with over 20 million Filipinos speaking the language in various provinces and cities in the VisMin area.

Globe Senior Adviser for Consumer Business Peter Bithos reported a strong subscriber take up in the Visayas with revenue growth at seven percent year-on-year and a subscriber growth of 18 percent year-on-year.

“Visayas is a significant market for Cebu,” Bithos said, referring to the city’s vibrant local economy, strong consumer spending, and business and tourism destinations.

Globe has tapped Aegis People Support for this Visayan customer service. Initially, Aegis will have 50 call center agents that will address customer needs and concerns.

In the event of an increased requirement from Globe, Aegis People Support (Philippines) president Bong Borja said they will be hiring call center agents who are native Visayan speakers and can handle good customer relations.

“The use of local language really matters. It demonstrates commitment that you really want to converse or communicate the way your clients want,” Borja said.

Globe said with the launch of this language option, Visayan-speaking customers will now have access to Globe/Touch Mobile sales and after-sales services through a Visayan Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).

By following the self-service IVRS voice prompts (in Visayan) callers are directed to a Visayan-speaking customer service representative based in Cebu.

$790M capex

Visayan-speaking customers can inquire about any Globe mobile, landline or broadband services for sales, care, or technical concerns.

This new customer service is on top of the existing customer hotlines launched by Globe such as Talk2Globe Hotline, where subscribers can call, chat or text their inquiries;and *143#, an-easy-to-use-quick-service menu that allows subscribers to access the latest information on Globe promos.

Globe has allotted some $790 million in capital expenditure for network and IT transformation.

Globe will also be putting up 45-50 concept stores nationwide.

“There should be more concept stores for Cebu with the opening of new malls here,” said Globe president and chief executive officer Ernest Cu.

Strong results

Globe closed 2011 with an all-time high service revenue of P67.8 billion, nine percent higher than P62 billion recorded in 2010.

This was propelled by the strong results across its postpaid and prepaid brands and the continued double-digit growth of its broadband business.

Globe recorded 30 million mobile phone subscribers last year, 13 percent higher than the 26.5 million subscribers recorded in 2010. Its broadband subscribers meanwhile reached 1.4 million in 2011 higher than 1.1 million it recorded a year ago.

“We had a quite strong growth momentum last year, despite the changes in the telco industry,” Cu said.