Thursday, April 12, 2007 Call center to cater to OFW dependents
THE need for dependents of overseas Filipino workers to communicate with their loved ones abroad encouraged a local businessman to introduce to Cebu a low-cost calling service.
“Around 32 million Filipinos don’t have ways to cheapest communication,” Edward Lim, iNTouch chief executive officer and managing director, said.
Lim, who launched the Next Generation Voice over Internet Protocol three years ago, said that even with the introduction of the service, only a few have seen its potential due to problems on computer availability and Internet access.
Abroad
But through iNTouch Calling Club, members who intend to get in touch with their families abroad will only have to call the iNTouch call center from any phone line and agents will connect their calls anywhere abroad.
In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Lim also introduced its callback service, which he considers “a first of its kind.”
“If you have a cell phone, you register your number and text us what number abroad you want to call. The operator will call you back, put you on hold as he connects your call,” Lim said.
He said the service is affordable since the company charges P1.80 per minute on international direct dial (IDD) calls. A P10 callback fee is charged on top of the IDD call.
“You save a lot, considering that IDD calls to the US cost P20 to P24 per minute,” Lim said.
Potential members have four modes of payments to choose from.
The monthly rate is at P550 with 120 free minutes, quarterly rate is at P1,200 and the semi-annual rate is at P1,800 both with free 300 minutes of airtime usage. The annual rate is at P3,000 with free calls for 600 minutes.
Upon signing the application form in either the reseller or directly from the company, members will then receive their identification card (ID).
“To protect our members, calls will only be entertained once we have verified their membership ID,” Lim added.
Reload
With a minimum of $10, members can also contact the call center for a reload once they have consumed their free airtime usage.
“They can either call their reseller, deposit it to the bank, or text us if they want to reload,” Lim said.
The call center operates from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.
It services countries like Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA, among others.
Lim added potential resellers can avail themselves of the product through a minimum investment capital of P10,000, which includes several incentives. (MMM)
