If you still have to call in to your provider’s customer care center, both you and your network are doing it wrong. Lengthy IVR menus, and long waiting queues, life’s too short for that. That’s why Vodafone Uganda has thoughtfully launched a mobile app where you can manage your account and also get support. More than that, the network provider has launched (wait for it) a Whatsapp alternative. Chat+ lets you make chat and make calls for free without data as long as both your friends are on the Vodafone network.
MyVodafone Mobile Self-care app
Many Vodafone subscribers have at one time accessed the MyVodafone self-care service on their browser. Consensus has been that the web service was hard to navigate, if at all people knew where to find it to begin with. In launching the MyVodafone app, Vodafone has strived to streamline most of their services into an app which, we might add, does not require internet to use. Perhaps we should emphasise that. The MyVodafone App does not require internet to use. That’s the first. Service apps by other telcos require an active internet connection for one to use them. The app takes away the need to memorise all those infuriating USSD codes when you wish to access Vodafone services such as checking and managing data usage. At click of a button, you can top up your airtime and data, monitor consumption, share data and chat with a customer care attendant in real time. Vodafone can also periodically extend personalised offers based on usage behaviour. The usual questions I would ask at this juncture are: Does it work? and Do I need it? Yes and yes is what I would tell you. If you indeed use Vodafone for, this app comes in handy. And who says you have to use an app daily for it to be on your phone?
Vodafone Chat+ App
This one is going to be a hard sell. The Play Store has chat apps left, right and center. Think WhatsApp, Messenger, Hangouts, Skype, Viber, Telegram, e.t.c These apps are really good and mass adoption has been down to luck for most of them. I know what you are thinking: What was Vodafone thinking! Another app! How do they honestly expect to compete with the likes of WhatsApp? Here’s the thing. Chat+ is not aiming to compete with WhatsApp. Nobody really can compete with WhatApp globally at the level they are at. What other apps do, in this instance is to offer a niche service that gives them relevance to their subscribers. And Vodafone has this already. It’s quite the bait really. If you have a Vodafone SIM, you will be able to chat and make voice calls (and group calls) through Chat+ free of charge. There’s a catch though. You need to have at least 1MB of data on your phone. Not so bad, wouldn’t you think? This way, users don’t leach on the telco and enjoy a free service for good minus remitting any cash. Also, file transfers, video calls and other features might (okay let’s admit it, they will) consume data. And yes. Video calls! The Chat+ app can be downloaded and used by non-Vodafone users although, they won’t be able to enjoy the free calls and chats. In that case it will be a normal chat app and they may or may not stick around. And there you have it. Vodafone’s pitch to entice you into downloading two more apps. Talk is cheap, but the question is, can Vodafone deliver? To borrow Vodafone’s catch phrase, Power to You. It’s you the end-user who has the power to make give these app due credence or to have them topple down and fdie a natural death. Use that power wisely. Download the MyVodafone app and Chat+ and check them out. You never know, they might prove useful. Featured Image: trustedreviews.com
