Customer support is up there when it comes to the important things customers look for in an internet service. It’s perhaps the next thing after pricing that customers consider and often it is sorely lacking. Then there is also the fact that most customer support queries tend to be very routine questions that are asked repeatedly. TelOne’s Chommie, a WhatsApp bot is made for this.

Chommie means friend in South African slang and it’s a word young adult Zimbabweans have adopted to mean the same. In order to user Chommie TelOne customers have to save the number 0718 700 950 in their under the name TelOne Chommie and send a message to the bot. Something like Hi, to get the ball rolling.

So what kind of things can Chommie help you with? The chatbot which is available 24/7 can help you with routine tasks and is there to compliment human support and not replace it. The idea is that customers will only contact human support only when they cannot get Chommie to help them. Some of the tasks that Chommie can help with include:

Direct Regard of Accounts
PIN recharge
Account Balance enquiry
Conversion of balance to data bundles
Date transfer facility
Manage Your Account
Data usage history

Keen observers will note that you can already do these things online already but a lot of TelOne customers out there are not that techsavvy or are sometimes confused by how these things work. Having a friendly chatbot that can automate these tasks is a big plus. Then there is the fact that this can all be done on WhatsApp. Imagine if you run out of data and want to do a direct account recharge. Most people already have WhatsApp bundles on their phones so they can still access and use Chommie but not the rest of the internet.

Naturally, Chommie cannot answer every question although it’s a chatbot so it will get smarter the more it interacts with people. Whenever you have a question that requires human interaction you can always get in touch with TelOne directly by calling 950 or (024) 2700 950.