Skip to main content

Government officials will never ask you to transfer money or disclose bank log-in details over a phone call.

Call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if you are unsure if something is a scam

Ministry of Digital Development and Information
Parliament

MCI's response to PQ on customer service by telcos

6 May 2019

This article has been migrated from an earlier version of the site and may display formatting inconsistencies.

Parliament Sitting on 6 May 2019

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

1238. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Ministry is aware of the complaints of poor customer service by the Singapore telcos; and (b) what can the Ministry do to get the telcos to improve their phone helpdesk especially for the many elderly customers who have to be put on hold for long periods to speak to an officer.

Answer:

  1. The number of complaints received by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (“IMDA”) and the telecommunication companies (“telcos”) concerning poor customer service by telecos has shown a decreasing trend over the past five years. IMDA requires telcos to look into every complaint and see how they can serve their customers better.

  2. IMDA also tracks consumer satisfaction of telecommunication services through the Consumer Awareness and Satisfaction Survey (“CASS”). The 2018 CASS showed that consumers were generally satisfied with their telcos, and consumer satisfaction has improved in several areas, including hotline waiting times, the time taken to resolve complaints, and the competence of customer service officers. An April 2019 poll of non-English speaking individuals conducted by IMDA also found that respondents were generally satisfied with the customer service by telcos.

  3. To address the needs of elderly customers, several telcos now allow customers to make appointments for telcos to call them back, so they do not have to wait on the line for too long. In addition, when receiving calls on their hotlines, the telcos will arrange for elderly customers to be served by officers who can speak the same language or dialect.

Back to top