No one understands customer service more than customer-facing agents who ensure that every call ends with a satisfied customer. 

It is customer service that has placed the most admired brand – MTC – on the podium. 

A company brand is synonymous with reputation – and when it comes to this, Martinu Ndala best understands his role as a call centre agent and among the MTC Spectra helpdesk support team.

For any aspiring call centre agent, this career is known to be very demanding, but also extremely rewarding, as it is an environment where learning does not stop; one is faced with different obstacles and challenges every day. 

The young professional’s journey at MTC started in 2019 as an inbound call centre agent and got promoted to outbound support in 2020 before joining the Spectra team. 

“It has been a continuous learning journey. I have gained a lot of experience from being part of the Spectra team and call centre. It is never a guaranteed smooth journey, but one has to experience all the quality and uniqueness of being in a call centre. 

“It can be stressful at times – but at the end of the day, as long as the customer smiles and has their issue resolved, we should be fine for the next call,” said Ndala. 

Required of call centre agents is a 360-degree orientation of the company’s products and services. 

For Ndala, this makes work easier because one cannot advise a customer on an issue they do not know themselves. 

Ndala has a Radwin certificate, something he took on out of curiosity, but it has helped him along the way.

“I now know the colour coding of connectors, and Huawei routers are my playground. I basically have been equipped with the playbook for customer service throughout my time at MTC. The company has endless opportunities – and while you can take a horse to the river, it is surely true that you cannot force it to drink,” he said. 

As a Spectra and Data agent, Ndala’s job is to ensure fibre and Netman clients’ networks are up and running. 

When these clients experience difficulties, it is his job to ensure their connection is up and running within 30 minutes from the time the complaint is raised. 

Highlighting what he loves most about his job, he said: 

“Technically, the callout. Just going that extra mile to a client’s premises to ensure their internet connection is up and running gives me joy. I love being a data agent, as it provides and equips me with new knowledge continuously. You are put on your toes to always need to think. 

“The part where I also get to test out new equipment – it’s like a kid in a candy shop – is the excitement of opening a new router and testing it out to its best capabilities; it also brings joy and love to me, knowing very well if I slack, clients will not get the best equipment for their internet.”

According to Ndala, experience means everything, and customer service is an experience. 

The telco, with arguably the biggest call centre in the country, prioritises training on customer service for its agents with the ethos of offering the best experience in the industry. 

“The MTC customer is literally everywhere. They are in a taxi, at home, at school and in public places, so your game always has to be on. The best part is that it’s a continuous learning journey, and we are lucky to have a customer base that is always looking forward to new innovations, and they are not shy to teach you,” said Ndala. 

Not all are roses and flowers, though: “Nothing beats you down when you are explaining something and the client starts insulting you. It throws you off completely. But because we also get emotional intelligence and customer service training, we know how to handle such situations.” 

The number one requirement to make it in the customer service industry is empathy, which Ndala described as “an important quality of a successful call centre agent”.

“A warm and friendly approach will go a long way to developing a good rapport with a caller. An agent must be able to convey a genuine understanding of a customer’s concern and ensure they are being heard. The rest will follow once you have empathy”. 

In addition to empathy, Ndala said being patient and providing feedback adds up to what makes a good call centre agent.

 “Always follow up with clients and provide constant feedback to clients, as this goes a long way in building strong relationships. Bad feedback is also feedback provided,” he said while highlighting that honesty also plays a huge role.