Telkom is expanding its network of consumer touchpoints with the roll-out of a fleet of customer-service vans, providing a range of services across South Africa, in a disruptive retail innovation.
As part of the Telkom commitment to constantly improving customer engagement within communities, this festive season will see the deployment of six Telkom T-Connect vans. These vehicles will bring digital services to events, beachfronts, office parks and gated communities in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
Locally manufactured by South African company MellowVans, the electric vehicles are driven by previously unemployed youths who earn commissions from sales and sign-ups. All drivers are accredited by Delivery K Speed a BEE township delivery partner.
We are proud to enable our customers to connect and transact with Telkom through the roll-out of this fleet of T-Connect vans. This is part of Telkom’s disruptive distribution strategy, which is all about bringing customers better connectivity in brand-new ways!
Itumeleng Phetlho, Managing Executive: CSB Sales & Distribution, Telkom
By scanning the embedded QR codes on the T-Connect fleet, customers can now pay accounts, order products for delivery through Telkom’s e-commerce site and sign up for digital services, including fibre to the home. All these transactions are operating on a cashless platform and offers users zero rated services.
The T-Connect vans are currently in the proof-of-concept phase, but it is anticipated that more will be rolled out in the coming year, reaching even more customers.
These T-Connect vans – the first of their kind – will be bringing digital solutions to points that are both accessible and convenient for customers. Besides providing a customer service, the T-Connect vans also give us insights into customer usage and demand, which will shape the future development of our products and services.
Itumeleng Phetlho, Managing Executive: CSB Sales & Distribution, Telkom
Over and above enhancing the Telkom value proposition, all services delivered from the vans are zero-rated, meaning that no customer data is required for them to top up data, access the e-commerce site, connect to the account payment portal or sign up for any Telkom digital services.
A further part of the Telkom disruptive-distribution drive to bring services to the people of South Africa will be the launch of the flagship Telkom “store of the future” on 14 December in Pretoria, Menlyn Shopping Centre.