Telkomsel quietly released MyTelkomsel app on the App Store, BlackBerry World, and Google Play in late May which lets customers check and reload their credit balance, purchase data packages, be informed of their data usage, and manage billing details for post paid customers. While the app is available on BlackBerry World, currently it’s not meant for BlackBerry 10 customers.
As with all other mobile carriers, Telkomsel actually has many of this customer information and account management service available through SMS short code access but with the increase in smartphone adoption and app-oriented information terminals, the company has finally realized that providing an app for those functions would actually enhance customer satisfaction, not to mention making it easier for people to be informed and make the necessary changes if required.
The app provides Telkomsel customers immediate information on their mobile phone accounts such as their phone number, validity period, credit balance, maximum speed of data connection and usage meter. Both pre-paid and post-paid customers can also select and purchase specific usage plans directly from within the app which makes the process easier to follow than through SMS short code access as information about each package are also available fro the app.
In addition, the app also provides addresses and map references for Telkomsel’s Grapari service centers across the country as well as promotional offers and notifications. The app also allows account management of up to four mobile phone numbers which makes it easy for families with multiple Telkomsel numbers as they can all be managed through just one app.
To access the app, Telkomsel subscribers will need a password which will be given via SMS by dialing *323# from their Telkomsel numbers. The app works not just on Telkomsel numbers but also on other carriers and over WiFi with no cellular connection, all you have to do is enter your Telkomsel number and your password. For some reason however, the authentication server doesn’t seem to be working properly which means the app will request a new password each time it’s launched. A cumbersome process which could have been avoided prior to launch, and a source of many complaints about the app on the application stores.
While the app provides a convenient service for Telkomsel’s customers, the app still requires a bucket of improvements as access and response times are still erratic and there’s an occasional error when displaying customer information, not to mention having a very rudimentary interface and incomplete information for certain usage packages. The app should also have a password option to protect changes from people who should not have access to it.
Overall, while the features and functions of MyTelkomsel are clearly designed and included to deliver a better customer experience from the country’s largest and most popular mobile network provider, the app seems to be a work in progress and several of the issues should have been detected through internal testing before making it available for public.
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