JEDDAH, 23 October 2004 — With the UAE’s telecom giant Etisalat entering the Saudi market, many Saudis are believed to be ready to switch over to the new company, a study shows.
Hashim Al-Emam, a Saudi university student, said, “I cannot wait for the new company to start its service. It is too late for STC to improve its image after years of disrespect to its customers. Many of my friends are going to switch as a mark of revenge against STC. If you think STC was performing very well in the past, then see how many people would switch to the new company when it starts.”
Ghazi Abdulsalam had different opinion. He said, “I think we as Saudis should stay with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) because it is a Saudi company employing Saudi people. I do not think about switching because I know it would harm our national economy.” The monopoly of STC will end when the new Etisalat company starts its services and customers will finally have to choose between the two companies. It is known that seven out of ten people would switch to the new company for various reasons. Ibraheem Al-Sayed, a Saudi high school teacher, said, “I have previous experience with the new Etisalat company when I was in the UAE. The company treats people with respect and loyalty. There is no doubt that I will throw my STC chip in the garbage and switch to the new company. I cannot find a simply logical reason why I should stick to STC after all the bad treatment I have received from them in the past”.
Mukhtar Al-Shibani, a Saudi architect and businessman, said, “When STC first announced the addition of a new digit to the cell phone number, I thought it was forced on us as consumers. I understand their reasons to expand the range of numbers to 100 million. What I cannot understand is, didn’t they know that there would be 10 million customers in the future and the nine digit numbers will not be enough? This tells you about the kind of market study they have done. When I decided to switch my number from 050 to 055, STC completely erased my old number and STC did not have an automatic answering service for customers who switched to 055. As they completely erased the old number I lost some business because my contacts abroad could not get in touch with me. When I called STC, they told me that it is my responsibility to inform people in my list about the change in number. I think this is totally unprofessional.”
Ghazi Abdulsalam, who works in Al-Rajhi bank, said, “Saudi people should support their national economy. I think we, as Saudis should stay with STC because it is a Saudi company employing Saudi people. I am not thinking of switching because I know it would harm our national economy. I know the STC made a lot of mistakes in the past but it is because it was a new company at that time with little experience. STC is now improving and we see an upward shift toward a better service. Recently STC introduced new discounts, which is good. I think the company deserves another chance.”
Batool Ahmad, a Saudi female university student, said, “I am going to switch to the new company when it starts its service here.
