Samuel Dowuona writes: The new ECG app -inconvenience in your hands- a downgrade, not an upgrade

Every rational organization knows that when you have a technology for customer service and you bring a new version of that technology, it is supposed to be an upgraded/updated version. This means it is supposed to be more friendly, less complex and bring more convenience to the customer.

When the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) launched their new app, the tagline was “convenience in your hands.” I don’t know what insights led to the creation of the new app, whether they did any focus group discussion or some consumer sampling to determine what is convenient for us and what is not.

 But for whatever reason, they have taken away an App which I find more convenient, friendly and easy to use and have brought in a supposed updated version which is less convenient.

For instance, the old app had a feature that allowed the consumer to see and know his daily, weekly and monthly consumption and also see the current balance on the meter so you can know when to buy more power. The new and supposed upgraded App has no such feature. All you see is the power you bought. So if you buy GHS100 now, even after one month the App will say “METER BALANCE” ghs100, so you can’t tell how much you have consumed until you run out of power.

This SLOPPINESS is what ECG describes as CONVENIENCE IN YOUR HANDS. Very annoying. People come into office and they think they must necessarily waste state funds to do something new just to put money into the pockets of their cronies and also get their kickbacks; otherwise, why would the current management replace a more convenient app with this sloppy one and put such a big tag as “convenience in your hands” on it?

I made a call to ECG customer service a few minutes ago on 030 261 1611, and a lady picked the call. I asked her why they have cancelled the feature that allowed us to see our consumption and current power level; she said their technicians are working VERY HARD to install that feature.

I asked myself, what is there to work hard on? The feature was there already, so if you were doing an upgrade, you add on to it and make life even more convenient for customers. You don’t take away the convenience, launch the new App in its complex and inconvenient state and then turn round and tell us you are now working hard to install that feature.

This is why things don’t really move forward in Ghana. New leadership never builds on what their predecessors have done – they will always destroy what they came to meet and build their own. In the process they inconvenience us the consumers, waste state funds and get to create, loot and share with their cronies.

Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) must take on ECG and give them deadlines to restore that feature. That is the only way ECG can claim that their App is” Convenience in our hands”. Until then, the new ECG app is a sloppy version of their old one.

Samuel Dowuona

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