If you’re keen on freebies from your mobile network, Econet has one for you. The mobile operator is running a promotion that offers subscribers 1 free minute between the hours of 5 am and 8 am everyday.
All you need is balance of 50 cents or more in your phone -of course there had to be a catch. According to the ad campaign,
One free minute is more than enough to say Livuke Njani, Mangwanani or Good Morning!
This idea is all about pushing voice services, the one area that has always been very profitable for telecoms (it still brings home most of the bacon) but is now giving Econet and every other operator challenges because of its decline.
Perhaps the hope is your morning call lasts more than one minute and then Econet can get you to use more than what you got for free, hence the need for 50 cents? But that’s just bar side banter really.
Every generous gestures warrants some form of praise, but I’m not entirely sold on this one. Sure, a free minute is, well, free. But couldn’t this have been extended to subscribers who show their loyalty through other ways?
Broadband is one of Econet’s bets for the future, the same applies for EcoCash and every other service that falls under the Econet moniker. Perhaps they should get a free minute for subscribers on these services as long as they spend so much on the network.
In fact, the same could be said about voice service customers. if someone spends $15 on the network everyday making calls, they still can’t get the complimentary free minute just because they didn’t reserve 50 cents on their phone?
Anyway, it’s rude to nitpick at gifts, no matter how much better they could have been wrapped. I better keep that 50 cents (assuming it doesn’t disappear) and be thankful for the one free minute.
