Customer Service App for Electric Subscribers
A feature-rich all-in-one customer service app development project to serve more than 9 million customers of Malaysia’s largest electric utility company
Time:
2014 – 2017
Platforms:
iOS, Android
Team:
5 - 6 Members
Industry:
utility
One of the main channels of communication between TNB and its millions of consumers all over Malaysia, in the form of a Native Android and iOS mobile application
About the Product
Out of the many projects we delivered for TNB, a key project involved customer service app development for Android and iOS. The mobile app was to function as a service gateway between the electric utility company and its subscribers.
The myTNB app helps millions of consumers track and manage their energy consumption, pay electric bills, follow news and announcements, and stay in contact with TNB via efficient in-app features.
About Client
Our client, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), is the largest Malaysian electric utility company. It is responsible for electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Peninsular Malaysia and the state of Sabah. TNB serves over 9.25 million industrial, commercial, and residential customers across Malaysia.
The Challenge
Our client TNB wanted a mobile solution to serve as a customer service management tool. They needed a reliable customer communication gateway to cater to their millions of electric subscribers. This highly visible customer support app needed to be practical, user-friendly and of top-notch quality in its design and user experience in order to serve such a large customer base.
TNB was on the lookout for a customer service app development company experienced in delivering projects of such a colossal scale. They found us to be the right, most capable fit for their project.
The Solution
To live up to TNB’s reputation and to cater to their expansive customer base, we delivered a holistic customer relationship solution. It was compatible with iOS and Android and provided an impressive customer experience. The robust, maintainable codebase allowed for future extensions.
The MyTNB customer service app is an efficient portal for TNB which has reduced the burden on customer service teams. It has also substituted the need for customers to visit TNB offices and billing kiosks. This has elicited positive customer feedback and boosted customer satisfaction stats.
With MyTNB, consumers can do everything through their app, from tracking their energy consumption to paying their bills. MyTNB’s personalized dashboard allows customers to conveniently track energy consumption. They can also compare their monthly usage numbers with the help of interactive graphs. Additionally, the app includes many other functionalities such as paying utility bills online, submitting applications for new supply connections, and following the latest news and announcements from TNB.
The app's best qualities are not restricted to the parts of it that consumers interact with. It is architected for secure integration with TNB’s backend systems for organization-wide access to customer information and activities.
Ever since the first release in 2015, this customer service app development project has required multiple enhancements. Currently, the MyTNB app has over 1,000,000 downloads on the app store. We take pride in the fact that GoodCore is on TNB’s panel for mobile app development.
What We Delivered
Personalized Dashboard for Customers
The straightforward user registration and login functionalities allow app users to sign up using their TNB customer number. Customers can then gain access to an easy-to-navigate, personalized dashboard. It provides links to their account information and other exclusive in-app features.
Online Bill Payment
The integration with a secure payment gateway enables users to timely and easily pay their electric bills without leaving the customer service app. Users can also update their billing information, view their payment history, and download bills on their devices.
Energy Consumption Data
The customer service app is integrated with TNB’s backend systems. It pulls users’ account information and bills so users can access the latest data on their energy consumption and bills. Furthermore, they can compare their monthly usage stats with the help of interactive graphs.
Push Notifications
Equipped with push notification functionality, the app keeps consumers notified about important messages. It sends alerts for due dates for bill payments, supply breakdowns, and other announcements.
Application for New Connections
Users can easily submit applications for new electric connections anywhere in Malaysia and keep track of the application status from within the mobile app.
Appliance Calculator
An interactive calculator helps users estimate their monthly electricity usage. It calculates how much energy a particular electrical appliance will use and provides a cost estimate for it. This allows customers to manage their electricity usage and buy the most efficient electrical appliances.
News and Power Alerts
We developed a news board feature to keep app users updated about the latest news and real-time announcements by TNB. The app also features a power alerts channel so users can view the timings and details for potential power supply interruptions in their area.
Complaint and Feedback
As one of the main customer service channels for TNB, the app enables users to get in touch with TNB officials. They can submit feedback or open support tickets regarding their bills or TNB services through the mobile app.
Our Process
Our process of customer service app development followed the agile model. We started with an extensive requirement analysis phase. This required our in-house team to initially work with TNB’s team onsite. We defined their expectations and requirements and produced detailed documentation containing TNB’s functional, performance, security, and integration requirements.
The requirement analysis was followed by finalizing the design and drawing up wireframes for the different components of the application. We built the MyTNB customer service app using Java and Objective-C and used SQLite to store and handle the data. We integrated the app with TNB’s backend system, a payment gateway, SMTP for transactional emails, and Google Analytics.
Throughout the customer service app development process, there were numerous rounds of internal regression tests. These were followed by User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sessions in a staging environment. The official release of the app to the public took place in 2015.
Team
Our customer service app development team for the project consisted of 5-6 members. We had on board a project manager, a lead developer, two mobile developers, a UI/UX design expert and a testing and quality assurance engineer.
Technologies
Java
Objective-C
SQLite
Client’s Feedback
