Communicating with Customers

DOCOMO has a number of different channels for customers to voice their comments and concerns. These include docomo Shops, the docomo Information Center, which provides general customer service over the phone (toll-free from mobile phones at 151), and dedicated toll-free access numbers like 113 for technical issues and communications status for specific areas. Customers may also opt to contact us by email.
Customer service is also available in English, Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish and Korean when customers contact us by phone. We respond to customer questions and are working to strengthen our support for questions related to smartphones.
General orders and inquires made by phone in Japan are taken from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. year round. Support for urgent matters such as loss or theft is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Calls to the docomo Information Center (FY 2010)
Total Calls	23,500,000
Monthly Average	1,960,000

We compile requests made to DOCOMO and feedback on products and services on a weekly basis and share the information with top management and all employees. The information includes comments received from customers as well as feedback collected when customers visit docomo Shops or through customer questionnaire surveys conducted after customers use the docomo Information Center.
In addition, when staff members sense the need to make changes or improvements based on their daily interactions with customers, their observations are compiled into an internal database and the information is shared with other employees.
Each and every employee uses such customer feedback and employee observations to improve products and services. Examples of improvements made through initiatives originating in actual customer comments and requests are provided on our website.

Improvement:

We launched the "i Bodymo" health support service in May 2010 to help customers keep tabs on their health in an enjoyable way. The service allows customers to easily record how much they exercised and what they ate on a daily basis using a dedicated application. The data can also be displayed in graph form or on a calendar. This entertaining service further lets customers to see their ranking for how much they walked or how long they jogged, and offers games that progress as the customer progresses.

Improvement:

In September 2010 we began providing sp-mode to allow customers to send and receive mail on their smartphone using their i-mode mail address (@docomo.ne.jp). By connecting to the Internet via their smartphone and downloading the sp-mode mail application, customers can send and receive mail and use pictograms and Deco-mail with the same mail address as i-mode.

Given the increasingly widespread use of smartphones, which have advanced functionality to the extent they are likened to computers with calling capability, in September 2010 the "Smartphone Meister" certification program was launched. Certified staff are available at docomo Shops nationwide to help as many customers as possible utilize the diverse functions found on smartphones and respond to questions on them.

The "docomo Shop Staff Customer Reception Contest" are held for the purpose of training docomo Shop staff to be able to perform "warm and friendly reception" to the customers to match the customers' needs based on their professional knowledge on services and products. The contest had been held at the regional office level, but in fiscal 2009, the national level of contest started under the name "Meister of the Year." In fiscal 2010, the sales division and tech division were held simultaneously. Nine contestants who won competitions at the regional office level put their customer service skills to the test in an attempt to emerge victorious over the approximately 30,000 other docomo Shop staff members. One point of emphasis in evaluating the competitors this year was how accurately, simply and comprehensibly they could explain to customers the functions and services of smartphones and other mobile phones, which continue to evolve and grow more complex. A DVD was created of the contestants in action and distributed to docomo Shops in order to use the contest results to raise the reception levels of shop staff.

DOCOMO personnel affiliated with customer service divisions at the headquarters, regional offices and branches visit the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan and other government agencies on a regular basis to discuss examples of issues brought up by customers.
The NCAC receives a range of opinions and requests regarding mobile phones, but they are not always about functions and services. Some stem from misunderstandings caused by explanations in pamphlets and on websites that are hard to understand or from something that is not explained sufficiently when the customer signs up for a mobile phone service.
Discussing issues raised by customers through visits to government agencies helps us improve product quality and our services, ensure that the appropriateness of our advertising and the improvement of customer support.