CRM

Train call staff for stand-out service

In a fiercely competitive battle over products and prices, you can't afford to ignore customer service. Here's how one British telecommunications company turned around its reputation.

A few years ago, NTL Telewest was scrambling just to answer its phones. The organization recruited the wrong people, rushed them through training and then had to replace them soon afterward. It finally broke the cycle by adding 300 staff members and 37 trainers and by creating a tiered system for answering calls.

While most of the 4,500 staff members handle simple calls such as billing and service questions, a group of 500 have been trained to answer more complex calls. "We used to do A to Z and did a shocking job of everything," admitted Neil Berkett, the organization's chief operating officer.

A software program now directs "high risk" customers, such as those calling to disconnect their service, to a special "advanced customer care" team of 200 who are trained, paid and monitored more than others. Those staffers, who know all about what the company's competition is offering, retain 80% of those customers.

The better service for customers has reduced the stress on staff, slicing turnover from 100% annually to less than 50%. NTL's data analysis also revealed that whenever it handles a problem well, a customer is more likely to stay with the company than is one who simply receives flawless service.