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MR GRUMBLE’S ON THE PHONE AGAIN
Britain’s organisations should take a leaf out of the
Mr Men books by recognising their customers’ distinguishing
characteristics if they are to improve the way they manage
their customer service levels.
According to a survey of over 2,000 consumers by leading
research consultancy Teleconomy, sponsored by Cable &
Wireless and Vertex, too many of us feel that organisations
apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach when talking
to us, and spend little or no time analysing how we feel when
we make contact with them.
This is leading to organisations losing valued customers
as they unintentionally mishandle problems, queries and concerns.
To help these organisations, one of the ways in which Teleconomy
has analysed the results of the survey is to group consumers
according to the mood they’re in when they contact an
organisation. The top five typical consumer characteristics
are:
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Mr Grumble:
Wants to log his complaints and identify an agreed way
forward. Would use the telephone to get an immediate response. |
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Little Miss
Tidy: Wants the opportunity to explain all relevant details.
Would use email to keep a log of all key facts. |
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Little Miss
Neat: Sets very high standards and assumes everyone else
does the same. Would use the internet to book a rail ticket. |
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Mr Topsy-Turvy:
Likely to show concern and would need ‘hand holding’.
Would use the telephone in emotionally charged situations
such as cancelling a credit card. |
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Mr Worry: Needs
reassurance and will be impressed if time is taken to
get everything right.
Would use the telephone to arrange a loan. |
As many as one in six consumers say they are irritated, annoyed
or furious with the way in which they’re treated by
call centres - a figure that has increased since the last
major survey, commissioned by Cable & Wireless in 1998
- and, according to Teleconomy’s Paul Hudson, a sure
sign that our level of impatience with big organisations is
growing.
“If we’ve a real problem, we might be angry,
upset, or worried, so we don’t appreciate being stuck
in a call queuing system. But for other needs, such as checking
out information, an automated method of handling a customer
request might fit the bill perfectly,” comments Hudson.
“What we’ve found is a wide variation in typical
personality traits that consumers display when engaging with
organisations,” continues Hudson. “By learning
to tailor their approach based on the mood their customers
are likely to be in, organisations can put themselves in a
much better position to meet their clients’ needs more
efficiently and - ultimately - more cost effectively.”
“Organisations can now use a wide range of techniques
to liase with customers, including post, email, the internet,
automated and live telephone and mobile technology, but they
need to manage these in combination and tailor them to customer
needs in order to have real success,” said David Jackson,
vice president, customer interaction management, Cable &
Wireless.
Amanda Burn, strategy and marketing director, Vertex added,
“Before deciding what technology to use, organisations
need to take a step back and focus on the scenarios that lead
consumers to wish to contact them. This way, they can ensure
that they put in place the most appropriate mix of contact
solutions to cater for these needs.”
The second phase of this survey, based on interviews with
organisations which run contact centres, will focus on the
challenges they face in delivering customer service. Results
will be announced later in June.
Mr Men and Little Miss © Roger Hargreaves 2001
- Ends -
Note to Editors
A summary of the first phase of the ‘It’s Your
Call’ research and an accompanying whitepaper are available
from paul.hudson@teleconomy.com
About Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless is a major global telecommunications
business with revenue of over £5.9 billion (US$8.6 billion)
in the year to 31 March 2002 and customers in 80 countries.
It consists of two core and complementary divisions: Cable
& Wireless Regional and Cable & Wireless Global. Cable
& Wireless Regional offers a full range of telecommunications
services in 33 countries around the world, with major organisations
in the Caribbean, Panama, the Middle East and Macau. Cable
& Wireless Global provides IP (internet protocol), voice
and data services and managed solutions for business customers.
It has developed advanced IP networks and value-added services
in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in support of
this strategy. Building on its strong national organisations
in the UK and Japan, Cable & Wireless Global will focus
on serving primarily multinational companies (both enterprises
and service providers) in the US, UK, continental Europe and
Japan/Asia. For more information about Cable & Wireless,
go to www.cw.com.
About Vertex
Vertex is the UK’s leading business process outsourcer
with a particular expertise in customer management. Typical
services include customer call handling, billing services
and financial services. Vertex undertakes services for utility,
telecommunications, retail and public sector organisations.
Vertex operates across 23 locations nationally and employs
over 8,000 people, largely within customer contact centres
and information services.
Every year, Vertex handles over 34 million customer accounts,
handles over 204 million UK contacts, prints and sends over
65 million bills and documents, processes over 95 million
transactions and collects in excess of £6 billion in
payments for a wide range of clients in the public and private
sectors.
Vertex clients include United Utilities, TXU, Hydro One (Canada),
Bet Direct, Cable & Wireless, BRS/Volvo, CGE&Y, UGC
Cinemas, Westminster City Council, Companies House, Birmingham
City Council, the London Borough of Ealing and Marks &
Spencer.
Vertex is a United Utilities plc subsidiary company.
About Teleconomy
Teleconomy is a research consultancy and knowledge centre
specialising in understanding how customer relationships are
built. It has more than 20 years experience in working with
over 100 organisations and contact centres across all sectors
nationally and internationally.
Teleconomy comprises a full service research capability and
a focused and creative research based consultancy. Its research
services range from ethnography through to quantitative data
collection - either online or using Teleconomy’s own
CATI call centre. Teleconomy has strong academic links to
universities in the UK and overseas, and particularly strong
relationships with Henley Management College and Lancaster
University.
For more information, please contact:
Henny Valder
Brodeur Worldwide (for Cable & Wireless)
Tel: +44(0)20 7298 7075
Email: hvalder@uk.brodeur.com
Deborah Sadler
Vertex
Tel: +44(0)161 493 2200
Email: deborah.sadler@vertex.co.uk
Paul Hudson
Teleconomy
Email: paul.hudson@teleconomy.com
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