Six steps to excellent customer service

Abstract

As of November 2005, there were 6.2 million broadband customers in the UK and this figure is still growing. North and South America had approximately 49 million broadband users, Asia-Pacific 74 million and Europe 53 million. In the last two years, broadband has turned from a niche product into a truly mass-market product. This success story brings with it huge challenges for service providers who wish to give their broadband customers the support they need while at the same time running a profitable business in what is a highly competitive and price-sensitive market. This paper first discusses the issues that exist with supporting broadband customers. It then shows how taking an end-toend view of the complete customer experience, from when the problem first occurs right through to when the customer is happy that a permanent resolution has been achieved, enables service providers to identify the key support capabilities that are required in order to deliver an excellent customer experience. Finally, some innovative ways in which those capabilities can be realised, in a cost effective way, are identified.