Issue 2, November 2004
Our ongoing commitment to meeting your needs.
At BT, great customer service is core to our business, and your feedback is vital for us to ensure that our service is always to your satisfaction. We would like to sincerely thank those of you who have participated in our interviews – this is what enables us to identify those areas we need to focus on to improve our service.
And your feedback continues to be encouraging. In the first six months of 2004, more of you were telling us that you are ‘very or extremely satisfied’ with our products and services. Work is currently in progress on several key areas of improvement, including our complaints procedures, billing processes, our global presence and our accessibility to customers.
BT is committed to keeping you informed about our latest customer satisfaction initiatives, as well as the progress we have made on those already underway. So we would like to take this opportunity to show you what we are working on now, and the improvements we have made already, so you can see exactly how
your views are helping us to meet – and hopefully exceed – your expectations.
Roel Louwhoff, President, Customer Service, BT
Seeing the changes
Streamlining our billing
Based on your feedback, we have put a number of improvement programmes in place. And they are making a real difference. We promised to make our billing simpler, more accurate and more complete – and your feedback on our progress has been very encouraging.
- The number of customers that are either satisfied or very satisfied with the accuracy and format of our bills has increased.
- In its latest data report, industry analyst Telemark rated BT ‘Best in Class’ for all aspects of our billing. We were also awarded a score of ‘excellent’ in the category of Accurate Bills, in comparison with the ‘acceptable’ score of our leading competitors.
We are dedicated to driving continual improvement in our billing quality, and have measurable targets in place
to ensure this is achieved.
Complaints handling
We promised to shorten our complaint resolution time, and launched two new programmes to tackle the problem. These programmes have delivered promising results.
- 97% of all complaints are now acknowledged within one working day.
- For all complaints, a specific complaint owner is assigned locally within 48 hours, to provide a single point of contact for customer updates throughout the life of the complaint.
- Every month, the number of complaints being closed within target improves.
- The number of customers who are satisfied and very satisfied with our complaints management is steadily increasing.
All our complaint teams undergo mandatory training and work to a standardised process, to ensure you get the best service possible.
International presence
We are continuing to expand and develop our global reach, and are making some positive changes to our international presence.
- In the US, we have reviewed our business strategy in order to expand network coverage and cost competitiveness, whilst introducing 21 more Points of Presence (PoP) throughout the country,
and adding to our supplier base and access technologies.
- In France and Italy, we reviewed our SLAs in order to successfully drive supplier performance up whilst keeping cost at a minimum. In France, we have signed an improved Access Point of Presence (APoP) deal with Cegetel, whilst 2004 sees the launch of a new PoP in Lyon. And in Italy we have seen a real
improvement in the SLA available from Telecom Italia (including 24x7 repair), whilst signing an APoP deal with Albacom.
- In Asia, we are continuing to expand our network coverage in 14 countries – including New Zealand, China and Australia – with the help of trusted local partners. Utilising their access capabilities, APoPs and technological options, we can rely on them to deliver BT’s first-class service.
And that gives you better connectivity, on an international scale.
- Growing global presence
- Increased resilience and network availability
- Reduced fault resolution times
- Greater control
- Cost-effectiveness
- Improved SLAs
- Assured operational performance
What you are saying
‘As a global organisation, BT is very flexible, co-operative and all the contact I have had with them has
been very professional.’
A unified approach to business
We have taken the initiative to give you better access to our expertise, whatever your needs, and wherever you are in the world. To do this, we have made some radical changes to the structure of our organisation.
This July we launched one unified management team, comprised of more than 450 technical design, project
implementation and high level service account management professionals, in order to provide our customers with end-to-end service support worldwide.
- We are employing a resource allocation model that brings real flexibility in our way of resourcing projects, so that our customers get access to the most appropriate skills from within BT.
- Our unified approach to customer contact will ensure you receive the same high-quality reception,
wherever you are in the world.
- Easy access to customer support
- A simpler approach to service
- Consistent service experience, worldwide
- A single point of contact
What you are saying
‘Above all, BT is very transparent with its customers. They have the right processes in place, which sets them apart from many of their competitors.’
Customer satisfaction: Our ongoing commitment
At BT, your opinion counts. And your thoughts are vital for us to be able to give you the service you deserve. So if you have not had the chance to participate as yet in our customer satisfaction surveys, please get in touch with your Account Team contact, and make sure that your views are heard.
