Vodafone Portugal has deployed the eGain Service Suite in order to enhance customer service operations. The solution, powered by eGain OpenCIH Platform, is helping to build a unified multichannel service experience for the mobile operator’s subscribers.

Vodafone Portugal’s implementation of eGain Service includes web self-service; knowledge management; email, a chat bot; and live web chat. According to eGain, this has transformed Vodafone Portugal’s customer service operations into a unified multichannel customer interaction hub (CIH). Customers are now able to resolve problems through web self-service and seamlessly escalate their queries through email or web chat, without having to go over the problem several times with several different people. The centralised multichannel knowledge base also supports contact centre agents in dealing with inbound telephone queries.

“With eGain Service in place, Vodafone Portugal can offer personalised and unified multichannel service to customers logging on to its website,” said Andrew Mennie, senior vice-president and general manager, eGain EMEA. “Moreover, the full-spectrum web self-service implementation provides customers with an animated chat bot to guide them around the website and allows them to search, browse and view answers to FAQs. Also included are guided diagnostics that steer users through an intuitive Q&A session and rich animated graphics to help customers set up mobile devices and resolve problems. This has been fully integrated with existing CRM systems, enabling Vodafone Portugal to provide highly-intelligent service across all communication channels.”

Vodafone Portugal went live with all the components of eGain Service within six months. Since launching the system, the mobile operator has seen a significant increase in web self-service usage and a sizeable reduction in the number of calls received. Vodafone Portugal has also reported higher levels of first contact resolution and greater agent productivity. The operator expects to deflect 30 per cent of customer emails/chat and 6 per cent of customer calls to its website by the end of 2010.