Amdocs Report Highlights Smartphone Support Issues
- Thursday, February 4th, 2010
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Amdocs, which provides customer experience systems, has released the results of an independent survey that examined customer care issues associated with Smartphones and the impact these have on user adoption and customer satisfaction.
The survey found that while Smartphones are becoming increasingly complex, the majority of customer support calls pertain to basic issues that can be resolved remotely, requiring little or no technical support.
The survey polled more than 4,000 wireless device users from the US, Canada and the UK late last year. Those respondents who had contacted a call centre classified the reason for doing so as a technical support issue, even though the majority of these issues were basic how to enquiries such as device configuration (e.g., how to set up email); or menu navigation (such as how to enable wi-fi access). Amdocs notes that these enquiries could have been resolved quickly via web self-service, by Level One customer care agents, or by training the customer on basic usage at time of sale, saving service providers time and investment in support resources. In addition, a majority of the respondents who had difficulties in using their Smartphone stated that they had strongly considered returning their device because they could not resolve these basic issues.
The survey reveals that the call centre remains the first port of call. More than 50% percent of those surveyed made a call to the contact centre to resolve basic support issues, taking an average of two calls to close their issue. On average, the report says, support calls lasted 17 minutes, indicating that call centre agents lack the technology and training necessary to resolve these basic customer inquiries at the first instance. As a result, consumers were frequently transferred to more costly technical support agents requiring more time, resources and cost. Notably, just 5% of those polled consulted the service providers website for support, indicating that Smartphone web self-service resources are underutilized.
The survey also found that unresolved issues often result in a return trip to the retail outlet, or product abandonment. 30% of consumers surveyed returned for customer support to the retail outlet where they bought their Smartphone, and one in three consumers considered returning or exchanging their device due to the inability to resolve issues. 65% stated that they prefer self-help alternatives and identified knowlegeable sales representatives, faster procedures and web-based solutions as ways to improve their customer service experience.
One out of six consumers were unaware of their Smartphones advanced features or did not know how to use them. More than 70% said that it would have been beneficial for a sales representative to explain all the features at the time of purchase. The data suggest that with in-store tutorials or after-sale activities, service providers can drive additional application and data usage, Amdocs says.
The survey underscores that by equipping Level One agents and retail staff with the relevant technology and information, service providers can quickly address basic customer inquiries, reduce call handling time and increase customer satisfaction, says Amdocs Vice President of Product Marketing and Solutions, Seth Nesbitt. As devices become more sophisticated, service providers must ensure they have the technology to handle all types of inquiries to quickly and efficiently resolve basic or more technical issues via multiple channels.