31 Oct '13 - Avoiding the customer

The telecommunications industry is trying its best to improve customer service. Many use Net Promoter Scores to track their progress, but, on this week’s Crosstalk, we ask whether they should be focusing on a zero contact future. After all, it’s worked for the likes of Google. Shouldn’t we expect our telecommunications services to be as reliable as our search engine? At the CommsDay Congress in Melbourne recently, Cisco’s Kevin Bloch talked about evolved programmable networks (EPNs). The notion that applications are integrated with the infrastructure provides a very different customer dynamic. You might be accessing apps through your car, unaware which network is delivering the service. The car manufacturer won’t want you calling up whenever there’s a network issue. They’ll expect it to work – or, at the very least, for there to be some form of automated outbound messaging whenever problems occur. If opportunities like EPNs represent the future of the industry, isn’t the notion of a zero contact customer relationship crucial. But can it ever be achieved? This week’s program features some of the speakers at the recent CommsDay Congress in Melbourne: Richard Bean, deputy chair at the ACMA; Vicki Brady, Managing Director, Customer at Optus; John Lindsay, CTO at iiNet; Sean O Halloran, Australian MD at Alcatel Lucent; Siobhan Ryley, product marketing manager at CSGI; Rene Sugo , group CEO of Symbio Networks; Teresa Corbin, CEO of ACCAN; and Kevin Bloch, CTO at Cisco What do you reckon? Is zero customer contact the only viable future for telecommunications companies – call our feedback line on 02 9304 5198