Servevast Case Study

Maximising telecoms to deliver a quality service

Servevast Ltd is the appointed provider of service and technical support for Smeg domestic appliances within the UK - acting as Smeg's repair agent and the official supplier of genuine Smeg, Franke, Faber and Apell spare parts - and employs a range of low cost Wavenet services to ensure high customer service standards in its Cannock call centre.

Wavenet set up Servevast's telecoms system, which incorporates reduced line rental and call packages, Call Recording and Network Interactive Voice (IVR) services, around ten years ago and its ongoing management ensures the company obtains the best possible business benefits.

Smeg service customers call a non-geographic, fixed rate 08 number to arrange a convenient time/date for an engineer to visit and to contact the spares or web shop departments. Servevast also uses this facility to enable its engineers to contact the technical department and to run an installation helpline for the trade.

Call Recording not only provides a secure back up, but also supports Servevast's customer service reviews and enables it to identify staff training requirements. Managers can choose to review calls based on the day of the week, the outbound number used, the inbound call number or the call duration, for example, at their convenience. Recorded data is backed up at network level to ensure it is safe and can be stored for however long the customer decides. There is no charge to retrieve call information or ongoing maintenance costs and since thousands of calls can be recorded simultaneously, it is ideally suited to call centres.

At one time Servevast would request random call samples from Smeg UK to assist with staff training, but the process became unwieldy and the company called on Wavenet to set up call monitoring/recording and interactive voice facilities in-house. Both are used to tighten up procedures and improve customer service levels: IVR facilitates data collection and means calls are answered instantly, while call queuing enables Servevast to answer more of its customers and keep them satisfied while they are waiting.

Servevast conducts staff appraisals every six months and a random selection of calls involving each of the 25 employees who deal with telephone enquiries is assessed. Staff members are allowed to listen to the calls, enabling them to appreciate how they come across on the telephone and ensure their comments are unambiguous.

Wavenet's powerful reporting platform is essential to the smooth running of Servevast's business, enabling managers not only to check that the cost of the telecoms service represents good value, but also to conduct an in-depth analysis of the system. Call statistics are displayed on a large screen linked to the IVR, indicating at a glance, on a minute by minute basis, how many customers are waiting in a queue and enabling managers to determine whether the right number of lines and staff are available.

"Our telecoms package is highly versatile and low cost, enabling us to allocate resources to meet our contracted service level agreements and maintain high standards of customer service," says Servevast's general manager, Ian Pritchard.

Services Supplied

• Versatile, low cost telecoms package
• Reduced line rental and call packages
• 08 number for service/technical/spares enquiries
• Call Recording provides a secure back up and supports customer service reviews and staff training
• Network Interactive Voice ensures calls are answered instantly
• Reporting platform informs management decisions