20 August 2007
Orange customers' queries and complaints could be sorted out more quickly in the future thanks to a £100 million investment in its customer services systems.
According to the Independent, the telephone and broadband provider has installed a new voice recognition system to tackle the long delays faced by customers calling in with problems.
Mike Hughes, Customer Services Executive at Orange, told the newspaper that the current customer service system was "not fit for purpose".
However, the voice-recognition service will identify customers' specific concerns without requiring callers to sift through a long list of unsuitable options.
In recent months the company, as well as others including the Carphone Warehouse's Talk Talk have come under fire from consumer groups for poor levels of customer service.
But Mr Hughes explained that increased call volumes driven by mobile services had prompted the demand for improved customer service systems.
"It is one of, if not the, key differentiator," he said.
And Mr Hughes admitted the company "still has an awful lot of work to do".
Orange has also brought in 1,000 customer service agents, bringing its total up to 6,700, but has revealed plans to add more over the coming year.
So much choice, but don't panic - it's easy to get yourself a great deal on broadband using uSwitch.com. If you're confused about technicalities, the help pages throughout our calculator are on hand at each step of the sign up process to answer all your questions. Find providers in your area and compare packages using our free and impartial service. Sign up to broadband today.
Start switching
< Back to market news
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.