Do You Get The Web?

Several years ago MSO websites could be divided into those that were based on the understanding that the Internet either was or soon would be a vital way to reach consumers and those that weren't. The dividing line now is between those MSOs that realize the Web is an integral component of the customer service equation and those that still don't get it.

Those that get it know online customer service has to be readily found, easily understood and well organized. It also has to be responsive, flexible and a constant work in progress.

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Perhaps most important, it has to be designed in a way that allows the customer to find usable information without heaping on frustration. If a customer goes through multiple screens to check pricing only to be asked to fill out a form for contact from a customer service representative, the satisfaction level isn't likely to be high. Cox Communications, Cablevision and AT&T Broadband seem to have figured this out; Charter Communications hasn't.

A site also can't overpromise. Adelphia doesn't have to worry: Customers are encouraged to call in all but a few instances. AT&T Broadband is trying out a feature called "Ask Eva," a virtual customer service representative. When she's good, she's very good; but when she doesn't have a clue, she's horrid. (Hint: feel free to ask about fuzzy video but skip PVRs.) Cox and another major MSO are testing live online support for some high-speed Internet customers but won't roll it over to video until it's proven.

Comcast Cable started out in the "don't get it" crowd but has made tremendous strides in design and usability. Last month the MSO quietly took what might be its biggest online step yet with the relaunch of its website and the introduction of a comprehensive, centralized customer service component that can be localized. The primary goals are to educate consumers on the services they have and the services that might interest them, while providing ways to shortcut the troubleshooting process, order services and manage their accounts.

"We did a quiet launch because we feel very strongly that we want to get a lot of customer feedback and make sure we improve on it before we publicize it," explained Suzanne Keenan, SVP of customer service at Comcast. They've conducted two postlaunch focus groups so far with primarily positive feedback and a number of suggestions now being integrated into the site. One change en route: a "quick hits" list of frequently accessed areas. FAQs, the all-important question-oriented guides to various services, are also being reworked in response to both the focus group feedback and an ongoing online survey that asks users to judge the actual help value of the answers they're reading.

Working with marketing, Keenan's team tried to leave little to chance. They even got advice from a psychologist who studies how the brain works on where to place certain elements on the page to get the right amount of attention.

Cox is at work on a redesign of its centralized site; the changes will be phased in with a goal of having a new customer service area by the end of 2002. "We're increasingly seeing and hearing customers say this is a resource they want to use, but they don't want to be frustrated by it," says Suzanne Foy, director of e-care for Cox. "Most of our customers don't want to call us. Many of them would prefer to use a website if it's something easy."

Online billing and product orders are already important aspects of Cox.com; Foy hopes to include the ability for customers to transfer their service online to make it easy for them to switch as opposed to putting them at risk.

Cox already has a centralized approach. At Comcast, the switch to centralized doesn't mean the field was left out of the design process or will be left out in the cold. "We no longer have separate little websites which might have hurt the Comcast brand," says Keenan. Systems will be able to localize the sites.

For CTAM marketing adviser Mary Pat Blake, the former Charter Communications marketing SVP, a good website is another weapon in the arsenal.

"You can use your website for customer education; 51% of the U.S. population now has online access. Do you have to have customer service online? I think it can't do anything but help. It's one more way to be able to satisfy the customer."

The top ten MSO sites: How they rate

ADELPHIA www.adelphia.com/custcare/

Probably among the least of the company's worries, the emphasis here is on phone contact; most questions can't be answered online. When FAQs are offered they're a muddled mix of practical, policy and product pushing. A more robust site could help cut down on customer service costs and workload. C for could be better

AT&T BROADBAND help.broadband.att.com

A vast improvement over its earlier incarnations, this iteration wants to help customers. A for answers and effort; C for still confusing

CABLE ONE www.cableone.net

Not a customer service site. I for incomplete