Firepond Completes Deployment of eServicePerformer Suite at Two New Customer Sites

Business Wire, August 14, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2001

Countrywide Home Loans and Hotel Reservation Network

Productive with Contact Center and Answer Products

Firepond (NASDAQ:FIRE), a leading provider of guided selling and online customer assistance solutions, today announced that two new customers of its eServicePerformer(TM) Contact Center and Answer solutions have completed their implementations and begun to generate results. The eServicePerformer Suite includes an intelligent information center that utilizes customer history and information from web, email and chat interactions to ensure that service agents have complete and timely information to deliver seamless customer assistance across email and chat channels. Both customers report significantly faster response times to e-mail inquiries since implementing the eServicePerformer Answer email management component of Firepond's eServicePerformer Suite.

Using Answer, Countrywide Home Loans is able to respond to more than 1000-1500 daily email inquiries from its extensive customer base, such as first time homebuyers or individuals with questions about refinancing. Hotel Reservation Network boosted its web self-service with eServicePerformer Contact Center, by adding a comprehensive FAQ to the site, and by using Answer to reply to an onslaught of emails regarding hotel booking policies and procedures.

"Before implementing the Firepond solution our customer service reps spent a lot of time answering the same questions," said James Hecht, vice president, Countrywide Home Loans. "Firepond's solution not only allows reps to quickly and accurately respond to inquiries, but it also optimizes the time we spend with customers who need a deeper level of service."

Firepond's solution was selected for its proven ability to handle up to 80% of inquiries with 98% accuracy. With its sophisticated message comprehension, classification and routing capabilities that automate message composition, agent involvement is reduced up to 70%.

"Our product may be deployed in different ways to meet the needs of our customers with all deployments sharing the common theme of achieving immediate results," said Joel Radford, Firepond senior vice president, professional services. "Some of our clients want their service agents to touch most customer responses while others want them to touch only a few. We work with customers to establish automated business rules to achieve a proper balance that maximizes business results."

Firepond's eServicePerformer is based on an open architecture and fully supports J2EE(TM) standards, enabling its customers to easily integrate the suite with existing IT systems, including other customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, allowing both the Countrywide and Hotel Reservation Network implementations to be completed quickly.

About Countrywide

Founded in 1969, Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. is a member of the S&P 500 and Forbes 500. The company provides consumer and business-to-business financial services in domestic and international markets. Consumer businesses include mortgages, consumer insurance and other retail financial products. Business-to-business activities encompass processing and technology, capital markets and B2B insurance.

Principal subsidiaries include Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., which originates, purchases, securitizes, sells and services home loans; Full Spectrum Lending, Inc., a sub-prime residential lender; LandSafe, Inc., a provider of loan closing services; Countrywide Insurance Services, Inc., a full service insurance agency; Countrywide Capital Markets, a mortgage-related investment banker; and Balboa Life & Casualty, a national provider of property, liability and life insurance. For more information about the company, visit Countrywide's website at http://www.countrywide.com.

About Hotel Reservation Network

Hotel Reservations Network, a majority-owned subsidiary of USA Networks, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: USAI) Interactive Group, is the number one consolidator of discount hotel accommodations worldwide, providing service through its own Web sites (www.180096hotel.com and www.hoteldiscount.com, www.condosaver.com, www.travelnow.com and www.allluxuryhotels.com), more than 20,000 affiliated Web sites, and several toll-free call centers (1-800-96HOTEL). HRN provides travelers with a one-stop shopping source for hotel pricing, amenities and availability. HRN also specializes in providing travelers with accommodations for sold-out periods in major cities.

About Firepond

Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Firepond (NASDAQ:FIRE) is a leading provider of comprehensive selling and customer service solutions that help companies more profitably acquire and retain customers. Firepond's product lines leverage proven intelligence engines and patented automation technology to drive new revenue streams, increase profitability, and manage customer interactions across all channels and throughout the sales and service cycle.

Firepond's SalesPerformer(TM) suite of guided selling software products help companies improve their sales performance across all selling channels, with products for Web selling, field sales, channel sales, sales configuration, and sales administration. The eServicePerfomer suite delivers superior online service experiences at every eCustomer touchpoint, with Web, email and live assistance products.