Pop-A-Lock Call Center Builds Innovative Virtual Infrastructure With Siebel Contact OnDemand; Continental Dispatch Improves Service and Lowers Contact Center Costs by Deploying Home-Based Call Center Agents

Business Wire, Dec 7, 2005

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Siebel Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEBL), a leading provider of customer-facing solutions, today announced that Continental Dispatch, a call center built to support the national emergency roadside assistance service company Pop-A-Lock, has implemented Siebel Contact OnDemand to support its innovative virtual call center infrastructure.

Founded in 1991 by local law enforcement agents in Lafayette, Louisiana, Pop-A-Lock provides 24/7 on-call car door unlocking, as well as full-service locksmithing and traditional roadside assistance such as flat tire repair, gasoline delivery, and jump starts. With 105 franchise locations throughout the continental United States, Pop-A-Lock uses Continental Dispatch to provide 47 of these franchises with a virtual network of call center agents working out of their homes. "We actually got the idea for the virtual call center from one of our franchise owners, and the economics worked out in its favor," said Jim Fetherman, Chief Operating Officer, Continental Dispatch. "At the same time, we also looked at upgrading our hosted call management system and found that Siebel Contact OnDemand had everything we needed at a price that made sense."

Unlike other roadside assistance providers, however, Pop-A-Lock provides its car door unlocking service free to the public when there is a threat to human life -- most often, that is when a child is locked inside the vehicle. Since 1994, the company has performed in excess of 70,000 EDUs (Emergency Door Unlockings) system-wide. Because this is a priority service, the closest technician is sent to the emergency call even if the technician is en route to another service call, requiring precise communication in order to arrive in a timely manner. The call center also must be dedicated to answering within two rings and dispatch the call with no delay. Continental Dispatch depends on Siebel Contact OnDemand to distribute the calls in a reliable, clear, and efficient manner for this to be successful.

Customers now call a local Pop-A-Lock number that is tied to one of 20 regional 800 numbers provided by Siebel Contact OnDemand. Siebel Contact OnDemand then routes the incoming calls to the next available agent who then answers the call after the first ring -- providing a reassuring voice to an obviously troubled caller. Because Siebel Contact OnDemand is a completely hosted solution, agents only need a phone line and an Internet connection to access Continental Dispatch's dispatch screen.

Siebel Contact OnDemand also allows managers to listen into calls from any agent regardless of location, record calls, and conduct three-way calls. Siebel Contact OnDemand allows managers to work closely with remote agents to solve critical problems in real time. Agents create new customers in more than 90 percent of the calls, maximizing customer interactions beyond just taking orders.

"Before using Siebel Contact OnDemand, I wouldn't have believed something so simple, yet so powerful, was even possible," said Sam Landers, Partner at Continental Dispatch. "Routing inbound service calls has reduced telecommunications overhead and improved our response time while enhancing our quality of service. With built-in contact center reports and analytics, we're able to forecast customer demand and adjust staffing accordingly."

Siebel Contact OnDemand is a hosted contact center solution offered as built-in functionality in Siebel CRM OnDemand or as a stand-alone solution that can be integrated with on premise Siebel CRM solutions or third-party applications. It delivers world-class contact center capabilities -- including voice, voicemail, email, and Web communications -- using skills-based routing, CTI screen pops, and contact center analytics, all as a hosted service. Siebel Contact OnDemand extends the economic benefits of the hosted CRM model, including rapid deployment, a dramatic reduction in total costs, and the flexibility to add users to match business conditions -- improving customer communications while saving companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Siebel's hosted software solutions and deployment capabilities are a critical enabler of its new Customer Adaptive Solutions Applications Strategy and Architecture. Companies embracing Siebel Customer Adaptive Solutions will be able to more effectively and quickly anticipate customer needs, realign their customer-facing business processes for systemic and consistent improvement, and direct the right actions across their businesses to maximize customer satisfaction and profitability.

About Siebel CRM OnDemand

Siebel CRM OnDemand is a hosted CRM offering delivered over the Web and accessible from an Internet browser at a fixed price per user per month. Customers can deploy Siebel CRM OnDemand quickly, easily, and affordably without any up-front IT investments. Hosted by IBM, Siebel CRM OnDemand delivers complete sales, marketing, and service functionality; built-in customer analytics; virtual call center technology; embedded best practices; and world-class hosting services and support. Siebel CRM OnDemand is now available for purchase. For more information, visit www.crmondemand.com.