Call Forward - Internet/Web/Online Service Information

Industry Standard, The, Nov 6, 2000 by Aaron Pressman

Serving more than 24 million AOL subscribers, the mother of all customer-service operations is waiting to hear from you.

It's hard to ignore the yellow-and-blue box that blinks "make pitch" all day long on the computers of America Online's call-center representatives.

As the reps in the company's massive, windowless customer service center in Jacksonville, Fla., field questions ranging from billing problems to technical snafus, the message box refuses to give up its position on their screens. It's a constant reminder that, at the end of every call, reps should make a sales pitch for offers such as long-distance telephone service and credit-report monitoring.

And at AOL, every call means every call. The online giant's 24 million-plus subscribers make about 12 million inquiries per month by phone, e-mail and live chat, so the opportunity to cross-sell is too good to pass up.

The reps read a script -- just a few sentences long -- that's chosen by a software system and designed to ensure it's relevant to that particular customer. If the customer expresses interest after hearing the pitch, the reps hit a button on their screens and transfer the call to one of the outside partner companies that provide the products or services.

If customers call in to change their credit card billing information, they get a pitch. If they call for technical support, they get a pitch. If a frustrated customer already has called three times that day for technical support, that person gets a pitch, too.

Many Internet companies are just starting to focus on the kind of technology behind this call center, but AOL was on board before customer relationship management was a buzzphrase. The use of such integrated sales and support systems has helped boost AOL's commerce and advertising revenues from less than $50 million in 1995 to $1 billion in 1999.

The company's focus on customer relationships took off with the arrival of Bob Pittman in 1996. Fresh from stints at Century 21 and Six Flags Theme Parks, Pittman was driven to use every interaction with customers as an opportunity to pick up marketing intelligence and to create new revenue by cross-selling or advertising.

One of his first tasks was visiting the call centers. AOL had been forced to add a new one nearly every six months for the previous three years, especially after the company's disastrous shift to "all you can eat" pricing. In addition to Jacksonville, AOL runs centers in Oklahoma City; Albuquerque, N.M.; Ogden, Utah; and Tucson, Ariz.

Instead of measuring customer satisfaction ratings against other Internet players or technology companies, as AOL had been doing, Pittman looked to GRM leaders like Nordstrom and L.L. Bean. He gave senior executives copies of The Nordstrom Way, the behind-the-scenes study of the retailer's methods. And he demanded immediate changes.

That meant moving away from phone representatives who had great technical chops but weak interpersonal skills. AOL began hiring employees who sound friendly on the phone while they use a sophisticated database system to resolve tough tech-support questions.

The software, dubbed Sherlock, prompts call reps to ask customers a series of questions. As the reps input each answer, Sherlock sorts through its sets of previously resolved problems and feeds the rep step-by-step instructions to relate to the caller. New scenarios are added by programmers as new tech-support difficulties begin cropping up in customer calls. A similar system called Merlin aids reps who are taking billing calls.

The systems not only help customers get questions answered, but also provide real-time data about problems or features lacking in AOL software. AOL's senior executives review a weekly ranking of the top call generators.

"We could do it hourly if we wanted," brags Ray Ogle-thorpe, president of AOL's technology group, which includes both customer support and software design. "It's the pulse of our members."

Pittman's strategy also called for hiring seasoned call-center pros like Dennis Green and Ken Nemcovich, who run the Jacksonville facility. Nemcovich, who directed call centers for Delta during an 18-year stint with the airline, looks like a college football coach as he patrols the center in a white golf shirt and checkered pants, offering encouragement to the troops in a hearty Boston accent. Green, who looks like he could play linebacker on Nemcovich's team, wears a black shirt and khakis and offers similarly peppy advice. The two go to great lengths to keep employees motivated. AOL rates call representatives on a variety of metrics, including length of calls and time between calls. There are team competitions and rewards for top performers, and all employees earn stock options.

A little wackiness helps lighten the atmosphere. Green once shaved his head after losing a bet with his employees that they couldn't keep up their success at preventing cancellations three days in a row. One employee's cubicle features a 5-foot-tall cardboard windmill with motorized blades and a built-in soap bubble blower.