Internet self-service preferred

Customers are refusing to use automated speech systems and instead go online to find answers to their questions, reports Call Centre Focus Online.

A study of consumer attitudes to service automation by IT services supplier Dimension Data shows that 40% of customers actively avoid automated speech, a 4% increase against the figures polled last year.

The Internet has instead become the first point of call for many customers, with 50% of those consulted turning to the Web for answers rather than contacting a call centre.

Privately held air carrier Virgin America has renewed its partnership for three years with a company that provides call routing and voice self-service applications, states Sys-Con Media.

TuVox has been providing Virgin America guests with no-wait, voice self-service since Virgin America first took flight in 2007. This latest agreement extends Virgin America's association with TuVox through 2012.

"Virgin America has always been about providing the air travel industry's best customer experience, whether it be with their revolutionary aircraft or their unique approach to guest service," said John Kirst, TuVox' SVP for global sales and marketing.

BoxTone unveiled its BoxTone User Self-Service Module for the BlackBerry wireless platform, says Media Wire.

The latest addition to a software suite that enables enterprise IT staff and managed service providers to lower the cost of supporting their mobile users while ensuring a higher quality of service.

Deployed via a Web portal, this software enables mobile end-users to easily check the real-time status of their end-to-end mobile service from a standard browser and follow simple instructions to resolve issues and take action 7 x 24, without any IT staff involvement.