News
06/08/2007 - North American Directory Assistance is ''Best of the Best''
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. --(Business Wire)-- Over the past six month, North American directory assistance providers (DA) performed at levels that are almost as high as statistically possible, making it "the best of the best."
According to the National Directory Assistance Performance Index(SM), an independent analysis published semi-annually by The Paisley Group, Ltd. (PGL), 91.7% of all DA calls were handled accurately. This is a combination of 96.0% database accuracy, 97.3% operator accuracy for operator-handled calls and 99.3% speech recognition accuracy for fully automated calls. The margin of error is +/- 3.1%.
Using a "mystery caller" approach, the Index tracked:
-- Customer Fulfillment(SM), the definitive directory assistance quality standard that, by measuring database, operator and speech recognition accuracy, evaluates how often DA callers receive a correct listing report,
-- Customer Care(SM), the success operators demonstrate in balancing customer advocacy, practice adherence and call-handling efficiency, and
-- "Passed Calls," calls where customers received the correct listing report AND were cared for competently and efficiently.
The most recent Index also includes a white paper describing the historical Influence of DA Automation on Customer Care(SM) and Total Call (customer transaction) Time.
New in the Index
This issue expanded the Index by including two new market segments - Free DA Providers and Wireless Carriers - in addition to the four previously studied (ILECs, IXCs, third party DA providers and services provided by automated speech recognition systems).
Also added was an expanded quality view that PGL has named "Lagniappe," a southern term meaning "an unexpected gift or benefit." Lagniappe measures the voice quality of operators (inflection, clarity and aplomb). When a DA call is fulfilled and cared for by an operator who demonstrates a connection with the caller (with their voice and personality), the call is a Lagniapped call, one that goes the extra mile in winning the ears and heart of the caller.
ILEC Quality Stable
ILEC quality remains stable with little difference in the Customer Fulfillment(SM) levels of the four legacy telcos measured for this segment. All had database accuracy that is 95% or higher. Average operator accuracy was 97.7% with Qwest's operators performing at an accuracy level of 99.3%.
In the area of Customer Care(SM), Qwest was the ILEC leader again at 91.5% compared to the ILEC segment average of 81.3%. Qwest's performance was particularly notable in that the company had rolled out speech recognition since the last Index.
Passed Calls are the hallmark of directory assistance quality. This standard combines Customer Fulfillment(SM) and Customer Care(SM) to measure whether DA customers received a correct report and were treated in a competent and professional manner. Qwest came out on top among ILECs once again with 84.3% of all calls both fulfilled and cared for. The segment average was 75.3%.
Third Party DA Providers Continue to Lead in Passed Calls
Third party providers' Customer Fulfillment(SM) again averaged 93.3% with a margin of error 2.8%. They performed significantly better than the ILECs in the area of Customer Care(SM), averaging 92.6% to the ILECs' 81.3%. INFONXX scored the highest in Customer Fulfillment(SM) (95.3% with a margin of error of 2.4%) while Excell and Verizon LiveSource led the segment in Customer Care(SM) at 98.0% and 96.3% respectively (margin of error 3.0%).
The average percentage of Passed Calls for the 3rd Party segment was 86.7% compared to the ILEC average of 75.3%. 91.7% of the calls Excell handled were Passed Calls.
Wireless Carrier Segment Parallels Third Party Providers
The Third Party DA Wholesalers provide service for the major wireless carriers so the quality of their service is closely aligned with that of those providers. Sprint PCS led this segment in Customer Fulfillment(SM) with 95.3%; the segment average was 92.0%. All carriers were within the 92.0-94.0% range in Customer Care(SM).
Free DA Service Varies with Provider
Callers to free DA services can experience different levels of service depending upon who they call. Jingle's 85.7% Customer Fulfillment(SM) compared to 411-SAVE's 60.0% score illustrates the vast difference in these services. The primary reason for 411-SAVE's performance is that auditors were turned back ("call again later") or re-routed again and again through the speech recognition system because the speech recognition system couldn't understand them and there was no operator backup available.
Customer Care(SM) Continues to Lag for Companies using Automation
Although the five companies measured for this segment have worked hard to mitigate the Customer Care(SM) issues experienced at deployment of their speech recognition systems, their Customer Care(SM) continues to be consistently lower (80.1%) than companies that do not use automation. This coincides with a recent press release from J.D. Powers that reported on the influence of automation on customer care in Telecom call centers that handle the more complicated customer service transactions.
In contrast to the lower levels of Customer Care(SM), 98.7% of all reports provided by speech recognition systems (where the database was accurate) were accurate. These are calls where the speech recognition system has a high degree of confidence and does not forward the call to the operator.
About the Paisley Group Ltd
The Paisley Group Ltd. is the leading independent auditor of directory assistance, toll assistance and relay services. They measure the accuracy of automated systems, databases and operators as well as the ability of operators and systems to provide Customer Care(SM) as defined by a number of objective measurements that are specific to the specialized telecom "operator services" business. Paisley is also a premiere provider of consulting services that optimize system, operator and database performance. Through extensive communications with users via focus groups and customer surveys, Paisley has defined a set of quality measurements that include the "voice of the customer." The company designs robust measurement models and provides meaningful and statistically significant data to assist clients and the industry-at-large in maintaining excellence at all levels.
For additional information, contact Meg MacRae, Managing Partner, The Paisley Group, 4482 Tallyrand Circle, Castle Rock CO 80104, 303-688-1666, mmacrae@thepaisleygroup.com.
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