Verizon executive Mahmoud El Assir last week attended a meetup of data enthusiasts in New York City to share how the telco collects and uses data on its FiOS customers to convince them not to leave. According to Assir, Verizon's customer retention folks know how what shows you watch, how much data you consume, or even whether your household fights over DVR usage.
As such, Verizon's well armed to try and specifically pitch customers different plans or gear should they want to cancel service or get rid of a set top box:
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El Assir explained how Verizon monitors billions of data points a day from 7 million Verizon FiOS customers to make sure its customer service representatives know pretty much everything about their customers’ TV consumption habits before they start trying to talk someone out of canceling a bundle of channels or getting rid of that extra DVR. "Customers are four times more likely to upgrade their DVR boxes to newer versions that record more shows when we bring up the data on recording conflicts," El Assir told Quartz.
Assir's presentation shows that threatening to cancel and mentioning the name of a direct competitor is still the best way to get the company's attention, and the best deals. Verizon's running a new program called "mobile coaching" that lets a supervisor listen in to support calls in real time, and step in with coached counter-arguments or offers should a competitor's name even be mentioned.
Update: Verizon offered us this statement claiming the author of the original story "jumped to the most sensational of wrong conclusions" regarding Verizon's data usage and retention efforts:
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I read your story and wanted to send you some additional information. The person who posted this story jumped to the most sensational of wrong conclusions. This is not about invading our customer’s privacy. It’s about streamlining the conversation, fostering a more intelligent, better-informed experience with customers rather than having a back and forth exchange and questions reps needing the answer to for the right level of service. For example, Verizon representatives are able to use these tools to see what channels customers watch but not specific programs.
Rep Guidance helps our reps get our customers’ details right the first time. By showing a rep a clear picture of who is on the other end of the line or computer screen, our reps can engage in more fluid conversations that are more valuable to the customer. This translates to more accurate solutions and reduced time on the phone for our customers. For example, if a customer calls in to try and save money on their bill and asks for a new TV package, the tool helps our rep see that one or some of the customers’ favorite channels would be lost by changing packages. Before rep guidance that may have resulted in the customer calling back after they realize what they’ve lost. Instead, our rep can use that insight to be consultative in how they right size the package for the customer. And in the end, if the customer still wants to reduce their bundle or perhaps switch to Custom TV, that’s fine. Customer retention is every bit as important as more sales.
Feedback from customers in various focus groups tells us that customers see the practicality of rep guidance and do not think it is a privacy intrusion. Karl, I just wanted to be sure you had a more thorough view of the rep guidance tool and that you understand it is about better, more accurate customer service and nothing more.
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