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The Voices
of Business
How companies use phone lines for much more than mere talk
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Business New Haven
12/14/1998
By: Fiona Phelan
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Alexander Graham Bell would scarcely recognize his invention today.
Originally designed as a means to talk with people far away, the telephone has become an integral part of today's business world. With all its newfangled bells and whistles, including voice mail, a preponderance of 20th-century business is conducted over the phone.
Today you can bank by phone, get detailed travel schedules, buy clothes and gifts, even shop for a home by phone - often without even speaking to a human being.
One of the biggest users of voice-response systems are financial institutions. At First Union Bank, Marnie Lamberson says the corporation's First Union Direct system will handle more than 120 million calls this year. The bank expects that number to increase to between 150 million and 160 million next year.
“It's interesting that we've seen a significant increase in the use of the 800-number phone system over the past two years, but we haven't seen a decrease in branch activity,” Lamberson says. The company has 2,400 branches and 3,400 ATMs.
By dialing 1-800-359-3862, First Union customers check account balances for savings, checking, credit-card and mortgage accounts. They can also transfer money between accounts, check on the status of a pending mortgage application, pay bills and determine what checks have cleared. All of this may be done by simply following the operator's directions and following the menu. At any time, customers can press a number and be connected with a customer representative.
“We have ten call centers spread between Connecticut and Key West, Fla.,” notes Lamberson. “Even though a customer from Connecticut may call the Connecticut call center, they may actually be speaking with someone in another state.”
Even though customers can also access First Union accounts on the Internet, Lamberson says that more people use the First Union Direct system over the Cyberbanking program.
“For our customers, the First Union Direct system is a convenient, fast, easy way to bank without leaving home,” she adds. “The customer can use this system whenever they need to. They don't have to wait for the branch to open, and they don't have to deal with waiting in line. All their banking can be done in private.”
As you'd expect, Southern New England Telephone Co. (SNET) is a vigorous proponent of voice-mail systems for both customers - and employees. For customers, SNET has a variety of 24-hour automated systems that allow a customer to locate a payment center, disconnect phone service, receive information about SNET products and services such as caller ID and SNET Voice Mail, make bill payment arrangements, or speak with a company representative.
In addition to using an automated system for its customers, SNET employees use an inter-company voice-mail system. “Our voice mail is very heavily used,“ notes SNET spokesperson Myra Stanley. “It is the major communication tool within the company.”
Because the company's system has a plethora of features, employees are able to tailor their mailboxes to their particular needs. The system, Stanley adds, allows employees to be more productive.
“With voice mail we can leave very detailed messages and, in return, receive very detailed responses,” she explains. “When a reporter calls my number and leaves a message on my voice mail, I can wait to call them back until I have all the information I need to give them.
“Very often I don't have the answers at my fingertips and have to get the answers from someone else,” she adds. “When I call a reporter back I have the answers to their questions.
“For me, voice mail definitely eliminates a lot of wasted phone time. It allows me to use my time more productively,” Stanley says. “There are times when I never actually speak to a caller, only to their voice mail. We often swap voice mails back and forth and business is successfully conducted that way.”
Fzor consumers and businesses, SNET sells a voice-mail service that can be programmed for any phone. For $6.50 a month, consumers can have voice mail. The benefit for the residential customer or the home business customer, Stanley notes, is that there are no missed calls. A customer doesn't have to remember to turn on the answering machine when she goes out, while the home-business customer doesn't have to worry about missed calls when on the phone with a client. The system holds up to 15 new messages up to seven days.
Likewise, businesses may buy a voice-mail system from SNET. The cost to purchase a system can range from $12,500 to $200,000, depending on complexity, according to Stanley. Or, a business can take advantage of an SNET voice-mail system for between $10 and $16.50 per month, depending on the number of mailboxes and features. Any SNET voice mail systems can be accessed from any phone, anywhere, according to Stanley.
“There are obviously people who don't like to use automated systems and who will always ask to speak with a representative,” acknowledges Stanley. “But for a great many people, business can very easily be conducted without actually talking to someone.”
William Raveis Real Estate has an unusual way of using its automated response system. On the bottom of the company's “for sale” signs is a code. There is a different code for each house that Raveis is selling. By dialing, 1-888 WRAVEIS (972-8347) and dialing in the code number, a potential buyer can find information about the home before stepping inside.
Raveis' “Home-Link” program gives a detailed description of the home and the asking price. The system allows the potential buyer to search for homes by town and by price range. Home-Link also lists area open houses and makes mortgage calculations. Through the same process, applicants may also check the status of their mortgage applications through American Mortgage Services, a Raveis subsidiary.
“Home-Link is like the Internet by telephone,” says Raveis Executive Vice President Mary Ann Evick. “It's a very valuable tool for our customers.”
Most potential buyers, she adds, call Home-Link before actually looking at a home. The service, which is operated by a company based in Milwaukee, Wisc., receives 12,000 calls a month, she says.
“It's 24-hour advertising for us,” notes Evick. “We have to be able to reach the buyer through a large number of vehicles. Home-Link gives us 24-hour exposure. That has value to the public.”
One of the most frequently used features of the system, according to Evick, is the mortgage calculator. After dialing in to the Home-Link main menu, a customer can dial in the asking price of the house, the amount of the down payment and instantly hear the amount of the monthly mortgage payment. The system also relays to callers what that payment is based on - the term of the mortgage and the interest rate.
“With the reports we get from Home-Link, we in the office are able to determine what towns people are most interested in, what price range most people are looking at and a variety of other information that allows us to tailor our offerings to the most customers,” explains Evick.
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