Statement from Nathan Gibson, Bell
October 9, 2018
At Bell, customer satisfaction is central to retaining our customers (now more than 22 million
across Canada) and welcoming new ones. Consequently, delivering a positive customer service
experience is core to the training of Bell’s own service teams and those who work for our
customers at contract support companies.
That includes Nordia, a respected Canadian name in the customer service field that Bell and
other Canadian companies contract for service support. We’ve had a longstanding and positive
relationship with them.
In terms of credits, our service teams will obviously correct any errors immediately, such as
when “there is a mistake on a customer’s account” as you note, including applying any credits
necessary. Fixing customer concerns quickly is a priority for our representatives, measured by
their success in reducing hold times and call transfers and achieving first-call resolution of any
issues.
However, do not confuse account credits or adjustments with the discounts or promotional
credits sometimes used to earn a new customer’s business or retain an existing Bell customer.
Telecommunications is a highly competitive business in Canada with multiple service provider
options available to customers throughout the country. Promotions and discounts are often used
by providers to win new customers or keep their existing customers from switching.
Our service teams certainly have the flexibility to offer customers special discounts and
promotional credits, and any discounts may vary based on factors such as the length of time the
customer has been with us, the type of product and so on.
Re: Cost per call. This is obviously an important measurement for businesses in any industry
that conduct most of their customer service over the phone. But it’s not based simply on the
amount of discounting or promotions offered, and it is far from the only metric used to evaluate
our service levels. We measure a number of factors focused on delivering quality service,
including on-hold time, first-call resolution, the number of call transfers, customer retention and
overall customer satisfaction.
All Bell representatives at our own company or partners like Nordia must always abide by our
service policies and follow our Bell Code of Conduct. We monitor all of our service, sales and
installation/repair operations very closely to ensure customers receive the best service possible
and that we deliver a positive and rewarding work environment for our team.