BT completes 100% onshoring of customer service calls to the UK and Ireland to deliver personal and local customer service Customers
– BT delivers on its commitment to answer 100% of its customer service calls in the UK and Ireland a year early
– BT’s regional call routing to make sure the public talk to the most local contact centre to them up and down the country
BT has completed its commitment to answer 100% of customer service calls in the UK and Ireland a year ahead of schedule to deliver the most personal and local service to its customers.
The company now becomes the only major ISP to answer all calls across the UK and Ireland, and all calls are answered in the most local contact centre to the customer as part of its move to regional call routing.
To mark this moment, BT reached out to the Nation to dive into the vast differences in local phrases and dialects that relates and connects people when talking on the phone.
From Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern Ireland, 80% of people say that ‘Hello’ is their preferred way to start a conversation on the phone, which may seem very formal living up to the Nation’s stereotype but as conversations progress we’re ending with ‘See Ya’ as our favourite way to end our chat.
Other popular phone phrases include ‘Wassup’ which was particularly popular in London and the South East of England, and in the north other favourites consist of ‘What’s the craic’ and ‘Alright?’.
We aren’t just formal when it comes to phone calls either, with ‘Regards’ being Britain’s most popular email sign off (37%), followed by ‘Many Thanks’ (25%). Whereas, one in ten from London and Yorkshire prefer signing off emails with ‘Love From’.
Understanding why connecting regionally and locally with people through different phrases and endearing terms delivers a more positive customer experience. BT has partnered with social media comedy page, Very British Problems, by comically engaging Twitter users on picking their favourite phone sayings via a bingo meme.
Rob Temple, owner of the comical Twitter page, Very British Problems, says,
“The Nation loves a good formal safe “Hello”. We know where we are with a hello. It’s low risk. We shout all sorts of greetings to our friends and family to their faces, often becoming especially colourful when yelling across a pub, but stick a phone to our ear and suddenly we’re in Downton Abbey. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
Our Nation’s famed politeness and etiquette is internationally known through the varied ways Brits address and thank each other. The research shows ‘thank you’ is the most popular way to show appreciation someone with ‘ta’ and ‘nice one’ being the next two favourites, particularly in Scotland and the North West of England.
Rob continues, “Britain is a nation of dialects, with unique lingo in every corner of the country. But something that we all share is our love of local small talk; the weather, footie and the telly, all make us feel comfortable and able to relate to someone on the other side of the phone.”
Marc Allera, CEO of BT Consumer, said:
“We know how important providing a personal, and local service is to our customers and today we’re celebrating delivering our commitment to answer all of our customer service calls in the UK and Ireland. We know our customers value speaking to someone on the other end of the phone who understands their issue, whether that’s about their products or the weather.
“BT is already back on the high street and within 20 minutes’ drive of 95% of the UK population, and now as part of our ambition to be the best for service we’re now answering 100% of our customers’ calls in the UK and Ireland.”
Additional Information
BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global Services and Openreach.
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