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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Vectren Puts Customers First with Virtual Hold Queue Management Solution
Over 96,000 Customer Experiences Improved in Just 2 Months
Akron, OH – May 25, 2004 – Virtual Hold Technology® LLC (VHT), the leading provider of intelligent queue management solutions, announced today that Vectren Energy Delivery, Inc., a gas and electric delivery utility serving more than one million customers, has deployed VHT’s virtual queuing technology to improve customer satisfaction and reduce contact center costs.
Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Vectren’s service area includes nearly two-thirds of Indiana and west central Ohio. In an effort to improve the experience of customers calling with service or billing questions, Vectren selected the patented Virtual Hold queue management solution to eliminate hold time which often leads to customer frustration.
When agents are not immediately available to answer calls, Virtual Hold allows callers to hang up but keep their place in line. Callers are informed of their estimated wait time and offered the chance to receive a return call in the same amount of time as if they waited on hold. Virtual Hold places callbacks to customers when it is their turn to speak with an agent
– eliminating the frustration that customers feel when forced to wait on hold and increasing the efficiency of the call center.
“As a result of implementing Virtual Hold, our customers routinely give praise to the Customer Service Specialists about this technology and our overall customer satisfaction rating is increasing,” said Breck Sparks, Director of Marketing and Customer Service for Vectren. “Feedback from our Customer Service Specialists suggests their call processing time is lessened when working with a customer who has opted for a Virtual Hold callback.”
Vectren began offering the Virtual Hold service to customers in March and has already seen significant benefits. In two months of operation, the system treated over 96,000 callers and saved more than 7,226 hours of hold time. As customers become more familiar with the system, the percentage of callers opting to receive a callback increases. Virtual Hold is
helping Vectren reduce abandoned calls, improve service levels, increase labor efficiency, and control telecom expenses.
“Virtual Hold was simply one of the best technology moves this company has ever made,” said Robbie Sears, former Director of CRM who now directs the billing, meter reading and collections functions for Vectren. He noted that the solution was deployed on time and under budget, with a total timeline of seven weeks from project kickoff to go-live.
“Vectren was a natural fit for Virtual Hold,” said Mark Williams, president and founder of VHT. “Utilities have proven to be a strong market for our queue management solution.
We’re pleased to be able to help Vectren provide a higher level of service to their customers while improving their call center operations.” While the benefits of Virtual Hold queue management are realized daily, Vectren expects to
see increased savings during seasonal increases in call volume and sudden surges in call demand caused by weather-related service interruptions.
About Virtual Hold Technology
Virtual Hold Technology (VHT) is the leading developer of virtual queuing solutions for Fortune 1000 clients. Since its inception in 1995, VHT's patented, award-winning virtual queuing technology has provided return call solutions focused on enhancing the customer experience for financial services, energy/utility, insurance, telecommunications, cable, wireless, and retail corporations such as IBM, Bank of America, T-Mobile, Aflac, AT&T, Banco Popular, Verizon, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Time Warner Cable, and AVON. To learn how Virtual Hold virtual queuing solutions can help increase customer satisfaction and reduce contact center costs, visit www.virtualhold.com or call 877-886-8187.
To experience a demonstration of a Virtual Hold call, dial 1-888-412-2214 (or 330-670-2214).
Contact Info: Adrienna M. Frazer
About Vectren
Vectren Corporation (NSYE: VVC) is an energy and applied technology holding company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Vectren’s regulated energy delivery subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to over one million customers in adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and west central Ohio. Vectren’s non-regulated
subsidiaries and affiliates currently offer energy-related products and services to customers throughout the Midwest and southeast. These include gas marketing and related services; coal production and sales; utility infrastructure services; and broadband communication services. To learn more about Vectren, visit www.vectren.com.
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