Time to share a POSITIVE experience with BroadVoice support

[ChkNpIMP]

I signed up with BroadVoice approx one week ago and was dismayed at the fact that the provisioning of the ATA I own, a Sipura 1001, changed my admin password.

Since I had signed up with the BYOD plan I had read on this forum and others that if you simply call Customer Service they would be more than happy to assist.

I called and yes I did get bumped once by the ACD and lost my spot in the queue. So I called back in and was answered this time within 10-15 minutes of holding.

The support rep knew exactly what I wanted, my admin password, and supplied it to me without incident. I also had a couple "follow-up" questions and this support rep was able to answer my queries quickly and made some modifications that I was not allowed to via the web interface.

Total time on the phone? Not more than 4 or 5 minutes. 3 issues resolved.

Let me explain something and that is I also work in the telecom field but for Carrier/Enterprise level solutions (IE: Voicemail, VoIP, PBX/Switches, etc). The telecom industry as a whole gets pretty low marks when it comes to customer support. Now that "residential customers" are entering the market and need support from various carriers (VoIP, ISP, POTS companies, etc), it compounds support issues immensely.

I feel like BroadVoice has been getting a bad name based upon what I read in many forums. BroadVoice is not the only company that gets flamed by residential customers. The company I work for sells multi-million dollar Unified Messaging solutions and is a global powerhouse. I get calls from upset customers and field service engineers every day.

Since I received excellent service from the customer support rep I spoke with, I felt I should share that with 'suggestions@broadvoice.com'. When I had time to settle in this afternoon, I found this in my Inbox:

From: David Epstein
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 1:20 PM
To: [name omitted]
Cc: Les Berry; suggestions@broadvoice.com
Subject: RE: Feedback for CS rep

As president of BroadVoice I am cc

[mberlant]

I have also been in the global telecommunications business for more years than I care to admit. I have worked for the world's largest corporations and governments and have run my share of Customer Service organizations.

In this day and age, being a telephone CSR is a lot like being a veterinarian. Solving the actual problem is easy when compared with getting an accurate description of the complaint. Just as a veterinarian must diagnose ailments in patients who lack the ability to verbalize their symptoms, so must a CSR probe a caller to elicit details about the trouble at hand.

CSRs like Daniel appreciate callers like you just as much as you appreciate them. In the space of 5 minutes you were able to make three specific requests, which he was able to satisfy immediately. This is the cost model that BV strives for when setting discounts for BYOD customers.

It's good to hear a success story.

[benjaminthefirst]

Does it take time to get to BV... most often yes... but is the support there when you get to someone YES.... Jessup, and Ron hold it down in the nights... very informative, patient, and knowledgable... I am curious why people put the same expectations on a voip company that they would put on a MA' BELL... i.e. SBC,QWEST etc.... They are getting their stuff together.. is it as quickly as I like... no... but they seem to be the best thing in town... don't have vonage numbers... but they have a much better product and better price.... I can live with their short commings...

[mberlant]

Yes. You get what you pay for. For the most part, people who frequent places like this forum are those who prefer to pay less money for less handholding. If we needed the kind of support that Vonage and Verizon provide their customers we would be paying for that level of service. I'd rather not pay for what I don't need. And, I'd rather not subsidize those who do need that level of support.