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| [May 12, 2008] |
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The Paisley Group's NDA Performance Index(SM) Finds North American Directory Assistance Is ''Best of the Best.''
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. --(Business Wire)-- Over the past twelve months, user paid directory assistance (DA) providers performed at levels that are almost as high as statistically possible, making the United States' DA service "the best of the best."
There are three components that drive the accuracy of DA: the automated front-end systems, the operators and the databases. According to the National Directory Assistance Performance Index(SM), an independent analysis published semi-annually by The Paisley Group, Ltd. (PGL), automated systems are performing at 98.7% accuracy, operators at 98.3% accuracy and databases at 95.0% accuracy resulting in 91.0% of all calls being handled accurately. The margin of error is +/- 3.2%.
Using a "mystery caller" approach, the Index tracks:
-- Customer Fulfillment(SM), the definitive directory assistance quality standard that, by measuring speech recognition, operator and database accuracy, evaluates how often DA callers receive a correct listing report;
-- Customer Care(SM), the success operators demonstrate in balancing customer advocacy, practice adherence and call-handling efficiency, and
-- "Passed Calls," the hallmark of directory assistance quality, combines Customer Fulfillment(SM) and Customer Care(SM) to measure how often DA users receive a correct report and are treated in a competent, courteous and professional manner.
The most recent Index also includes the final in a series of white paper discussions of Free DA and the service changes the leading provider of free DA, Jingle (1-800-FREE-411), has made recently to reach profitability.
ILEC Quality Stable
This Index measured AT&T, Qwest and Verizon in the ILEC segment. Verizon's overall Customer Fulfillment(SM) was "Best in Class" for this segment at 93.0% including a database accuracy of 95.3% and an operator accuracy of 98.7%. Close on the heels of Verizon (and within the error of estimation) was Qwest with a database accuracy of 95.7% and operator accuracy of 98.3%.
Qwest was the clear leader in Customer Care(SM), up to 92.9% from 91.5% in the Spring of 2007. This is in spite of rolling out automation over the past 18 months.
In the critical area of Passed Calls, Qwest again came out on top among the ILECs with 86.0% Passed Calls, up from 84.3% in the Spring, 2007 Index. The segment average was 79.0%, up from 75.3% last year.
Third Party DA Providers Continue to Lead in Passed Calls
The Customer Fulfillment(SM) of Third Party providers averaged 93.7% with a margin of error 2.8%. They performed significantly better than the ILECs in the area of Customer Care(SM), averaging 91.7% to the ILECs' segment average of 85.2%. INFONXX and Verizon LiveSource were almost neck and neck in Customer Care(SM) at 93.3% and 93.0% respectively with a margin of error of 2.9%.
The average percentage of Passed Calls for the 3rd Party segment was stable at 86.3% compared to the ILEC average of 79.0%.
Wireless Carrier Segment Parallels Third Party Providers
The Third Party DA Wholesalers provide service for the major wireless carriers so the quality of wireless DA service is also very good. The Customer Fulfillment(SM) scores were clustered in the 93.0% to 94.3% range with a margin of error of about 2.9%. Customer Care(SM) averaged 94.0% for wireless carriers with Sprint PCS leading the way with one of the best Customer Care(SM) scores the Index has seen.
Free DA Service Varies with Provider
If free DA service has operator backup, there is a much better chance that the caller will receive the correct report for their target request. AT&T's free service, 1-800-YELLOWPAGES, provided accurate information (for the requested party) 90% of the time. Callers to Jingle's 1-800-FREE411, where there is no operator available to help if the speech recognition fails, received correct information (for their specific request) only 69.3% of the time. Customer Care(SM) is also significantly better if an operator is available.
Customer Care(SM) and DA Automation are not Mutually Exclusive
Qwest Communications continues to show the industry that excellent Customer Care(SM) is possible with automated DA service. Not only was Qwest's Care the highest in the ILEC and Automated segments at 92.9%, but 16% of calls to Qwest met the rigorous standards required to be considered lagniapped calls. These are calls that are accurate and handled by operators who exceed every expectation in call-handling, courtesy and voice delivery - operators who connect with callers on a personal level.
Of all reports provided by DA speech recognition systems (where the database is accurate), 98.7% are accurate. These are calls where the speech recognition system has a high degree of confidence that it has located the caller's request and gives the number without forwarding the caller to an operator. On an industry level, accurate reports are given by live operators 98.3% of the time.
About the Paisley Group Ltd
The Paisley Group Ltd. is the leading independent auditor of directory assistance, toll assistance and relay services. They measure the accuracy of automated systems, databases and operators as well as the ability of operators and systems to provide Customer Care(SM) as defined by a number of objective measurements that are specific to the specialized telecom "operator services" business. Paisley is also a premiere provider of consulting services that optimize system, operator and database performance. Through extensive communications with users via focus groups and customer surveys, Paisley has defined a set of quality measurements that include the "voice of the customer." The company designs robust measurement models and provides meaningful and statistically significant data to assist clients and the industry-at-large in maintaining excellence at all levels.
For additional information, contact Meg MacRae, Managing Partner, The Paisley Group Ltd., 4482 Tallyrand Circle, Castle Rock CO 80104, 303-688-1666, mmacrae@thepaisleygroup.com.
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