Frequently Asked Questions
|
ANSWERING
CUSTOMERS’ QUESTIONS |
Click here for The Top-10 Questions Customers Are Asking
Telecommunications is
BIG NEWS. New technologies, new surcharges, changes in billing,
high-speed Internet connections and broadband services, wireless –
and more – remain hot topics in the information-based economy. In
fact, the industry’s evolution from yesterday’s “telephone”
world to the often-baffling twenty-first century age of
telecommunications has become one of America’s most well
publicized consumer issues.
As a result, federal and state legislators and regulators continue
to investigate and explore new rules, regulations, and policies,
often leaving customers so confused and upset that they don’t even
bother to ask questions anymore. As a community based telecom
provider with strong local connections, we don’t think that’s a
good way to build strong relationships with the customers we serve.
Nor do we think “blind faith” is the best way for you to
approach your service. We feel our customers and communities should
be “educated consumers.”
The Foundation for Rural Service recently updated “Answering
Customers’ Questions: An FAQ Reference Guide,” the resource tool
produced last year as part of the “Local Touch, Global Reach”
Community Based Telecom Providers campaign. We hope the information
helps NTCA members respond to the questions that customers raise
about our increasingly complicated and confusing industry. As with
all the reference pieces in this campaign, FRS is confident that the
FAQ guide can assist in your efforts to position your company as
both a telecom leader committed to quality service and a vital
economic partner with your subscribers and your community.
As we have learned the hard way, telecom is no easy no easy subject
for any audience. Most customers are barely aware – let alone,
educated – about the industry, your role in the community, or your
importance in keeping your area economically viable. For these
reasons and more, FRS has sought over the past several years to help
you reach out to your customers. We’ve designed the Local Touch *
Global Reach campaign and this reference guide to enable you to tell
your story, reconnect with the people and communities you serve, and
inform customers of the connection between their local telecom
provider and their community’s economic well-being.
Some Suggested Guidelines
FRS’s updated issue of “Answering Customers’ Questions: An FAQ
Reference Guide” is available for download from the FRS website in
two formats: as a read-only PDF (you will need Adobe Acrobat
software) and as a Word-file document. The PDF version is designed
to load on your network for use by staff who work from PCs or
laptops, and the Word file allows NTCA members to download and make
editing changes specific to your company and service area –
enhancing its use for both customer response and internal staff
education.
FRS developed the FAQ guide for NTCA members as a whole, so the
individual questions-and-answers and the general information in each
section are, by definition, generic. As you review the information,
you will note some topics; e.g., individual state USF charges and
wireless LNP, for which the Word-file format will allow you to
edit/revise for your specific situation. Thus, if your state does
not have a state USF end-user charge, that q-and-a selection is not
appropriate in your case. Likewise, if your state does assess USF
end-user charges but does not permit telecom providers to recover
their assessment from customers, the q-and-a should be revised to
communicate that information to customers. Downloading the Word
document onto your own network allows you to adopt these types of
revisions and, hence, makes the guide that much more relevant to
your customers and staff.
Similarly, as you review the content, keep in mind that you can
strengthen your case significantly by revising – and even
replacing – the information with details of your own story. FRS
drafted, reviewed, and revised the content to stand on its own in
effectively responding to customer concerns. We emphasize again,
however, that “generic” information is by definition less
effective than material that is recognizable and meaningful for your
customers. So, where the guide is “generic, FRS suggests you make
your message “specific,” with information about your company,
its history, service area, customer demographics, economic
situation, etc. Likewise, you should give serious consideration to
revising the copy to reflect such things as your organizational
structure (cooperative or locally controlled commercial operation),
size (large or small, relatively speaking), location (rural-remote
or more suburban) … as well as any other defining characteristic
that makes you or your community unique.
Remember, also, that the FAQ content conveys accurate information
about issues as they stood at the time of production and release. As
NTCA members know so well, “things change” – and in this
industry, particularly quickly – so the “snapshot” provided in
this document has an uncertain shelf life. Having the document in
Word format allows you to continue to use the guide even as key
issues; e.g., SLCs, wireless LNP, and broadband/DSL/VoIP, shift in
the wind.
Finally, FRS has sought to develop this FAQ information to reinforce
the identity of community based telecom providers and their status
as full-service companies committed to quality service. In this day
and age, telecom providers must communicate with their customers and
communities with an aggressive, self-promotional stance. In a
phrase, “Be sure to remind your customers how good their service
provider is!” In the process, you can build support for positions
key to continued access for rural Americans and for initiatives key
to rural economic success.
For more information about these guidelines, the FAQ reference
guide, or the FRS Community Based Telecom Providers campaign, call
FRS at 703.351.2026, or via e-mail, at llopinsky@ntca.org
