Smart Phones Require Even Smarter Support

Tuesday, 10. 20. 2009  –  Category: Ranger Wireless Solutions

With the pending release of Verizon’s Android-based phone Droid, consumers have yet another worthy smartphone to consider.  As users continue to upgrade to devices that do more than just make calls, carriers too need to better position themselves for the continual integration of services that now constitute the customer experience.  Unlike traditional phones, smartphones come with their own set of headaches.  And for carriers of these phones, the issues all center on supporting a phone that not only does voice alone.

A More Demanding Customer

The cable industry is a great example of how a demanding customer can cause unforeseen headaches.  As many stepped recently into the telecommunications arena by offering phone service, they quickly realized that offering a new service wasn’t as easy as simply adding to the customer experience.  Instead they found that customers had certain expectation for quality of service, reliability, pricing and more based upon the phone company’s product—many of which didn’t match up to the product they could offer over their network.

It is no different for the wireless community.  As services and devices continue to improve, the customer’s demand for the product grows with it.  What once used to be a big gap between quality expectations of a cell phone and a land line are now very similar in the customer’s mind.  So too are the data plans.  With broadband in a majority of homes, and Wi-Fi hot spots all over town, consumers expect mobile data networks to be of equal availability and quality.

New smartphone customers are not only demanding in their expectations, they also are demanding on the setup and support process.  They require more than a manual to understand their new devices.  Many wireless providers now offer classes at their stores to maximize their service.  This demand extends beyond the initial purchase and setup.   With additional features and applications, customers are more likely to have issues throughout their lifecycle with the device.  And as the percentage of customers with smartphones climbs, it is important that companies have sufficient staff to handle these increases in demand.  They also need to understand where customer support ends and customer responsibility takes over.

Drawing the Line

Smartphones have become so much more than merging of a cell phone and a PDA or calendar.  They are lifestyle devices that offer music, photos and custom applications.  As a carrier or hardware maker, however, you can only have so much responsibility for what the customer does with that device.  Even with walled garden approaches to app stores, and strict guidelines in the contract prohibiting “jail breaking” phones, consumers will push usage of the devices to the limit.  This often means more issues and complications to their experience whether you like it or not.

Therefore, it is important for carriers to draw a line in the sand as to what is supported/not supported in the user experience.  For example: If you sell an application or product, do you support it if there is an issue?  Even though you want the customer to have a positive experience, the company cannot be responsible if the customer is negatively affecting their service with their own actions.

The smartphone experience only continues to grow more complicated and integrated each day.  It is vital that carriers continue to position themselves for this increased demand and proactively set the guidelines of what constitutes the customer experience.

David Fleming works for RANGER Wireless Solutions, a CornerWorld company.

Tags: Android, cell phone, customer service, data, David Fleming, Droid, Google, Motorola, smartphone, wi-fi, wireless