BellSouth trials in-home PC support

BellSouth today said it will test a new in-home support service for PCs that could become part of its DSL offering.

The initial trial of BellSouth Managed Home Service is in Metro Atlanta and offers BellSouth Fast Access DSL customers a chance to get help on issues regarding their PCs, digital cameras, software, MP3 players and more. Service fees will vary, depending on the nature of the help provided, and technicians will be available for both on-the-phone and in-home assistance, according to a BellSouth spokeswoman.

Like other service providers, BellSouth is seeing increased customer support calls as PCs and DSL reach the mass market and many non-technically oriented customers struggle to manage the technology.

“Customers were calling us to ask us about things not having to do with the BellSouth broadband pipeline,” the spokeswoman said. “Our technical support people aren’t necessarily trained to talk with you about your digital camera or MP3 player. We often have to refer them back to the computer maker or someone else. Technology isn’t getting simpler, but we like to keep things as simple as possible for our customers.”

This is not at all uncommon, according to David Deans, an independent consultant. Speaking at Motivation, the user conference for Motive Software this week in Austin, Deans said service providers have to be prepared for the fact that customers will take for granted a level of customer service that can be very costly to provide. Creating a higher level of support and selling it as a premium service makes more sense, he said.

BellSouth is relying on both internal and external resources to provide support for such things as loading new software or hardware, preventing and coping with spyware and viruses, setting up home networks and generally troubleshooting problems, the spokeswoman said. Tech staff for the trial have gotten additional training.

BellSouth is able to use remote diagnostic tools to “take over” a customer’s computer and diagnose problems, she added.

The Atlanta trial will continue at least through this year and will then be extended or expanded, depending on market reaction, the spokeswoman said.