Call us any time: Ameritech aims to please with 24-hour customer service

In early January, Ameritech instituted an around-the-clock customer service center as part of the company's initiative to heighten its brand recognition.

The expanded hours enable customers to call with questions, service requests or orders at any time of day rather than just during normal business hours. The service is available to all Ameritech residential, small business, Ameritech.net, cellular, americast and home office telecommunications customers.

Previously, repair service was available at any time, but orders for a second line, information about caller ID and similar services were available only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

This will be the first of many changes customers will notice as a result of the company's slogan, "In a world of technology, people make the difference," according to Joan Walker, senior vice president, director of corporate communications.

Branding is becoming more important for consumers to identify with a particular company because they often make decisions based on brand appeal, Walker said.

Customer service is the marketing strategy that companies need to focus on today, said Jeff Kagan, a consultant at Atlanta-based Kagan Telecom Associates. In the future, however, top-notch customer service and top-of-the-line technology will be a given. Therefore, companies will need to use branding to differentiate themselves.

"Customers are expecting and demanding more," Kagan said. "Customers want to be with world-class companies that provide world-class service. The customer is king, and customers are getting harder to satisfy. You have to delight the customer. Technology and price aren't the game any more."

"We developed the brand positioning of being 'the attentive company' last October. We want to be the brand that customers can trust," Walker said. "We did a lot of research into what type of company customers wanted. We received very specific feedback that customers wanted attentive services. The [around-the-clock] service is the first major announcement as a result of that positioning."

Providing this type of service "keeps Ameritech in the game," Kagan said. Although most customers will still handle their affairs during normal business hours, more people are starting to do business whenever they want, be it through a 24-hour telephone service or via the Internet.

Most other carriers offer around-the-clock service or will soon, Kagan said.

In the future, however, brand identification will become more important.

"You look at the purchases at the supermarket, and most of them are brand names," Kagan said. "People make an emotional attachment to particular brands."

Being the "attentive company" will give Ameritech a good emotional tie with its customers, Kagan said, adding that the most recent move is a win-win situation for both the company and customers.

"The customers get the service they want at their convenience, and the company increases its revenue opportunities," he said.

In addition to Ameritech's recent announcement, the carrier has made smaller changes in operational procedures to enhance customer service:

* The company's repair crews have taken a proactive approach to informing customers of when repairs will be complete.

* Repair crews have been equipped with cellular phones to inform customers of exact arrival times on service calls.

Even these lesser changes are important, Kagan said. The brand positioning needs to go beyond top management and become the focus of all company employees.

TAKE CONTROL OF 2000

Brock International, a provider of customer information systems, has released an updated version of its TakeControl Internet-enabled customer information system. TakeControl '98 features year 2000 compliance, which allows customers to handle new date information and ensures that existing data is processed properly for 2000.

NEW YEAR BRINGS SAVINGS DAYS Bell Atlantic is offering customers Simple Savings Days, during which some of its most popular services, such as Caller ID, home voice mail and call waiting, will be offered at discounts or without connection charges. The promotion runs through mid-April.