Verizon In-Home Agent shows and tells

Verizon has enhanced its In-Home Agent customer self-service offering with a series of videos that can be accessed via FiOS TV to show customers how to set up and manage various new services.

The videos, available in the “help” tool of the on-screen FiOS TV menu, aim to give customers a new dimension of setup help and lessen the likelihood that they will need to call the carrier’s customer service help line to ask questions or clarify other instructions. Verizon developed the service based on customer feedback and also after noticing trends in how frequently customers were reaching out for more help to have certain types of how-to questions answered, said Gary Butler, vice president of operations for Verizon.

“If you see visually how something is done, it can be easier than doing it from written instructions, and one of the things we can do with FiOS TV is make the process easier,” Butler said. “This is one of the things that can make the TV more like the PC in terms of how you interact with it.”

The library of 16 videos includes topics such as DVR basics, setting up an e-mail account and configuring TV audio. They are not intended to be lengthy tutorials, with many lasting no longer than 60 seconds.

Verizon launched its In-Home Agent software last year for PCs, at that time a key step on an ongoing effort to increase self-service options. The company noted that its endeavors in this area solidly correlate with findings from a Forrester Research report last December that suggested at least 36% of consumers prefer self-reliant customer service to other forms.

“Increasingly, our customers look at our service support as part of the service they buy,” Butler said. “The more work you make your customers do to find they help they need, the less loyal they will be as customers.”

While the In-Home Agent videos reflect some increasing interest in self-reliant service, they also will appeal to a certain segment of customers who might not be terribly confident about setting up and activating high-tech features, Butler said.

And, the benefits are not only for customers, but also for Verizon. The company and other telcos have been working for years to reduce their numbers of truck rolls to customer locations and other costs associated with customer service. Butler noted that Verizon's initial investment in In-Home Agent was paid back via cost savings within a year.