Hotel Online Special Report Quality Assurance at Promus Call Centers Monitored by Witness Systems Technology Enhances agent performance, quality of service and customer satisfaction ATLANTA July 13, 1999 — Witness Systems, Inc., the premier developer of customer interaction recording and analysis solutions for contact centers, today announced that Promus Hotel Corporation (NYSE:PRH) has successfully deployed its patented, synchronized voice and data recording application throughout the hospitality leader’s call center organization. Promus recognizes that today customer service can be the number one differentiator between brands. For this reason, it continually takes proactive measures to maintain high quality properties, deliver top-notch service and train its staff to render the best possible customer service.
To accurately gauge its reservation sales representatives’ (RSRs) customer service skills, cross-selling techniques and overall performance, it invested in the WITNESS® customer interaction recording software to help maintain its leadership position in the industry. Prior to selecting WITNESS, Promus used a basic voice recording application in its three primarily inbound guest reservation centers located in Memphis, Tenn., Tampa, Fla. and Vancouver, Wash. Replacing that software with WITNESS has given the organization a complete solution for recording customer interactions in their entirety from both a voice and data perspective. “We were focused on really getting it right. Having the ability to proactively strengthen our service delivery and RSRs’ skill sets with a ‘real-time’ quality assurance function is a priceless quality for us and one that has helped propel our customer interaction center to new levels,” said Kathy Burns, quality assurance supervisor for Promus.
Gaining insight into the “big picture” through sight and sound
The Memphis-based organization owns and operates eight brands of hotels, made up of more than 1,275 properties worldwide. With approximately 2,000 RSRs, managers and supervisors (or development coaches) in its call center division, ensuring that performance ratings accurately mirror customer experiences and gaining a full picture of agent-customer interactions from both a voice and data perspective are paramount. Said Lisa Sirianni, operations support manager for the organization, “Of the very small percentage of agent input inaccuracies that occur, the majority are undetectable by simply listening to the agent-customer conversation. With WITNESS’ unique data capture technique, inconsistencies entered into the system are brought to the surface immediately and proactively addressed before ever impacting the customer.”
Proactive management of customer interaction centers drives consistency, training and service levels
While performing in a quality assurance capacity, the application also is helping Promus make strides in achieving consistency and frequency in RSR evaluations and in streamlining and strengthening development coach (DC) mentoring and training techniques. The fact that Promus can customize its evaluation forms has saved time and effort, as well. With the WITNESS Evaluation and Reporter™ module, organizations are free to design their own forms and focus on the performance areas that most affect their specific business criteria and goals. With its well-trained RSRs and enhanced service delivery, Promus’ return-on-investment is already quite evident. According to Burns and Sirianni, the organization has noted efficiency increases of up to 50 percent since implementing WITNESS. It also has witnessed improvements in the performance, service delivery and coaching processes exhibited by RSRs and DCs throughout the guest reservation centers that communicate with Promus’ customers worldwide.
About Promus Hotel Corporation Promus Hotel Corporation is the franchiser/operator of the Doubletree Hotels, Doubletree Guest Suites, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn Suites, Club Hotel by Doubletree, Red Lion, Embassy Vacation Resort and Hampton Vacation Resort brands. The company also manages non-Promus branded hotels and facilities in its University Hotel Conference Center division. Promus operates, franchises or owns hotels throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico and Latin America. Promus is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and has approximately 40,000 employees. For more information about Promus, visit the World Wide Web at www.promus.com.
About Witness Systems Witness Systems is the premier developer and supplier of customer interaction recording and analysis solutions for contact centers, highlighted by its flagship WITNESS® business-driven recording application. As the innovator of voice/data synchronization, Witness Systems engineers solutions to record, evaluate and analyze complete customer contact across a variety of mediums. The company’s patented WITNESS software is deployed by call center managers as a training tool to improve the performance of agents, helping companies deliver world-class service. Results from these recordings are combined with other service delivery metrics (such as ACD and workforce management) in the Performance Analyzer™ application, supplying a complete picture of sales and service performance. Witness Systems has installations at more than 300 customer sites in a multitude of industries worldwide, including automotive, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, outsourcing, travel and utilities. Witness Systems’ news, product and service information is available on the World Wide Web at www.witsys.com. For more information, contact 1105 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 210, Alpharetta, Georgia 30004, or call 770/754-1900. WITNESS is a registered trademark of Witness Systems, Inc. Performance Analyzer is a trademark of Witness Systems, Inc.
Contact: Witness Systems Anne Milner, 770/754-8656 [email protected] Also See: Reservation Sales Training Program Available via the Internet is Enhanced / March 1999