Shuvankar Roy, vice president of Xfinity Home, manages operations for Comcast’s home security and home automation solution, and is responsible for service and solution delivery of Xfinity Home to more than 1 million customers.
In 2016, Roy (pictured) and his team led a series of strategic initiatives to identify opportunities to improve the experience for both customers and its Xfinity technicians.
That work has led to a reduction in installation time by nearly 30% and increased customer satisfaction, according to Comcast, which submitted the following Q&A with Roy to provide additional insights about these strategic initiatives:
Q: What led to this scrutiny of your operations?
Shuvankar Roy: We are always monitoring our operations to see where we can improve. One of the most important moments in growing our home security and automation business is our journey with customers before, during and after the installation. We know that on average, the installation process in a home requires customers to block off four to six or more hours of their day – especially if customers select a bundle of three or more services. We have been looking at ways to shorten the installation time.
Q: How did you go about tweaking your operations?
SR: After the detailed review of our entire operation, the team narrowed in on key areas that needed extra attention. We designed an innovative installation journey map, leveraged technologies and developed new tools to enable and transform the sales-to-install experience for our customers.
We know that first impressions stick, and doing the best to help ensure the journey from the moment a customer places their order to the date of the installation is smooth, is critical. New customers, particularly, have many questions about their services and the installation process and if they feel out of the loop the likelihood of them cancelling their order increases.
Q: During this process what was one of your biggest challenges?
SR: One of our biggest challenges was reducing the rate of customers from canceling their order before installation. This is very frustrating and unfortunately, it happens from time to time. Typically, customers cancel their services because they are unsure of the installation process. To provide new Xfinity Home customers with a better experience, we increased our communications with our customers throughout their journey from when they subscribe services to the days leading to the installation and afterwards to address any concerns and to answer any questions. If a customer calls in to cancel the installation, this call is routed to a live customer service specialist who can personally address any concerns and reinforce the value-add of our services.
Q: What tips can you offer other MSOs or telecom operators?
SR: To help ensure new customers are off on the right foot in their relationship with your company, consider these key areas
-Customer service. Evaluate the experience you provide to your customers from their point of view; put yourself in their shoes. Everything you do should be focused on making them happy and striving to deliver the “perfect” installation experience. Additionally, make sure communications to your customers are clear, concise and consistent
-Installation date. Provide your customers with an installation date that is within five to seven days from when they placed their order and commit to keeping these appointments. Do your very best to void this, but should your technician fall behind schedule, be sure to alert the customer well in advance if you are experiencing any delays in doing the installation on the day of the appointment
-Shorten the installation time. Try to identify any efficiencies that are overlooked where there is an opportunity to reduce the installation time, even if that means sending two technicians to do the job of the installation. It’s best to complete the installation within three to four hours.
Following these guidelines can help correct some key pain points and help to reduce the level of cancellations prior to the day of installation. Roy shared that making adjustments to the installation journey and improving customer service set the stage to make better strategic decisions and position your business for the next phase of growth.
