CUSTOMER SUCCESS: THE CABLE GUY SHOWS UP SOONER, THANKS TO IBM SOFTWARE

Time Warner Cable streamlines service calls and improves customer satisfaction with help from IBM eNetwork Wireless Software

IBM eNetwork Wireless Software has helped Time Warner cable service technicians handle customer service calls much faster than before.

Popcorn and soft drink in hand, you settle onto the sofa to watch your favorite television show when suddenly the cable goes out. A line problem, defective converter box, or some other mysterious malfunction has wiped out the picture. Whatever the cause, you want service restored—and you want it before you miss another scene.

Time Warner Cable in Raleigh, North Carolina, knows that such interruptions—though they occur only occasionally for its 80,000 customers—require fast responses. Unfortunately, the old, single radio frequency system with which Time Warner Cable service crews communicated was anything but fast. Voice traffic between dispatchers and the approximately 40 mobile repair units typically jammed the frequency. As a result, the company often experienced delays as long as 20 minutes as service technicians tried to get through to dispatchers for work orders, customer data, and other critical information. All that down time meant longer waits for already-anxious customers.

To help alleviate such problems, Time Warner decided to implement an integrated solution from IBM that enables repair crews to use eNetwork Wireless Software and ThinkPad® portable computers to keep in touch with the main office anytime, anywhere. The combination of eNetwork Wireless Software and ThinkPad computers with special modems—wallet-size black boxes, each with a small antenna, attached to the top of the screen—allows technicians to access crucial information from the cable company's existing AS/400® databases in real time. The resulting gains in performance and productivity are so dramatic that Time Warner Cable is deploying the system in three other North Carolina cities: Charlotte, Cary, and Durham.

Performance and Productivity Improvements

Time Warner Cable's Raleigh-based service technicians used to start their day by driving to the cable company offices in their own vehicles to pick up work orders and maps. They would then jump into their service trucks and typically arrive at their first customer call between 8:30 and 9:00 A.M. Because the IBM system capabilities enable them to obtain the same work information remotely, technicians now keep their service trucks at home and proceed straight to customers' homes by 8:00 A.M.

A similar productivity boost occurs at the end of the day. Because they no longer need to return to the office to turn in paperwork and park their service trucks, crew members have extra time to help customers. In just a short period of time, the IBM system has produced huge, measurable benefits for Time Warner Cable and its customers:

• A company analysis found that a sample group of 12 technicians completed 2,721 more service calls over a three-month period than in the same time frame a year earlier, when the IBM system was not yet in use.
• Each technician on average resolved 14.5 service calls per day after the IBM system was put in place, compared with just 11.0 before—a 32 percent increase. According to Bob Hermann, plant manager of Time Warner Cable in Raleigh, "It’s not necessarily that technicians are working harder. There just isn’t as much wasted time."
• In 1996, Time Warner Cable met its goal of responding to every service call by the end of the next day in 88 percent of cases. In 1997, with the IBM system only partially rolled out, the rate improved to 92 percent. The company accomplished this without increasing personnel even though there was a slight increase in the number of service calls. Hermann estimates that the rate today is around 95 percent.
• On-time service records have improved significantly. That not only pleases customers but saves the company the $20 (U.S.) service fee discount it provides when a repairman is late.
• Technicians no longer have to carry bulky maps in their trucks because maps of the entire service area and its cable lines are now stored in a ThinkPad computer and can be recalled for viewing on a resident browser. This reduces the annual cost of map updates by at least $200 (U.S.) per vehicle.

Executive Summary

Problem Cable company needs a more efficient means of communication between dispatchers and mobile service technicians Solution IBM eNetwork Wireless mobile voice and data communication Benefit Significantly improved response time to service calls

Although Time Warner Cable had examined several alternatives—including a digital radio network—to re-engineer its communication system, it found the IBM products ideal for its needs. IBM eNetwork Wireless Software supports the leading international cellular, wireline, and wireless packet data networks. In addition, the IBM software is specifically designed to extend AS/400 5250 applications (as well as IP, 3270, or Web-based applications in the LAN, WAN, intranet, or Internet) to mobile workers.

Ryan Hussey, an assistant plant manager at Time Warner Cable, says that onsite training conducted by IBM familiarized service employees with the new system. It helped because IBM eNetwork Wireless Software enables applications to work with familiar screens and commands—the same as those used in the office. Hussey notes, "Most of our people have grabbed this with both hands and run with it."

The new system has been so successful that some Time Warner Cable sales representatives in Raleigh are now using it, and maintenance crews—who service the cable company's infrastructure while technicians respond to customer calls—might do so soon. It's even possible that the company's contract cable installers will join in one day as well. Hermann concludes, "This is truly a remarkable project that will continue to benefit our organization for years to come."

The Future is Mobile

Mobile and wireless experts predict that the percentage of worldwide information technology budgets allocated to supporting mobile and remote users will grow from less than five percent in 1996 to 30 percent in 2001, according to the Gartner Group®. If you're interested in increasing your company's future growth through mobile technology, you should consider the IBM eNetwork Software mobile solution. It can extend the reach of your enterprise to mobile workers, significantly increasing the timeliness and availability of information with minimal capital investment or modifications to your existing systems. In this way, the IBM eNetwork Software mobile solution can provide a fast, cost-effective way to mobilize your workforce. For the latest mobile news, solutions, trials, or code, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/network/mobilesolution/.

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