It’s sometimes hard waiting for something that you want.
And so Flow has made it easier for customers hoping to get broadband and telephone access.
“On average customers have complained about waiting for technicians for quite some time to get services, so now you can get it sooner rather than later,” Prudence Williams-La Borde Flow’s manager, performance optimisation told the Business Guardian.
Enter the self-installation initiative by Flow, which is said to get customers up and running in ten minutes or less.
“One of our core strategies under Liberty Latin America is really value creation through innovation and transformation to improve and simplify the lives of our key stakeholders which are our customers,” Williams-La Borde said.
“Self-installation which we are coining locally as Install It Yourself helps to deliver on that promise, she said.
“So in a nutshell should a customer be eligible for self installation we are empowering our customers to get the service and set it up themselves,” she said.
Williams-La Borde said that apart from time, the new initiative is also aimed at saving customers money.
“With conventional installation with the technician doing everything versus self-installation it is actually 50 per cent cheaper for the customer,” she said.
But don’t think that Flow is leaving you just to fend for yourself Williams-La Borde said.
“When the customer receives their kits there are a lot of guides, FAQs, trouble shooting steps printed and placed in the kit,” she said,
“There is also a self-help portal where there are videos and because we are really focused on continuously improving the customer experience we are constantly reviewing and refreshing that site based on customer feedback to add more elements,” Williams -La Borde said.
Customers will need to be met certain eligibility requirements to be able to get the self-installation, She said.
“As we are quite an innovative company self-install is going to expand through most of our products but at this point in time we are focused on broadband and a customer becomes eligible for self-install through three areas,” Williams-La Borde said.
The first is area serviceability.
“What does that mean their area say for example San Fernando and Chaguanas it already has Flow services, it is ready for Flow services,” she said.
The second is home readiness.
“And how is a home ready for self-install? The home would have previously had flow services so we already have the terminal box on the outside and the customer still has internal wiring,” Williams-La Borde said.
The third prerequisite is that the customer has a good credit rating.
Williams-La Borde said the self-installation initiative came about in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said Flow is delivering a touchless solution that allows new and existing customers to install internet and phone services in the simplest way without or with reduced human interaction.
“You could still get service once you qualify you don’t have to wait for a technician to come to you, you can come to store you, sign up and you leave with your kit or we have someone drop it off for you so it really empowers the customers whatever is happening, she said.
Williams-La Borde added that the self-installation would not adversely affect staff.
“As a company we really want to ensure that the quality of our service is the key differentiator, so when we have these opportunities to empower customers to do self-service types of activities it allows us to refocus our efforts on how we can improve and optimise the service we are delivering to our customers,” she said.
“So it is not a matter of losing jobs it is about increasing and improving opportunities internally so that we could then improve the quality of life and the quality service for our customers,” she said.
Williams-La Borde said the initiative is being introduced across the region.
“This is something that is happening across the region across all the Cable & Wireless markets across the region and Latin America,” she said.
“We are quite innovative so we are always looking at ways we can make life easier for our customers,” Williams-La Borde said.
She said self-installation will continue to expand.
