Cablefax The Magazine - July 2010 - 20

CUSTOMER CARE AWARD
Suzanne Foy
Past Co-Chair, C5
Director of Customer Care
Cox Communications
The Cable Center Customer Care Committee (C5) might
be cable's least-known entity. Under the auspices of
The Cable Center its members-the top 11 MSOs and
European operator UPC-meet twice yearly, take monthly
conference calls and participate in periodic Webinars
where they hear from academics and experts inside and
outside cable.
In May our honoree, Suzanne Foy, fi nished her twoyear
tenure as C5 Co-chair. " Her insights on innovation in
customer care and her willingness to share her knowledge
with C5 care executives have been invaluable, " says The
Cable Center SVP Jana Henthorn. " When Suzanne talks,
everyone listens. " Foy took us inside C5, discussing hot
issues and its industry benefi ts. She also spoke about
Cox's customer care prowess.
CFAX: How does C5 benefi t cable?
SF: The small size of this group lends itself to very honest
discussions of what is and isn't working. While each
MSO has a unique culture and style, none of us wants
to reinvent the wheel. The experience
of one or two MSOs in any given
area helps all of us refine our
strategies and absorb lessons
quicker. It's an incredible network
of industry care expertise.
With C5, we can work
faster and smarter.
CFAX: What are the hot
topics at C5 meetings?
SF: Consistently, we hit the big
three: our customers, our people,
and our metrics/financials.
Recently, the challenge of
supporting converged
products, such as
voicemail to the
TV or TV via the
Internet, is heat20
cablefaxmag.com
ing
up. Most of our organizations and customers think
of problems by product. Blurring that line influences
everything from call routing to employee skills to trouble
reporting. Also hot are Millennials - how to serve them
as customers and how to engage them as employees;
this is the biggest generational shift since the baby
boom and we're all feeling it. And we're always trying
to figure out the right metrics to gauge our influence on
customer loyalty and how to use these to influence our
organizations.
CFAX: What are Cox's toughest hurdles in customer
care/customer experience management?
SF: Understanding customer service expectations at the
individual level and delivering an experience that shows
customers we're serving them in a personal way. This is
huge. Doing it well -effectively and effi ciently- requires
that we bring together resources from across functions,
from Marketing Science to Sales to Care, Field Service
and Web. It also demands we take a fresh look at how we
work across markets. Particularly in call centers, where
geography is more transparent, how do we leverage Cox
talent across the country to meet specialized customer
needs? And how do we connect these virtual teams
seamlessly with local Field Service and Retail?
CFAX: What's behind Cox's formidable record of
J.D. Power honors?
SF: In the recent CableFAX and The Cable Center
Customer Experience Management Guidebook, Scott
Wise and I wrote about how the Cox culture stays
focused, top to bottom, on serving our customers. This
doesn't just happen magically. Although the foundation
for this culture was laid years ago, the company
continues to refresh and reinforce the message through
communication, training and feedback at all levels of
the organization. Policies, products and processes
change, but the quality and talent of our people and
their commitment to our customers don't. This really is
the " secret sauce. "
[ Online Bonus: At cablefax.com Suzanne Foy discusses
C5's view of social media and customer care, changes in
customer attitudes and what Cox gains from C5.]
July 2010
CableFAX: The Magazine
http://www.cablefax.com http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - July 2010

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