Wireless carriers and handset manufacturers could save millions each year if they abided by the common adage-If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Wavetek Wandel Goltermann, a manufacturer of communications test solutions, said a surprisingly high number of handsets returned for repair have nothing wrong with them.
“We actually find far more than 50 percent are no-fault found,” said Bill Tull, market development manager for Wavetek Wandel Goltermann in Indianapolis.
Network problems and the user’s misunderstanding of the phone’s functionality can be blamed for many a phone being sent back for supposed mechanical failure. As a result, unnecessary no-fault found charges and inventory, shipping and technician and customer-service costs begin to add up.
Bob Desio, national service manager for Audiovox Communications Inc., said the company has seen phones come in from customers who are complaining the handset does not perform a certain function but are not aware they must subscribe to the service through their local carrier.
“Sometimes they complain about not having voice mail when they hadn’t set up an account,” Desio said.
Of course, many phones actually do have mechanical problems, including broken keyboard buttons, a cracked case or a broken antenna, but inspection by any number of people could prevent a faulty handset from being passed on to a consumer who inevitably will have to return it, leaving the carrier susceptible to churn.
Replacing the phone is one of the more popular solutions.
“It has been a trend just to give the user a new phone. But in fact, the user has problems all over again … and it causes a lot of churn. The cost of keeping a customer is far less than getting a new one,” Tull said.
BellSouth Corp. said it will provide a customer with a new handset in most cases, but noted it tests phones before they go out for distribution, as well as before they are shipped to customers.
Consequently, the company sees a relatively low amount of churn in the initial months of service, said Mike Cost, director of product planning for BellSouth’s Wireless Services Division.
“We see a higher number of units with no trouble found and a low percentage of units with problems in the early stages of the unit’s life,” Cost said.
Desio said about 1 percent of the phones Audiovox has sold this year have been returned. Of those, 10 percent had nothing wrong with them.
In addition to improving the quality of service, point-of-return testing increases the number of times customers return to the storefront, providing opportunities for further sales of ancillary equipment and services, according to Wavetek Wandel Goltermann.
Mechanical and electrical testing of a handset can eliminate the physical problems, but proper instruction on how to use the phone can help bypass overall customer dissatisfaction.
“Operators definitely recognize that if you ask the right questions, you can eliminate a certain percentage of churn,” said Bryan Prohm, analyst with Dataquest, noting that simple things such as not knowing which key to use on the keypad could contribute to churn.
“The business is becoming more and more about customer service … anything you can do to differentiate yourself, the better,” Prohm said.
