Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

August 27, 2007

Refurbished Cell Phones Can Hurt Customer Experience

By Stefania Viscusi

Assignment Desk Editor

When it comes to a customer experiences, delivering a favorable experience is really key for any business looking to succeed.

When it comes to purchasing a cell phone, this has proven a particularly important element, especially in the growing market for prepaid phones and the convenience stores that carry them.

A recent news release points out that "nearly 80% of mobile users in Europe and Asia already prefer using prepaid over postpaid calling plans causing many analysts to see prepaid as the inevitable future of consumers' cell phone habits."

While purchasing refurbished cell phones may seem like an attractive buy, the customer service that can be sacrificed has caused many retailers and buyers to think again.

According to prepaid wireless company Airlink Mobile, who has "seen its growth rate climb nearly 800% since March 2006," refurbished handsets have a chance of turning out defective (as many as three out of ten), that in addition to customers needing to make returns damages customer experiences.

And as many have come to find, customer experiences are really key to loyal customers and driving business success. Airlink Mobile also noted that often, retailers may not even have enough inventory in stock to cover all of the customer returns for faulty phones, only worsening the customer experience to a level where they not only risk that customer, but other business as well.

For that reason, Airlink Mobile points out that both customers and retailers are leaning toward not purchasing refurbished handsets in place for a better, more valuable, customer experience.

Customers who purchase new phones will not only have a more positive experience, but the rate at which they will be a repeat customer, and can enjoy new functionalities included on newer models, has a positive impact on both the retailer and the customer.

"New cell phone handsets provide increased revenue and a longer-term relationship with their subscribers than refurbished ones," said David Stanek, CEO of Airlink Mobile in a statement to the press. "Customers keep new handsets longer, and come back to the same store to buy more minutes and to get recommendations on new products."

Stefania Viscusi is an established writer and avid reader. To see more of her articles, please visit Stefania Viscusi’s columnist page

Green is the new black. At least, that’s the case in the communications industry where companies are finding that using green technology is not only good for the planet but good for business as well. Want to learn more about how being green can make money? Mark your calendar now for TMC’s (News - Alert) first annual Green Technology World Conference, Sept. 11-12, 2007 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California. Preview the show schedule, speakers and exhibitors—then register to attend. .

Related Contact Center Solutions Articles

Interactive Intelligence, One of the Best Places to Work in Indiana

We in the U.S. know from hard facts the challenges confronting the "Rust Belt" states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. They all for a variety of reasons saw their industrial bases decimated and have struggled to find their economic bearings. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

LivePerson Receives 2012 CRM Excellence Award from CIS Magazine

Commitment to customers and clients and expanding customer relationships lay the foundation for success, and LivePerson, Inc. was honored with Customer Interaction Solutions 2012 CRM Excellence Award from TMC for its effort to improve customer experience with LP Chat. "We are honored to be recognized by Customer Interaction Solutions for the value that our technology provides to our customers' relationships and ultimately their businesses," Robert LoCascio, founder and CEO at LivePerson, sai… [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Customer Interactions Solutions Magazine Honors 24-7 Intouch as Top Teleservices Provider

Canadian teleservices provider 24-7 Intouch was once again named to Customer Interactions Solutions Magazine's 27th Annual top 50 Teleservices Ranking list. The company ranked fifth in the Interactive category this year after earning the eighth slot in 2011 and the 31st ranking in 2010. 24-7 Intouch also placed fifth as an International Outbound and seventh as a National Inbound provider. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Domino's Pizza: Powered by the Cloud

Domino's Pizza is on top of the pizza-delivery market in the UK and other parts of Europe, with over 720 stores across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Germany. Such popular and relied upon businesses need a solid, effective solution to communicating with customers and taking phone-in orders - traditional telecom solutions just don't cut it. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

[ View all Contact Center Solutions Articles ]

Contact Center Solutions Glossary of Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

Featured Product Demo

CIC has always been a powerful all-on-one solution for IP business communications. Now with the release of 4.0, CIC provides an architecture that's even more powerful, user tools to make the customer experience even more satisfying, and management tools that improve the performance of any business - dramatically ...

Featured eBook

In this e-book from Interactive Intelligence, you'll learn about emerging contact center technology trends and newer options like self-service technology, analytics and Web 2.0. Here we've compiled a selection of the top news stories, features, white papers, case studies, podcasts ...