Fed up with constant criticism of its service, Telstra is set to select 18,000 customers from a panel of more than 10 million to tell the company what is wrong with its service. Participants will go into a draw for monthly cash prizes.The new online panel, “My Telstra Experience”, will see up to 18,000 customers regularly telling the company what they think of their Telstra experiences and where the telco needs to lift its game on service.
Telstra’s Executive Director, Market Based Management, Ms Gloria Farler, says the Customer Experience Panel will be the largest of its kind ever established in Australia.
“This is another significant step in delivering on CEO David Thodey’s commitment to improving customer satisfaction,” Ms Farler says.
“With a target of around 18,000 members from around Australia, Telstra expects to get a good understanding of customer experiences across the board.
“‘My Telstra Experience’ panel will help Telstra improve customer service, tailor our products and improve delivery of our services to better meet our customers’ needs,” Ms Farler says.
“Telstra wants to hear what our customers think and then put that feedback into action. This is no online ‘black hole’, we will be letting panelists know what we are doing as a result of what they tell us, “she says.
As part of the recruitment process, Telstra will shortly be emailing 500,000 BigPond and Telstra customers, with more recruiting to the remainder of Telstra’s more than 10 million customers in the new year, when the panel’s first activities are due to start.
Panel members will complete online surveys and participate in online discussion forums on existing and new Telstra products and their day-to-day service experience with Telstra.
Telstra anticipates panelists will spend about 10 minutes a fortnight participating in surveys and other activities. To keep it interesting and provide panelists with plenty of variety, more than 60 different brief surveys are ready to be progressively presented for panelists to complete.
Topics will include the ease of looking for information on Telstra websites, which features or services customers find most useful, what people think of Telstra’s stores, and how Telstra manages customer complaints.
While participation is voluntary and unpaid, panelists can make a real difference to Telstra’s service, and will go into draws for monthly cash prizes. Members can come and go from the panel as they please.
