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Firepond Speeds Response to More than 7,000 Cendant Mortgage Customers Every MonthAutomated E-Mail System eServicePerformer(TM)Helps Cendant Mortgage Improve Customer ServiceWALTHAM, Mass.--June 25, 2001-- Firepond (Nasdaq: FIRE - news) a leading provider of comprehensive selling and service solutions, today announced that the customers of Cendant Mortgage, one of the nation's largest retail mortgage originators, are enjoying significantly faster response times to e-mail inquiries since implementing the e-mail component of Firepond's eServicePerformer(TM) suite last November.Using Firepond's eServicePerformer Answer(TM) and eServicePerformer Contact Center(TM) products, Cendant Mortgage's Customer Service Department is able to prioritize, assign, track and respond to more than 7,000 incoming e-mails monthly. Recognized as an industry leader in customer quality with satisfaction ratings well over 90 percent, Cendant Mortgage has long been committed to offering its customers a full range of programs at competitive rates, unsurpassed customer service and the smoothest mortgage experience in the industry. With the increasing popularity of its Web- based offering, the company expects e-mail use by its customers to double over the next few months. In 2000, Cendant Mortgage provided more than $22 billion in mortgage financing for American homes. ``Three factors drive our business today: the need to deliver high levels of service to our customers; immediate responses to their requests; and around-the-clock access to their information,'' said Louis Nemtsov, vice president and chief technology officer, Cendant Mortgage. ``Firepond's solution allows us to address these factors by heightening our ability to respond promptly, consistently and accurately to the growing number of customers who prefer to contact us by e-mail.'' ``Buying a home is the single largest investment in most people's lives, so nowhere are the expectations for service higher than in the interactions surrounding the purchase and financing of a house,'' said Cem Tanyel, Firepond's senior vice president of Product Development. ``Firepond helps Cendant Mortgage make the process of financing a home more pleasurable for its customers by responding to e-mail inquiries quickly and effectively, around the clock.'' Prior to implementing Firepond, Cendant Mortgage was receiving a high volume of e-mails from a newly developed Internet site for mortgage customers. As e-mail volume rapidly rose each month, the company needed to expand its existing inbound telephone operation to include routing, prioritizing and tracking of incoming e-mail messages. It also needed a solution to speed e-mail response, either by providing suggested responses to its team of specialists or by automatically responding to after-hours inquiries. Firepond's e-mail solution was selected for its sophisticated routing and queuing capabilities, and its ability to provide both suggested and automated responses with a high degree of accuracy. Other determining factors included its open architecture and J2EE(TM) standards, which enabled it to integrate easily with existing Cendant Mortgage systems, as well as its rapid implementation that was completed in a matter of weeks. Cendant Mortgage has already seen an increase in team productivity with online inquiries now being distributed more equitably among support representatives. The solution has proven so effective that the company plans to expand its use of Firepond's products by deploying the application to support front-end operational areas in addition to the customer service implementation already in use. About Cendant Mortgage Cendant Mortgage is the seventh largest retail mortgage loan originator in the country. Cendant Mortgage is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD - news), one of the world's foremost providers of consumer and business services. During 2000, Cendant Mortgage provided more than $22 billion in mortgage financing for American homes. About Firepond Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Firepond (NASDAQ: FIRE - news) is a leading provider of comprehensive selling and customer service solutions that help companies more profitably acquire and retain customers. Firepond's product lines leverage proven intelligence engines and patented automation technology to drive new revenue streams, increase profitability, and manage customer interactions across all channels and throughout the sales and service cycle. Firepond's SalesPerformer(TM) suite of guided selling software products help companies improve their sales performance across all selling channels, with products for Web selling, field sales, channel sales, sales configuration, and sales administration. The eServicePerfomer(TM) suite delivers superior online service experiences at every eCustomer touchpoint, with Web, email and live assistance products. Firepond's global customers include ABB, AT&T Wireless, Compaq, Continental Airlines, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Honda of Japan, KLA-Tencor and Sikorsky Aircraft Company. Portions of this release contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. We wish to caution you that there are some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results indicated by such statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: difficulties with the implementation and integration of Firepond products, difficulties and financial burdens associated with acquisitions, our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, quarterly fluctuations in operating results attributable to the timing and amount of orders for our products and services, market acceptance of our Firepond SalesPerformer Suite and Firepond eServicePerformer Suite its components in chosen vertical industries, our ability to keep pace with changing product requirements, factors affecting the demand for ebusiness sales and marketing solutions, and other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be accessed through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Firepond and Firepond product names are trademarks of Firepond, Inc. All other product or company names are the properties of their respective owners. OracleMobile 415/401-4000 jmorgan@tenthdimension.com top of page |
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