More Than 50% of European Broadband Subscribers Dissatisfied with Customer Service, Cites SupportSoft Research (email this article)

Broadband World Forum, VENICE, Italy, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SupportSoft (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRT - News), a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management (RTSM(TM)) software, today announced the results of a pan-European survey among broadband subscribers in which more than 50% claimed dissatisfaction with the customer service from their broadband service provider.

Belgians have the best experience dealing with their broadband service provider's customer service department when they have an issue, 16% of whom said that dealing with their broadband provider is like "getting advice from a trusted friend." In contrast, 19% of Spaniards surveyed said that calling their service provider's broadband customer service department when they have an issue is "like a trip to Hell and back."

Notably, 66% of all those surveyed felt that customer service would improve if they were given the opportunity to receive high speed data, VoIP and video delivery from a single service provider versus ordering the same services from multiple providers.

When asked about additional services they were most interested in receiving from their broadband service provider apart from e-mail accessibility, broadband subscribers opt first for the "basics" when it comes to receiving new added-value services. "Basics" include home networking, VoIP and video-on-demand, suggesting that a strong product bundle for service providers is the triple play combination of voice, video and data services. 40% of broadband subscribers surveyed chose home networking as their first or second choice in the study, while 38% selected VoIP or video on demand as the first or second choice.

In contrast, narrow choices such as gaming, and music services had correspondingly less appeal among those surveyed, indicating that high speed data users first want the basics to complement their broadband connection -- compared to more content-driven services such as gaming and music.

Belgian broadband customers had the best experiences when resolving issues with their broadband service providers' customer service department. 60% said it was better than customer service from other companies. This compares to the rest of Europe, in which only 38% said customer service from their broadband provider was better than customer service from other companies.

"Belgacom is committed to a great experience for our broadband customers by automating the installation and ongoing support of our broadband Internet service," said Catherine Gaudissart, director for Belgacom's ADSL customer support. "SupportSoft is a strategic partner in helping us to lower the cost of delivering service to our customers, while improving satisfaction levels."

Spain represents the other extreme in customer satisfaction, in which 72% of those surveyed were dissatisfied with the customer service from their broadband service provider.

The survey was conducted for SupportSoft by InsightExpress, an independent research firm, which surveyed 331 broadband customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. All those surveyed claimed to have broadband Internet access, either DSL or cable. The survey results indicate a margin of error of +/- 4.3%.

SupportSoft solutions can help broadband service providers cope with triple play service delivery challenges by providing them with a single view of both "the last mile" of the network, as well as devices within the customer premises, to manage, diagnose and resolve problems with one, comprehensive set of service automation solutions - no matter which service -- voice, video or high speed data -- is the source of the problems. SupportSoft's service automation software is already accessible to more than 20 million broadband customers worldwide, including 6 of the top 8 North American digital service providers.

"This survey shows that while many European broadband users are dissatisfied with customer service, triple play bundling provides a unique opportunity for service providers to improve satisfaction levels and increase revenues at the same time," said Chris Grejtak, senior vice president of products and marketing at SupportSoft. "SupportSoft's solutions can enable service providers to capitalize on the triple play by creating a great customer experience without creating unnecessary operational expense, made possible through permitting service providers to standardize on one comprehensive service automation solution that starts within the provider's network and extends into the home."

For more information on how SupportSoft can help broadband service providers profit from triple play service delivery, download the free white paper, "Digital 360(TM): Circling Customer Satisfaction Through Service Automation," at www.supportsoft.com/pr/digital360.

To learn more and see demonstrations of SupportSoft's solutions at the Broadband World Forum, visit stand 1017.

About SupportSoft
SupportSoft is a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management (RTSM(TM)) software designed to ease enterprise technical support, provide for IT endpoint automation and enable triple play service automation for VoIP, video or broadband delivery by service providers to their customers. Digital service providers benefiting from SupportSoft solutions include Adelphia Communications, BellSouth, Charter Communications, Comcast Communications, Cox Communications, Time Warner, TeliaSonera and UPC. Enterprises that have licensed SupportSoft software for IT requirements include ADP, Bank of America, Cisco Systems, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Siebel Systems, Sony and Thomson Financial. Managed service providers that utilize our solutions to provide outsourced services to their enterprise customers include Accenture, ACS, CGI, CompuCom, CSC and IBM Global Services.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements related to the expected capabilities for SupportSoft solutions and the opportunity for service providers to improve satisfaction levels and increase revenue. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: SupportSoft's ability to successfully integrate with its newly acquired technology, our ability to manage growth effectively, the ability of the software to operate with hardware and software platforms that are used by our customers and their subscribers now or in the future, the technical challenges and time and effort involved in the deployment of the services and our solutions, our ability and our customers' ability to achieve broad adoption and acceptance of their services and our solutions, the rapid pace of technological change, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in its SEC filings. Statements included in this release are based upon information known to SupportSoft as of the date of this release, and SupportSoft assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.