How customer service specialists of telecom operators work

We continue our series of articles about people working in the telecom industry. Today we’ll talk about specialists who provide happiness to customers – technical support specialists.

Whether it is cellular communications, home Internet or other services of the MTS ecosystem, the goal of technical support specialists is a quick solution to the problem that has arisen. For a federal-scale company with a range of services that go beyond communication boundaries, customer support is a multi-level, complex task.

The people who solve it almost always remain in the shadows, with the exception of those who personally come to save the situation. It’s difficult to find them and talk to them, but MTS helped build bridges. In addition, I was lucky enough to communicate with technical support specifically “fixes” – so between you in the telecom of a familiar network in which you are on the home Internet. They rarely advise about it, but meanwhile, at home we, as a rule, switch to Wi-Fi.

They told me the details Evgeniy Petrov And Yuri Tikhomirovwho provide remote expert support in all regions of the country, and Arkady Grenkovwhich operates in the Moscow region.

How does MTS technical support work?

Every client wants their issue to be resolved as quickly as possible, so first technical support operators try to help remotely.

First line – this is the point of first contact with the subscriber – social media accounts, contact center, chat bots. About 95% of queries are resolved here, including thanks to robotic diagnostics. In Moscow, it helps resolve about 60% of users’ technical questions. In addition to solving the client’s question, employees can develop personalized ecosystem proposals based on the client’s request.

On second line Taking into account rare complex cases, this is still about 5% of requests. Here you have access to a huge amount of data: problem areas of the network, current problems with equipment, breaks. At this level there are experts who understand technical phenomena in various areas of communication and are able to deeply penetrate a specific situation.

Taking into account the current state of equipment and mobile problems, about 80% of them are solved remotely.

Often it is enough for the operator to explain to the client what and how can be configured independently. As a rule, these are questions about Wi-Fi coverage and router configuration.

We see the entire network, its current state, taking into account the automatic diagnostics carried out, we always have ready recommendations at hand for quickly fixing problems in such a situation, plus personal expertise.

Evgeniy Petrov – head of the technical support center

100% of customer requests at this stage undergo a step-by-step check – first, the client of the equipment remotely, the stability of its operation, the presence of problems, gives a hint to the engineer. A robot engineer does not replace, but makes it much more difficult to find and solve problems. Based on the readings, the operator makes recommendations to the client.

First and second line “fix” employees work remotely or in an office in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk or Krasnodar.

Problems that require the presence of a specialist on site, works third line. This is a separate customer service, whose employees have all the necessary equipment to help the client at home or in the office.

Here, issues related to physical problems are resolved, for example, cable breaks in the house or the operation of Wi-Fi indoors. Employees go to the site, communicate with the client and set up the equipment. Compared to last year, the number of such trips in the Moscow region decreased by 20%.

How technical support ensures that the client remains satisfied

Tech support staff often have to deal with negativity.

We have developed certain techniques that help reduce emotional intensity. For example, give the client the opportunity to speak without interrupting. After this, work usually becomes easier. If we find recent evidence of problems, we may offer a custom discount or recalculation.

Yuri Tikhomirov – head of the technical support center group

Consumer extremism with the goal of “beating out” better conditions is also not uncommon. In this case, automatic systems and regulations will help the specialist understand the causes of problems and weed out unfair complaints.

Emotional satisfaction, or that same “customer happiness” that is now talked about in any business, is a full-fledged metric by which, among other things, the quality of work of customer support employees is measured.

There is such a parameter – NPS. It shows that a real client is ready to leave the company. We measure it immediately after the work is completed and after some time. Since the beginning of 2022, it has grown by 10%. Professionals understand that this is a good breakthrough. Another indicator monitors satisfaction with services. Here we also feel confident.

Evgeniy Petrov – head of the technical support center

If it is not possible to resolve the issue remotely, teams of specialists will be required to visit the client.

We understand that our very arrival is already an inconvenience. We are invading someone else’s space. Therefore, we emotionally tune in to support the person, listen to his problems and help. In most cases, this is what happens, and we part on a positive note. On average, it will take us about 30 minutes to resolve an issue on the spot.

Arkady Grenkov – head of the customer service department

A couple of interesting stories

Funny stories often happen. We arrive and see that the router has turned from white to black – it was painted with spray paint, since white did not fit into the new renovation. The paint did not suit the device to use, the Internet was broken. We replaced the router as part of the loyalty program. Naturally, on black.

In general, in Moscow people often pay attention to aesthetics, so we began to use transparent cable during installation so as not to harm the clients’ repairs.

Arkady Grenkov – head of the customer service department

Arkady Grenkov in the process of installing and configuring a client’s router.

The client addressed the unavailability of one resource. We conducted a full check – none of the documents confirmed the problem. We were confident that our network was working correctly, but equally that our client response was not working. Therefore, together we began to look for the problem and found it – on another provider, contacted him, passed on all the technical specifications to help resolve the issue.

It happens that a client cannot get to this site. For example, a user from Moscow could not get to the website of a university that also used our services, and the problem was in our network. But I realized that the business was set up in another region. We fixed it remotely by reconfiguring the root equipment. Of course, the client was happy.

Evgeniy Petrov is the head of the technical support center.

What is required from a technical support employee?

To work in MTS technical support, you need knowledge of global technologies and equipment operation.

For employees of all levels of technical support, well, except for robots, empathy and stress resistance are required. Equally important is a person’s desire to learn, understand technical problems and have the opportunity.

Each of our employees undergoes training, testing, and is trained to work with internal problem analysis tools. We are allowed to work remotely; from the technical side, it is enough to have a stable Internet connection at home. We hire senior university students who can combine study and work, choosing a schedule that suits them.

Yuri Tikhomirov – head of the technical support center group

Employees who travel to apartments and offices must be able to use a hammer drill, as well as understand computers and other gadgets. In addition, they know well the products and services that the company offers and can advise which tariff or service is best to choose, which smart gadgets for a home meeting, etc.

We pay attention to neat appearance and politeness in communication when meeting applicants. And in order to increase technical knowledge, we have a whole program. Specialists first study our technologies and tools, regional ecosystem services, understand how to solve specific problems, and pass an exam. Then I work as a mentor “in the field,” and only after that I go out on my own.

Arkady Grenkov – head of the customer service department

If you also want opportunities, doors open

Thousands of technical support employees provide requests for MTS service users around the clock.

If you want to join the team, you can try on the requirements and tasks, and study vacancies.

▪ Vladimir: installation engineer
▪ Ulyanovsk: installation engineer
▪ Novosibirsk: installation engineer
▪ Ulan-Ude: installation engineer

More interesting posts on the topic:

▪ How mobile basic research engineers work. I visited such an installation in Moscow

▪ How cell tower engineers work

▪ How cellular network planning and optimization specialists work