February 6, 1997
<center>FRANKLIN TO OFFER PREMIER TECH SUPPORT VIA 900 LINES
</center>
Westlake Village, CA.> Franklin Telecom announced today that it will offer
Premier Tech Support for Internet technical support, effective immediately, via
900 number service. By calling 1-900-555-7755, customers will receive
immediate assistance from highly trained professional technicians.
According to Frank Peters, Franklin's President & CEO, "With shrinking margins
leaving less money available for support, consumers often wind up
short-changed. With all too many companies, the normal experience in making a
tech support call is an excessively long 'hold' time before reaching an
overworked technician who is trying in vain to keep up with an overwhelming
volume of calls. What's more, the calls are often simple questions which can be
answered in one or two sentences mixed in
with the occasional technically challenging problem which can tie up the support
person for lengthy periods. . . while YOU are holding!"
900 number service can provide the answer. Don Morse, Franklin's Manager of
Technical Support Services, explains, "900 support is the future of customer
service in the computer industry. Basically customers fall into three categories.
The most experienced users can
generally solve most issues themselves. Less experienced users can still call
Franklin for their questions involving basic installation and configuration. Callers
requiring more extensive help, such as 'How do I set this up to do this thing in
Windows?' which has nothing to do with the product we sell, can now be
referred to the 900 service."
Morse continues, "At the 900 number, the caller will reach a top notch technician
who can quickly and skillfully guide the user to the desired solution. The user
controls the cost by limiting the length of the call. Furthermore, the technician is
trained to expedite the call. Most can be handled in less than ten minutes.
Business customers who realize that time is money recognize that the efficiency
of the 900 service can save
them substantial amounts of time & money."
"In addition," Morse adds, "with Franklin's telephony background and firmly
established tech support position, we are able to offer this service to other
Internet Service Provider's and computer companies without any set up fees and
actually PAY them for their technical support. Many ISP's are simply not able to
provide the human resources necessary to run a department like this. With
Franklin providing the technicians and information, all the ISP needs to provide is
the telephone call. This results in a seamless transition to a 900 support
line - and a satisfied customer for the ISP."
Peters comments, "900 support is becoming an integral part of business
services throughout the computer industry. Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Intel
and many other companies all maintain very active 900 services. We think this
will represent an extra benefit our corporate customers in particular will
appreciate."
Initially, Franklin's Premier Support will be available 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Pacific
Time, Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The
charge is $2.00 per minute.
For the latest up-to-minute information about Franklin Telecom and FNet,
visit our web site:
ftel.com
More information can be obtained by contacting Helen West, Shareholder
Relations, at 805-373-8688. Franklin Telecom, founded in 1981, designs
and manufactures communications devices and software. Franklin has an
installed base of over 100,000 nodes |
