Virgin Direct Improves Customer Services with IVR from Periphonics
BOHEMIA, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 1999--Periphonics Corporation (NASDAQ:PERI - news), a leading worldwide provider of products and services for call processing solutions used in Computer Telephony Integration and Telecom Enhanced Network Services, has announced that Virgin Direct, a UK-based financial services company, has incorporated an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system from Periphonics at its call center in Norwich.
Virgin Direct is a direct marketing company, offering financial services over the telephone. All of the company's business is conducted by phone, generated from its award-winning, nationally-recognized telephone operations center. The call center is operated by highly trained staff with computerized records at their fingertips. Their fresh approach and straightforward products have already attracted over 280,000 customers and are looking after (pound)2.1 billion of their investments.
The initial application for the Periphonics IVR system is balance inquiry, offered on a trial basis to those customers who were identified as calling regularly for account balance information. Other services are being added for additional customers as acceptance of the system grows. Integrating the Periphonics IVR system increases the time during which customers can obtain information to 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
''Virgin Direct prides itself on being a 'no hassle company','' stated Roy Parker, Telecoms Manager, at Virgin Direct. ''For that reason, any service we offer must be simple to use, fast and efficient, and because our customers expect quick and effective service, we believe it is important for us to offer them the choice of both an automated and operator based service. By calling on different phone numbers customers can choose the route they want to take and what they feel most comfortable with.''
Operating autonomously from the other Virgin companies, Virgin Direct offers a range of financial services, including PEPs (Personal Equity Plans)/ISAs, life insurance and pensions, over the telephone. Their portfolio of services includes a recent product offering, Virgin One, through a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Virgin One account provides an array of financial services - mortgage, current account and credit card - all at the same interest rate.
Launched with just 40 people in March 1995, Norwich-based Virgin Direct has grown almost twenty-fold and is still expanding rapidly, becoming a major force in UK financial services.
Periphonics Corporation is a global leader in the development, marketing and support of products and professional services for Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and Telecom Enhanced Network Services. The Company's products and services utilize such technologies as interactive voice response (IVR), advanced speech processing with large vocabulary recognition, natural language processing and text-to-speech, as well as interactive processing via Web browsers, messaging, and fax. Periphonics also provides comprehensive professional services including project management, software application development, call center integration and script and grammar development. The Company's products and professional services help its customers enhance their customer service offerings, increase caller satisfaction, reduce operating costs and often create new revenue opportunities by automating call and transaction processing. Periphonics is an ISO 9001/TickIT registered company with systems installed in more than 50 countries. For further information, visit our site on the World Wide Web at www.peri.com.
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