The Listening Company to manage customer services for 145 million rail passengers

Southeastern railway network which serves Kent, South-East London and part of East Sussex has appointed The Listening Company to manage its customer services.

The brief includes responsibility for handling bookings, general enquiries and complaints for Southeastern’s 145 million annual passengers.

In a bid to revolutionise the way it handles customer relationships, Southeastern will be using The Listening Company’s customer management software, EpiCentre.

Providing agents with the tools to manage customer communication through email, phone and internet channels, as well as traditional post, the EpiCentre offers a single view of the customer history including real-time access to all past interactions and robust case management functionality to drive customer satisfaction.

The accurate reporting of customer comments and complaints forms an integral part of Southeastern’s customer services. The Listening Company will manage all customer feedback to ensure that all complaints and suggestions are identified and resolved, whilst working towards predetermined customer service targets.

Southeastern will sit alongside leading rail service providers, Southern, in The Listening Company’s portfolio of travel clients. They were appointed following a tender process.

Scot Reid, Head of Customer Services, Southeastern said:

“The way we handle customer enquiries is of utmost importance to us, and we recognise that this means more than just quick response rates. It also means we must look at how issues are resolved, and the eventual satisfaction of the customer. We needed a contact centre that could meet our high standards and were impressed by The Listening Company’s travel experience and technical expertise.”

Rik Vercoe, Operations Director, The Listening Company said:

“Good customer service is at the heart of Southeastern’s proposition. We’ll work closely with Southeastern to deliver the highest levels of customer service to their passengers. In the future we’ll look to encompass passenger surveys, web chat and SMS into our customer service offerings to ensure passengers have the best possible travel experience.”