The Headache of No-Fault Found

Networks are complex. They’ve become more complicated as voice, video, and data compete for the same resources.

When things go wrong in the world of telecommunications, they get investigated. Energized teams assemble like crime scene investigators. Specialists gather the digital evidence that will find the root cause and support corrective action.

Network Troubleshooting

Timing is critical. Centralized contact center hubs carry voice traffic around the world. This allows customer networks to connect, through public networks, to other business networks. Networking equipment has sophisticated event logging.

Valuable information is captured on individual connections, and much more. However, equipment vendors and network management policies vary. Log data may not be retained for very long. Investigators need to know about an incident quickly. They need ample detail to track down the relevant log data in a mountain of call records.

Nothing is less impressive than an escalated trouble ticket which returns as NFF – “No Fault Found”. Some carriers talk in terms of NEOF – “No Evidence of Failure”. Other carriers refer to NTF – “No Trouble Found”.

Whatever term gets used, Network Operations teams cringe. They know that some potentially recurring problem remains loose. They know it may impact another customer at some unannounced moment.

Growth of eCommerce

Online commerce continues to grow at incredibly impressive rates. Businesses are now accessing global markets. Serving those global markets requires a customer engagement and communications strategy.

This strategy undoubtedly leverages network technology. The voice channel remains a favorite for customer interaction. This is particularly the case where customers are seeking a quick response or have a complex request. Real-time voice conversation remains a big part of customer interaction.

• There are expected to be nearly 2.14B digital buyers in the world in 2021.
• The total value of global retail eCommerce sales will reach $4.2T in 2021.
• In 2020, retail eCommerce sales grew 25.7% over the previous year.

A business might use dial-out to connect to its customers or in-bound toll/toll-free services. They may use both. Whatever us used, each customer call is a “moment of truth”. These moments can build brand loyalty and grow revenue.

For a good customer experience, the communications channel needs to support good audio quality. Phone call quality is a prerequisite to a quality conversation. Where connectivity or audio quality is an issue, frustration grows.

Customer Impact, Customer Feedback

Customers don’t always provide businesses with the gift of feedback. Agents are sometimes under pressure to take the next call. Agents might not escalate their own experiences. Unresolved issues persist. Issues escalated too late to capture log detail are returned No Fault Found.

Technical escalations cost money. Engineers and technicians who would otherwise be doing some proactive work end up fire-fighting. And their efforts often result in No Fault Found. Network tickets are likely to require more senior staff attention.

Costs can often reach $490 per ticket for desktop support, and with network complexities costs are certainly higher again (Source: HDI: “True Cost of Desktop Support”). Failure to find root cause can mean ongoing costs. Repeated impact results in repeated inconclusive investigations.