Customer Experience Is King for the “New” Level 3

C. Whelan

Summary Bullets:

• Level 3’s integration of Global Crossing includes fundamental changes to the way it interacts with customers.
• Level 3 is placing increased emphasis and investment on processes and tools to improve the customer experience.

Last week, Level 3 Communications held its annual Industry Analyst Roundtable, and the company provided a view into its integration of Global Crossing as well as future plans.  A recurring theme throughout the conference was improving the customer experience.  Use of the term ‘customer experience’ can be just about as nebulous as ‘cloud’ these days, but the way a company works with its customers is a critical element of customer perception.  Level 3 has been working to minimize missteps during the integration process, and to establish best practices that will set it apart from competitors going forward.  The carrier’s “Voice of the Customer” program includes ongoing customer surveys, customer service call recording, and other tools to monitor customer satisfaction.  Level 3 is also giving customers access to more information about its network and customers’ services, and it is giving employees tools to work with customers more efficiently.