When companies merge – as MBF, HBA, Mutual Community and Bupa did in 2009 – there is always lively debate between the stakeholders about which suppliers should be retained and which should be discarded.
In the case of Messages On Hold and Interactive Voice Response messaging, there really was no question as to which supplier would fit the bill for the new entity.
“McGirvanmedia made it almost impossible for the other telephony companies,” David Bleakley recalled.
“Even at that stage, they had already been looking after Bupa with professional IVR and engaging Messages On Hold for well over a decade,” he said, “and had never let us down. Not once.”
“Their price was – and remains – always fair and reasonable with an amazing amount of added value, and the quality of their production is invariably first class, but it’s their exceptional service that is the real clincher.”
“Maybe the other companies’ service was as good, but why take that risk,” he said.
Telephone as a channel
David Bleakley went on to point out that McGirvanmedia were one of the first telephony companies to recognise the telephone as a channel, a medium in its own right to communicate with customers and customers-to-be via a series of tailored messages.
“With their invaluable assistance, our IVR and integrated tactical messages and music inform, educate and direct our customers,” he said.
When asked if there were any key performance indicators or caller surveys to support his claims, David replied:
“Although there are no KPI’s in place, I am confident that their professionally written and produced messages work very well, leading people precisely to where they are directed.”
“We have never seen the need to perform exit surveys, primarily because even though we field approximately 20,000 calls per week at call centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, we have never had a complaint about our telephony service. Not one.”
“In our industry NO feedback is great feedback,” he added.
Proactive and responsive
When asked how McGirvanmedia help Bupa achieve their objectives, David replied:
“The McGirvanmedia team is very proactive and often come to us with useful suggestions such as implementing specific messages to pacify customers during busy periods, or following inevitable price hikes in health funds contributions.”
“In this highly competitive arena, this is an important point; our messages let our customers know we empathise with them and that we’re doing everything possible to provide the best, most affordable health cover.”
“Bupa also see them as part of OUR team. For example, when we were originally deciding whether to go with a male or female voice, we sought their valuable input.” [It was unanimously decided to go with a female voice, as the company was deemed to have a caring female persona.]
“I personally find them very flexible and responsive; whenever I have an urgent request, I know it will be done ASAP without fail.”
“In fact, a few years ago, we thought we would look after one job ourselves, and inadvertently recorded the wrong file type and sent out 100 incorrect files. McGirvanmedia stepped in, re-recorded them and made the problem disappear. It was ‘all part of the service’ they said.”
Consistent quality
On the subject of quality, David had this to say:
“McGirvanmedia pride themselves on the quality of their productions and Bupa can vouch for that. We have had hundreds of messages recorded at different times over the years, but they are so seamless, you could hear them back to back and you wouldn’t be able to differentiate between the old and new.”
“I’ve heard that there are new ‘do-it-yourself’ IVR and Message On Hold systems on the market, but even if the quality was as good as we’re getting now, they would never compare with the value-for-money we get at McGirvanmedia.”
“Plus they are a really nice, friendly bunch of people who always manage to keep you front of mind. I would absolutely recommend them.”
