Focal IT
All case studies

Case 05Telecoms · Business customers

Usage alerts

From a manual chore to a feature customers configure themselves

Scroll to follow the process

The old way

Every warning, sent by hand

Agents warned business customers about unexpected usage spikes by hand, reading each customer's wishes from a free-text note.

  1. Usage spikeOn a business account
  2. Read the noteThe customer's wishes, in free textBy hand
  3. Warn the customerAn agentBy hand

The cost

The same blunt service for every customer

Written that way, the process couldn't be automated or scaled.

  1. Usage spikeOn a business account
  2. Read the noteThe customer's wishes, in free textProblem: Couldn't be automated or scaledBy hand
  3. Warn the customerAn agentProblem: Missed warnings ended in goodwill creditsBy hand

What we changed

Structured fields instead of free text

We redesigned the process and replaced the free-text note with structured preference fields. With those in place the alerts could be automated, and the service was easy to manage.

  1. DetectDaily usage spike report
  2. MatchFinds the customer account
  3. Read settingsThreshold, contacts, channel
  4. AlertRight people, right way
  5. RestrictCaps usage if chosen

The result

1,600 hrs/yr of agent time saved

Alongside the agent time, the change brought an annual cost saving and avoided customer credits.

Agent time saved

1,600 hrs/yr

  • From One size fits all to Set per customerSpend alerts
  • €125k/yrAnnual cost saving
  • €80k+Customer credits avoided

What customers could now choose

Settings each customer controls

Each customer could now set their own threshold, frequency, channel and contacts, and decide whether usage is capped. With that in place, the business could offer tiered and premium alerting.

5New settings each customer can control

  • ThresholdWhen to raise an alert
  • FrequencyHow often to be told
  • ChannelHow alerts arrive
  • ContactsWho gets alerted
  • Auto-restrictCap usage, or not

How it was measured

Agent time saved is the manual warning work removed over a year. Credits avoided are goodwill credits that missed warnings would otherwise have cost.

Bring us one process.

Pick the process your team complains about most.

Email to book a call See all case studies