NDA Performance Index(sm) Rates Directory Assistance Service Providers Companies.

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- Directory Assistance providers maintained a high degree of accuracy over the past six months with 93.7% of all calls handled correctly according to the National Directory Assistance Performance Index(sm), an independent analysis published semi-annually by The Paisley Group, Ltd. (PGL). The Index, now in its eleventh edition, gives companies a benchmark for assessing and improving their directory assistance service. In addition, the current Index includes a white paper on "The Challenges of Offshore Operations."

Using a "mystery caller approach," the Index tracks:

--Customer Fulfillment(sm), the definitive directory assistance quality standard that, by measuring database and operator accuracy, evaluates how often DA callers receive a correct listing report,

--Customer Care(sm), the success operators demonstrate in balancing customer advocacy and call handling efficiency, and

--"Passed Calls," calls where customers received the correct listing report AND were cared for competently and efficiently.

The average passed call rate across the industry and the 16 services/providers measured - incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), interexchange carriers (IXCs), third party directory assistance providers and carriers that use automated speech recognition for directory assistance - was 82.0%. This is up from 80% in the Spring, 2005 study.

Over-Questioning Impacts Customer Care(sm)

As part of the report, PGL talked with Directory Assistance customers about the factors that impacted their call satisfaction. They reported that a primary irritant is being asked by the operator to repeat call details after they have given this information one or more times to the operator or an automated system. This decreased customer satisfaction and confidence and led customers to question whether they were being listened to and served effectively. Also, when operators keep asking for the same information to be repeated, call handling is much less efficient. Companies that relied on speech recognition required information to be repeated most often across the entire customer experience.

No Single Company Dominates ILEC Market

SNET led the ILECs in calls fulfilled with 95.7% successfully completed compared to the segment average of 93.7%. Fulfillment measures the total number of calls that were completed correctly and identifies the root causes that prohibited calls from being completed accurately, e.g., an incorrect listing in the provider's database, missing information, a number that was in the database but that could not be found, operator error or a technical problem.

In the area of Customer Care(sm), Qwest was the ILEC leader again with 95.3% of customers being cared for compared to the segment average of 81.0%. Unlike most measurements of customer service, which are subjective in nature, Customer Care(sm) measures an array of specific, quantifiable operator behaviors that detract from customers' DA experiences. These measures reveal how effectively operators acknowledge customers at specific points during the call, listen carefully to the caller, probe for additional information where necessary, follow search procedures to their conclusion and treat customers with professional courtesy.

Passed Calls are the hallmark of directory assistance quality. This standard combines Customer Fulfillment(sm) and Customer Care(sm) to measure whether customers received a correct report and were treated in a competent and professional manner. Qwest came out on top among ILECs once again with 89.7% of all calls both fulfilled and cared for. This is up from their Passed Call rate of 85.3% in the Spring, 2005 study.

Qwest also tied with INFONXX for top honors in Passed Calls across all industry segments.

Competition Close Among 3rd Party Providers

Third party providers scored almost as well as the ILECs in Customer Fulfillment(sm), with an overall average of 92.7% of calls fulfilled compared to 93.7% for ILECS, and did significantly better in the area of Customer Care(sm), 93.0% to 81.0%. In Customer Fulfillment(sm), Verizon Wireless scored highest (94.3%) with Metro 1 (via Infone) coming in second at 94.0%. INFONXX led in the category of Customer Care(sm) with a rating of 96.3%. INFONXX also led the third party providers, and tied for the industry lead, in Passed Calls with a rating of 89.7%.

New Leader Among IXCs

MCI led the IXCs in Customer Fulfillment(sm) (95.7%). Qwest led this segment in Customer Care(sm) (95.3%) and Passed Calls (89.7%).

Database Accuracy

The accuracy of Directory Assistance databases has continued to climb. Most providers have databases that are in the 96-97% accuracy range with a margin of error of about 2.5%. For this Index, the average accuracy of the OLEC databases (those originating local exchange carriers who actually provide dial tone and have the best source of data) was only 98.3%. So, with the margin of error, the quality of aggregated data and OLEC data has converged over the past 8 years.

Speech Recognition Lags in Customer Care(sm)

While companies using speech recognition systems scored as high as operator-based companies in the area of Customer Fulfillment(sm) (94.3%), they lagged behind in Customer Care(sm) (75.3%). This was largely due to the number of times customers had to re-state call details to the operator after the information had already been given one or more times either to the operator or the automated system. In this category, SNET scored the highest in both Customer Fulfillment(sm) at 95.7% and Customer Care(sm) at 80%. SNET also was the Passed Call leader at 77.3%.

Depending upon the provider, the automation rates range from 35.9% (BellSouth) to 44.5% (Verizon) of Calls Eligible for Automation

Custom Sample Developed

To determine these results, The Paisley Group developed a statistically valid test sample that included business, residential and government requests. The sample included a number of new listings and listings with an expected "no find" result. Geographical distribution, call type and customer type were factored in to produce a test sample that is reflective of real-life directory assistance calling patterns.

The Paisley Group's National Directory Assistance Performance Index is the only industry report that is based upon a definitive, DA-specific quality measurement process. It provides companies that offer directory assistance services with specific competitive intelligence to track and gauge their performance. In addition to the U.S. Index, The Paisley Group also publishes Indexes for Canada and the U.K.

The Paisley Group Ltd. is the leading directory assistance/operator services consulting company and the premier independent measurer of database accuracy, Customer Fulfillment(sm) and Customer Care(sm) in the industry today. The company specializes in auditing call centers, designing robust measurement and statistical models, optimizing revenue-generating opportunities through consulting, benchmarking and helping clients to develop plans that work.

For additional information, contact Meg MacRae, Managing Partner, The Paisley Group, 4482 Tallyrand Circle, Castle Rock CO 80104, 303-688-1666, [e-mail].