Insights CHARTER BUSINESS IS FOCUSED ON YOU. Create a Customer Service Culture. Tweet Your Way to Success

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1 Insights VOLUME 2 summer 09 CHARTER BUSINESS IS FOCUSED ON YOU Our U.S.-based customer service is responsive and committed to business support Create a Customer Service Culture Tweet Your Way to Success

2 in this issue 3 Create a Customer Service Culture Start at the top and let it spread 4 Charter Business is Focused on You Our U.S.-based customer service is responsive and committed to business support 6 Tweet Your Way to Success Twitter helps connect companies with customers 7 Business Profile Advanced Orthopedics in St. Louis, Missouri MAKE MANAGING YOUR BUSINESS EASIER. Sign up for Charter Business Autopay to set up recurring payments. Just go to Create Account at Charter.com to help take the hassle out of bill paying. For sales or service, please Call Click Charter-Business.com/Insights Publication Contact Information Charter Business Insights is a publication of Charter Business, 6399 South Fiddler s Green Circle, 6 th Floor, Greenwood Village, CO No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form electronic, photocopying, recording, mechanical, or otherwise without the prior written permission of Charter Business. All rights are reserved. Copyright 2009 by Charter Business. Editorial and Circulation Amy Kim 6399 South Fiddler s Green Circle, 6 th Floor Greenwood Village, CO amy.kim@chartercom.com Trademarks All brand names and product names used in this publication are trade names, service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Additional Issues Extra issues are available to business-customer employees on a limited basis while supplies last. For extra issues contact: Amy Kim 6399 South Fiddler s Green Circle, 6 th Floor Greenwood Village, CO amy.kim@chartercom.com Postmaster Send Changes To: Amy Kim Charter Business 6399 South Fiddler s Green Circle, 6 th Floor Greenwood Village, CO Insights Customer service excellence has always been a hallmark of Charter Business and remains our focus today. We re strongly committed to you as our valued customer, and we will continue to deliver an unparalleled combination of responsive customer care and reliable communications services for many years to come. The Charter family of more than 16,000 employees has never been more energized to exceed your expectations and provide cost-effective solutions to further your company s success. This issue of Charter Business Insights spotlights the topic of customer service. We begin with ideas on how to create a customer service culture at your business. Then on pages 4 and 5, you ll learn about how Charter Business works together to provide support for your services including the Charter Business Network Operations Center and Charter Business Customer Care Center. Finally, turn to page 7 to see what one of our customers, Advanced Orthopedics in St. Louis, Missouri, thinks of the customer service they receive from us. If you have ideas on how Charter Business could make our customer service even better, we d love to hear them. Please call us at Sincerely, Joe Romano Vice President, Charter Business, East Operating Group Get this publication by . Update your information now. Go to Charter-Business.com/Insights and give us your address to receive this publication via . 2 CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS

3 Create a Customer Service Culture Start at the top and let it spread A common characteristic of highly successful businesses is the ability to deliver excellent customer service, which builds lasting customer relationships and fosters word of mouth advertising. To create a stronger customer service culture at your company, keep these five fundamentals in mind: MAKE IT A CLEAR PRIORITY The focus on customer service should begin with upper management and spread throughout your company. Employees should understand that they work for the customer, no matter what their job title. Don t rely solely on your sales people or customer service representatives to keep your customers happy. TRAIN YOUR ENTIRE STAFF All employees contribute in some way to customer service, so provide training for your entire staff. When customers have a problem, they don t want to be shuffled between employees that are not trained to assist them. Use role-playing to help your staff handle even difficult customer service challenges. EMPOWER EMPLOYEES Discourage your customer service representatives from saying, Those are the rules; there's nothing I can do about it. There is always a way to satisfy a disgruntled customer. To do so, however, employees must be given the latitude to take the necessary action to provide exceptional service. RECOGNIZE AND REWARD Recognize and reward employees who demonstrate excellent service behaviors. Acknowledge them at staff meetings. Put an article in the company newsletter. Give them extra time off, tickets to a special event, or a plaque at a recognition dinner. Celebrate the times when employees go the extra mile for your customers. ASK CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY THINK The best way to find out if you re satisfying customers is simply to ask them. Formal efforts could include customer surveys, questionnaires, interviews, or comment/suggestion cards. Informally, talk with your customers and your staff on a regular basis. Ideally, use a combination of both methods. As you gather feedback, communicate the results to your employees so they can use the information to improve their performance. THANKS FOR BEING A LOYAL CUSTOMER Thank you for making Charter Business your communications partner. As a customer, you are the most important part of our business. That s why we back your internet, telephone, and cable TV solutions with 24/7/365 business-class customer support. When you need us, we ll be there to give you our best. As a loyal customer, you may already be saving by bundling with Charter Business. But if you re not in a Charter Business Bundle, you can save with a discount off the standard monthly rate when you combine Charter Business Internet, Telephone, and/or Cable TV in one convenient monthly bill. Call today. CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS 3

4 Charter Business is Focused on You Our U.S.-based customer service is responsive and committed to business support Charter Business understands that ultimately our success hinges on your success. That s why we back up our business services with a dedicated support team. This team includes the highly trained professionals at the Charter Business Customer Care Center (CB CCC) and Charter Business Network Operations Center (CB NOC), as well as our local technicians, field engineers, and sales groups. Together, they work to make sure your business continues to receive the voice, data and video services you need to operate at peak efficiency and productivity. CHARTER BUSINESS CUSTOMER CARE CENTER Charter Business customers with a coaxial cable connection receive support from the CB CCC. Open 24/7/365, it s staffed by about 135 universal agents that are thoroughly trained in all Charter Business services data, video, telephone, and ancillary products. They field a broad spectrum of customer questions, ranging from difficulties to internet connection issues. These universal agents are able to handle the vast majority of customer service matters themselves, minimizing the need to escalate issues and re-route calls, explains Jason Alvey, director of the Charter Business Customer Care Center. Alvey adds, For customer convenience, our goal is to resolve issues in-house as quickly as possible. Our average speed of answer is 17 seconds. CHARTER BUSINESS NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTER Network reliability is absolutely crucial to today s businesses. The CB NOC was created to monitor connections for fiber and VIP customers and ensure rapid response to service issues. In all, 42 engineers and support staff are assigned to the CB NOC, including Tier II engineers on duty around the clock. Higher-level Tier III engineers are also on duty from 7 am to 11 pm weekdays, and remain on call 24 hours a day. 4 CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS

5 U.S.-BASED CUSTOMER CARE The Charter Business customer care strategy emphasizes personal contact and responsive service, and one way to do that is to keep support services as close to the customer as possible. That begins on the front lines with the Charter Business Customer Care Center. Our customer care is entirely U.S.-based for commercial level support, notes Jason Alvey, director of the CB CCC. He continues, We recognize that when a business calls in with an urgent issue and is already under stress, being able to speak with a Charter employee, well versed in our operations and policies, helps to engender confidence in their services and in Charter Business. In most cases, we discover the network problem before the customer does and 80-85% of these problems are fixed remotely without going into the field." Daniel Davidson, director of engineering These engineers rely on a sophisticated monitoring and management system that provides real-time information on every customer connection. An array of Cacti traffic monitoring servers, which check each connection every five minutes, send an alarm notification back to the CB NOC if a problem is found. We proactively monitor every single business customer fiber end point, says Daniel Davidson, director of engineering for CB NOC. He continues, In most cases, we discover the network problem before the customer does and 80-85% of these problems are fixed remotely without going into the field. When a customer does call to report a problem, they ll speak directly with a Tier II engineer. The CB NOC always notifies the customer when an issue is detected. We also give customers the direct phone numbers of multiple CB NOC staff members at the executive level. This access is part of the true partnership environment that Charter Business builds with customers, explains Davidson. LOCAL TECHNICIANS AND SALES GROUP Both the CB CCC and CB NOC work closely with local technicians when an on-site visit is required to resolve a service issue. Davidson notes, At the CB NOC, we stay in constant contact with our people in the field which include the high-level engineers that maintain our fiber network. In many cases, these local engineers are known personally by our business customers since they re the same people that handled their installations. Strong integration with the Charter Business sales group is key to delivering excellence in customer service. For the CB NOC, this often means participation in sales meetings to address support issues with a customer prior to beginning service. Sales personnel also contact the CB CCC with work order requests for their customers. From installation to ongoing maintenance, Charter Business remains focused on meeting your communications needs. Enjoy Charter at home! Did you know you can save on great services for your home with The Charter Bundle? Charter Digital Cable : Watch all of the top-rated cable channels^ Charter High-Speed Internet: The fastest, most reliable Internet speeds available Call now to get the bundle that s perfect for you. Call: SAVE-507 Visit: charter.com ( ) Charter Telephone : Save 35% or more on Unlimited Local and Long-Distance Calling 2009 Charter Communications. Residential customers only. ^Top-rated cable channels based on Nielsen Report 3/09. Fastest/most reliable speeds compared to AT&T, Qwest and Verizon Internet offerings in Charter markets. comscore Throughput Report Q4-08. Savings compared to AT&T, Qwest and Verizon similar phone offerings in Charter markets based on provider Web sites 1/19/09. Services not available in all areas. Restrictions apply. Call for details. CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS 5

6 Tweet Your Way to Success Twitter helps connect companies with customers You have 140 characters to post a message that will instantly appear on a free website potentially accessed by millions of people worldwide. What are you going to say? And, perhaps more importantly, why bother? Twitter allows users to post short responses to the question, What are you doing? As a business leader, you can use Twitter to make announcements, deepen relationships with customers, keep informed, and become recognized as an expert in your field. Large companies such as Ford, Home Depot, and Whole Foods are benefiting from a Twitter presence, but it can be useful by companies of any size. For example, a restaurant can post daily specials; a financial firm can provide investment advice. As with other new communication tools, there s a learning curve involved in using Twitter. Follow these steps to get started. SET UP AN ACCOUNT Go to to create an account and complete your profile. START FOLLOWING OTHER TWEEPLE Once you are following other tweeple (Twitter users), you will see their tweets (posts) on your home page. START TWEETING Keep your content relevant and helpful, and reply to tweets from others to start conversations. Use DM (direct message) if you want a post to remain private. If you have a question, just ask it, and many times tweeple will go out of their way to research something for you. If this happens, be sure to return the favor. TRACK YOUR SUCCESS Success with Twitter is determined by how many followers you have, how influential your account is (see twitter.grader.com), how many people reply to your tweets, and how many new customers and website hits you get. For best results, avoid simply promoting your own agenda. Join the conversation, and be sure to recommend tweeple you know or have done business with. It s okay to interject personal observations or comments, but keep it appropriate for a business environment. WHAT S YOUR BUSINESS AMBITION? Grow your business by letting our people talk to your people. Reach out to all kinds of new customers and realize your business ambition. Visit CharterMedia.com Charter Communications CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS

7 Profile Advanced Orthopedics Sees Charter Business as Backbone Advanced Orthopedics in St. Louis, Missouri recently changed their name from St. Louis-Clayton Orthopedic Group and moved to a new office. According to Dr. Jason Browdy, who founded the practice, Charter Business helped make this transition easier. He says, Tom Miles, my Charter Business sales representative, worked extensively with me to evaluate the feasibility of various hosted PBX solutions at the new office something that was above and beyond the scope of typical service. Dr. Jason Browdy uses digital radiography at his practice, Advanced Orthopedics. Dr. Browdy specializes in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. I have extensive experience managing elite athletes and weekend warriors, and our staff includes two athletic trainers. We re proud to be a nearly paperless office. We use electronic health records and digital radiography to improve efficiency, minimize waste and errors, and provide superior care, he explains. The communications demands of the practice are met by the Charter Business Bundle including Charter Business High-Speed Internet, Charter Business Telephone, and Charter Business Cable TV. Dr. Browdy notes, Charter Business is really the backbone of Advanced Orthopedics. Having a reliable phone system and high-speed network is critical for us. What s more, we get these Charter services for a very affordable price. Advanced Orthopedics has a virtual private network (VPN) to access medical records from rural clinics and enable Dr. Browdy to access x-rays, MRI scans, Having a reliable phone system and high-speed network is critical for us. What s more, we get these Charter services for a very affordable price. Dr. Jason Browdy, ADVANCED ORTHOPEDICS aoclayton.com and CT scans from his home server. He s pleased with the reliability of their network and its speeds of 8Mbps down and 2Mbps up. I don t have to worry about bottlenecks anymore, he says. Since Dr. Browdy can t always anticipate the complexity of every patient's needs, sometimes others need to wait longer than anticipated. Charter Business Cable TV has proven to be a great addition to the waiting room. TV helps make the time more enjoyable, adds Dr. Browdy. He concludes, We help patients stay on top of their game, and Charter Business helps us stay on top of ours. Earn a $50 Credit on Your Bill The Charter Business Refer- A-Business Program makes it easy to earn a $50 credit on your Charter Business bill. All you have to do is let us know about business contacts who could benefit from our services by completing an online lead form at Charter-Business.com/ BusinessReferral. We ll contact your referral and handle the rest. Once your referral s services are installed and they are billed, we ll give each of you a $50 credit toward your bills. Some restrictions apply; see Charter-Business.com/ BusinessReferral for details. CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS 7

8 Profile Reliable Service is Priority of Blue Ribbon Electrical Blue Ribbon Electrical in Kalamazoo, Michigan provides a complete range of electrical services for primarily residential customers. On their website, the company promises customers, We are here for you when you need us. Their services are available 24/7 and regardless of what time of day or night that customers call, they will be greeted by a live, professionally trained representative. In order to deliver on this promise of round-the-clock customer service, Blue Ribbon Electrical requires a high level of reliability from their communications provider. More than a year ago, owner Wes Clemons chose the Charter Business Bundle with Charter Business High-Speed Internet, Charter Business Telephone, and Charter Business Cable TV. While Clemons appreciates the significant monthly savings this package provides, he most values the reliability of the Charter Business services. For our company, price is not nearly as important as service reliability that s huge for us. Our customers make all of their appointments by phone and if I don t get the calls, I don t get the business. We must be able to count on our phone service, as well as our Internet access, since our web-based scheduler sends appointment information collected after hours to us via , explains Clemons. For example, if a customer calls at 10 pm, a live person answers and can schedule a next-day appointment. Wes Clemons, owner of Blue Ribbon Electrical, gives every job top-notch attention. For our company, price is not nearly as important as service reliability if I don t get the calls, I don t get the business. WES CLEMONS, BLUE RIBBON ELECTRICAL blueribbonelectric.com As a company with a strong focus on top-notch customer service, the staff at Blue Ribbon Electrical is pleased to find a similar philosophy at Charter Business. Clemons notes, Our sales representative, Scott Snow, set up all of the services for us and has been very prompt and responsive to our needs. Charter Business also went the extra mile and put in a backup system with a 16-hour battery life to ensure we ll have phone service even if we lose power. Clemons continues, I really appreciate the fact that we can count on Charter Business, since when our customers experience electrical problems, they need to be able to count on us. Earn a $50 Credit on Your Bill The Charter Business Refer- A-Business Program makes it easy to earn a $50 credit on your Charter Business bill. All you have to do is let us know about business contacts who could benefit from our services by completing an online lead form at Charter-Business.com/ BusinessReferral. We ll contact your referral and handle the rest. Once your referral s services are installed and they are billed, we ll give each of you a $50 credit toward your bills. Some restrictions apply; see Charter-Business.com/ BusinessReferral for details. CHARTER BUSINESS INSIGHTS 7

9 Telephone Internet Don t leave money on the table. Bundle your Charter Business services and save 15% off our standard rates on business telephone and internet. Scalable internet speeds up to 20Mbps Telephone with advanced business features and flexible long-distance plans Plus, keep your same numbers and equipment Charter-Business.com/Bundle Charter Business 2009 Charter Communications. Services not available in all areas. All services provided are subject to the terms of the subscriber agreement/applicable tariff and are subject to change. *Savings of 15-20% off of standard rates when you bundle Charter Business Video, Internet and Telephone services and commit to long-term agreement. Restrictions apply. Call for details.