The customer service system doesn’t have any function keys or green screen text that reps have to read. It is set up thematically with help tips strategically placed throughout. No matter what screen the reps are looking at within the system, it tells them what they could be doing for the customer and gives them a variety of options. The intelligence and processing power in the system allows reps to spend more time actually hearing and dealing with the customers’ issues and less time trying to figure out how to navigate among screens. Customers have told us they value fast ordering. The new system has allowed us to decrease our average order-entry talk-time from two minutes to one and a half, and our average customer service talk-time from four minutes to three. We know the system enhances our strong relationship with our customers because the number of customers who gave us an excellent service rating went up from 87 percent to 91 percent. And our business continues to grow: Last year we sent out 90 million packages and handled more than 130 million phone calls. Beyond being a "nice" strategy that helps us interact better with our customers, QVC has saved approximately $4 million a year as a result of faster customer data processing and shorter talk-times.

QVC will continue to focus on providing an exceptional and satisfying customer experience, using technology when appropriate as an enabler. After all, it’s the people behind the technology who create the magic. We respect our customers’ privacy and will keep working to earn their trust, and not let CRM hype or the fad of the day distract us from focusing on customers. We’ve given our people great tools and the power to advocate for the customer, and they do. Fortunately for us, it seems to work.