Page 32 - SAMENA Trends - February 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

both down 2% primarily due to ongoing Philip Jansen, Chief Executive, commenting widely-shared ambition to invest in fibre
headwinds from regulation, competition on the results, said “BT delivered results across the whole of the UK. We’re also
and legacy product declines slightly below our expectations for the investing in 5G, making it available in
• Reported profit before tax of £1,911m; third quarter of the year, but we remain on over 50 locations, with the first customers
adjusted2 EBITDA £5,900m, down track to meet our outlook for the full year. enjoying a great experience. “The security
3%1, due to the fall in revenue, higher “We continue to invest in the business. of our network is paramount for BT. We
spectrum fees, investment in customer During the quarter we launched Halo, therefore welcome and are supportive
experience and higher operating costs the UK’s ultimate converged plan, which of the clarity provided by Government
in Openreach will give homes and businesses the best around the use of certain vendors in
• Normalized free cash flow of £1,000m, connection and service. We’ve continued to networks across the UK and agree that the
down 42% due to increased cash capital use our national scale and local presence priority should be the security of the UK’s
expenditure, deposit for UEFA club across the UK to provide customers with communications infrastructure. We are in
football rights, higher interest and tax the best possible experience, for example the process of reviewing the guidance in
payments and working capital, partially by meeting our promise to answer all detail to determine the full impact on our
offset by one-off cash flows customer calls in the UK and Ireland and plans and at this time estimate an impact
• Capital expenditure £2,877m. Up £251m bringing BT sales and service back to the of around £500 million over the next 5
excluding BDUK funding deferral, driven high street in nearly 500 BT/EE stores. years. “I’m really excited about the long-
by fixed and mobile network investment “Underpinning the ongoing development term prospects for this great company and
• Overall financial outlook maintained; of market-leading propositions, we I‘m confident our plans will enable us to be
we expect normalized free cash flow, continue to invest in the best converged bolder, smarter, and faster to ensure that
for timing reasons, to be in lower half of network. We welcomed the direction of we remain successful and create a better
the £1.9bn - £2.1bn full year guidance Ofcom’s recent consultation, which is BT for the future.”
range an important step forward towards a

BT Completes 100% On-Shoring of Customer Service Calls to the UK and
Ireland to Deliver Personal and Local Customer Service

‘Wassup’ which was particularly popular
in London and the South East of England,
and in the north other favorites consist of
‘What’s the craic’ and ‘Alright?’ We aren’t
just formal when it comes to phone calls
either, with ‘Regards’ being Britain’s most
popular email sign off (37%), followed
by ‘Many Thanks’ (25%). Whereas, one
in ten from London and Yorkshire prefer
signing off emails with ‘Love From’.
Understanding why connecting regionally
and locally with people through different
phrases and endearing terms delivers a
more positive customer experience. BT
BT has completed its commitment to use app and chat experiences, accessible has partnered with social media comedy
answer 100% of customer service calls through BT.com. To mark this moment, page, Very British Problems, by comically
in the UK and Ireland a year ahead of BT reached out to the Nation to dive into engaging Twitter users on picking their
schedule to deliver the most personal the vast differences in local phrases and favorite phone sayings via a bingo meme.
and local service to its customers. The dialects that relates and connects people Rob Temple, owner of the comical Twitter
company now becomes the only major when talking on the phone. From Scotland, page, Very British Problems, says, “The
ISP to answer all calls across the UK Wales, England, and Northern Ireland, Nation loves a good formal safe “Hello”.
and Ireland, and all calls are answered 80% of people say that ‘Hello’ is their We know where we are with a hello. It’s
in the most local contact center to the preferred way to start a conversation on low risk. We shout all sorts of greetings
customer as part of its move to regional the phone, which may seem very formal to our friends and family to their faces,
call routing. In addition, BT is back on living up to the Nation’s stereotype but as often becoming especially colorful when
the high street in all EE stores across the conversations progress we’re ending with yelling across a pub, but stick a phone to
UK, to assist and deliver the best service ‘See Ya’ as our favourite way to end our our ear and suddenly we’re in Downton
and the most personalized, plus easy-to- chat. Other popular phone phrases include Abbey. Let’s hope it stays that way.” Our

32 FEBRUARY 2020