Orange Launches 'Expert Assistance' - Providing Dedicated and Specialist Assistance to New Smartphone Customers

    BARCELONA, February 15 /PRNewswire/ --

    - The Orange Expert Assistance Service Includes Specialist Customer
      Service Representatives Who Will Provide Personalised Care and Support
      to Help Smartphone Customers

    - As Part of This Dedicated Support, Expert Assistance Will Also Provide
      Remote Assistance, Allowing Agents to Connect Over the Network to
      Customers' Devices to Solve Issues, Just Like an IT Help Desk

    - Expert Assistance, Part of the Orange Care Portfolio of After Sales
      Care Services, Revolutionises Customer Care and Support to Ensure That
      Customers' Needs are Met and Exceeded Throughout Their Lifetime With
      Orange

To enable customers to get the best from their mobile experience and revolutionise the way customer care and support is delivered to customers, Orange today launched a new service specifically to help new smartphone customers. Orange's Expert Assistance(1) service provides tailored support services to make a customer's smartphone experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. This chargeable, dedicated hotline assistance will also include a remote assistance service which allows orange agents to remotely connect to a customer's device and offer real-time, technical set-up and support.

The expert assistance service will be staffed by specialist customer service representatives who can offer telephone guidance and answer queries, such as how to set up web and email access, how to synchronise and back-up a device and how to connect accessories. Orange continues to offer free and inclusive support to customers through standard customer service centres and the Orange portal. The chargeable Expert Assistance service is opt-in for new smartphone users who would prefer to pay for the convenience and ease of having dedicated support for their smartphone needs.

The service will be available as an Orange Care package to smart phone customers or provided on a per call or per act basis. Specific launch timings and pricing structures will be confirmed as the service rolls-out in each market. Launching in Q2 2010, the service will be available in France, Switzerland, UK, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Romania, Moldova and Belgium.

Orange experts will also be able to connect directly to a customer's device - in the same way that IT helpdesks can remotely control a PC to solve performance issues - offering real-time, hands on help to customers. Customers are sent an SMS text message, allowing them to download a small applet to the device. Once this is accepted by the customer, the Orange Care technician can connect directly to the device. The Remote Assistance service is being launched first in France, Poland, Spain, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia, with other countries to follow.

Olaf Swantee, senior executive vice president of Orange's global mobile business, comments: "With the rise of the smart phone, the mobile marketplace has changed. We now have over 30 touchscreen devices in our portfolio. Orange Care aims to provide support in such a way that is easiest for the customer. With Expert Assistance and Remote Assistance, we continue to revolutionise our Orange Care portfolio of customer care services to ensure that we help our customers enjoy and get the most from their new mobile internet experience."

Smartphone devices in Western Europe are expected to reach above 40% of all mobile sales in 2013(2). The Expert Assistance programme supports this growth and reflects Orange's commitment to deliver innovative services that ensures all of its customers have access to the best possible mobile experience.

    For more information: http://www.orange.com,
http://www.francetelecom.com, http://www.orange-business.com

(1) The Orange Care Expert Assistance service is an umbrella term to describe the expert assistance hotline service, which may be branded under a different name based on local market requirements.

(2) Source: Strategy Analytics Handset Forecasts September 2009

SOURCE Orange