Business Messages reduces average handle times 28% for DISH

Starting in the early 1980s with just two dish antennas, Charlie Ergen, Candy Ergen, and Jim DeFranco shared a singular, unrelenting vision of bringing satellite TV to the masses. For decades, they dedicated themselves to this vision, and today DISH is a Fortune 250 company that provides satellite-powered pay-TV service to 8.9 million subscribers.

Englewood, CO

www.dish.com

People watching TV together

14%

improvement in customer effort score

28%

decrease in average handle times

21%

improvement in resolution rates

81%

Business Messages channel stickiness

Business Messages is a powerful way to connect with our customers. We definitely want to expand our use of Business Messages in the future.”

Kathy Schneider, DISH SVP of Customer Experience Operations

Customers chat with DISH through Google Search

Customers chat with DISH through Google Search

Summary

DISH implemented Google’s Business Messages in early 2020 to help their support team respond to customer queries easily, effectively, and at scale. The service was a huge hit—it delivered a 14 percent improvement in customer effort score (CES), a 28 percent decrease in average handle times (AHT) as compared to web chat, and issues were resolved 21 percent more often. In addition, 81 percent of DISH’s customers said they’d communicate with the brand through Business Messages again after trying the channel for the first time.

The challenge

DISH sought to become the industry leader in customer satisfaction. They were looking for technology to help them respond to support queries easily, effectively, and at scale—without straining their support team. Kathy Schneider, the SVP of Customer Experience Operations at DISH, shares, “We wanted to provide the best customer experience, but also to keep things manageable for our team. So our first line of defense is always connecting customers with a set of digital tools. Then we escalate to an agent if needed.”

DISH believed asynchronous messaging would lead to higher customer satisfaction and a better overall customer experience than synchronous chat and phone support. They turned to Business Messages to achieve their customer service goals. Schneider explains, “We're always looking for new opportunities to be on the cutting edge. We wanted a better way to engage with our customers and provide the best customer experience possible, and Business Messages made that possible.”

DISH resolves customer support issues quickly with Business Messages

DISH resolves customer support issues quickly with Business Messages

The approach

DISH partnered with [24]7.ai, an AI-powered digital and voice automation provider, to enable live support agents and conversational AI using Business Messages. Eric Santillan, VP of Customer Success at [24]7.ai, says, “I was involved firsthand with the Google and DISH implementation, and it was one of the smoothest I’ve ever seen.”

The results

After testing Business Messages in the first half of 2020, the results were a major success for DISH. They reported a 14 percent improvement in customer effort score over web chat and 9 percent over other messaging channels. Customers using DISH’s new asynchronous messaging experienced average handle times 28 percent shorter than web chat and 14 percent shorter than other messaging channels. And agent resolution rate improved by 21 percent. Seeing these results, it’s no surprise that 81 percent of customers said they’d communicate with the brand through Business Messages again after trying the channel for the first time.

Looking forward, DISH wants to double down on their use of Business Messages. Schneider shares, “Business Messages is a powerful way to connect with our customers. We definitely want to expand our use of Business Messages in the future.”