2. Pricing and content objections
3. Technical objections
4. Service objections
5. Billing objections
6. Privacy and marketing objections
Customers will occasionally object to the services provided by Foxtel, or their experience with Foxtel as a company. If a customer has objections, you should listen to their objections and address them with empathy. Depending on the customer's objections, you may be able to offer the customer alternate options or further investigate the issue to achieve a resolution for them.
General objection handling tips
The following objection handling tips can be used for all customer objections:
- acknowledge the customer's concern
- show empathy
- take ownership of the customer's issue
- take action where required
- follow up where required
- ensure that you deliver on all valid promises made.
Providing credit adjustments
Before providing credits to solve an objection, ensure that:
- the initial problem has been resolved
- the credit offered is in line with the Credit scenarios matrix (see Overview - credit adjustments and refunds)
- goodwill credits are used as a last resort.
To apply a credit to a customer's account, see Procedure - Apply a credit adjustment in Zendesk .
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2. Pricing and content objections
If the customer is unhappy with Foxtel's pricing, it's important to use discovery questions to understand their viewing habits. By doing so, you can steer the conversation in a more positive direction as you are discussing something that the customer enjoys.
If a customer is objecting to the price of their Foxtel service, it's important to understand the customer's viewing preferences to help tailor a package to suit their needs (you can also use NBA to help with this).
Viewing options
Ensure that the customer is aware of the multiple ways in which customers can view their Foxtel, including:
- live TV
- recorded content
- On Demand
- Foxtel GO.
Pricing changes
From time to time, Foxtel will make changes to our pricing and packaging offering. These changes are typically communicated to customers by:
- the Foxtel website.
However, for general objection handling tips, you can advise the customer:
- we're constantly investing to deliver a wider range of sports, movies, drama and entertainment content for our customers
- we continue to invest to make significant improvements to the most advanced iQ ever, making it simple and easy to enjoy Australia's largest variety of quality live, streaming and on demand entertainment
- we regularly review our pricing structure, which, from time to time, results in a price adjustment.
2.2 Programming objections
Customers may object to the content available on Foxtel and/or programs being repeated too often. While Foxtel does repeat programs, these are designed to accommodate our customers' varied needs and gives them a chance to catch up on shows they may have missed.
Objection handling tips
| Objection | Discovery questions | Objection handling tips |
|---|---|---|
|
Is your Foxtel box connected to the internet? |
Advise the customer of the benefits of connecting an STB to the internet, including:
Note: If the customer does not have a recording STB or an internet-capable STB, this is a good opportunity to inform the customer of the benefits of these STBs. For more information, see Overview - using the iQ5, iQ4 and iQ3. |
| Do you use the recording features of your Foxtel box? |
Advise the customer of the benefits of recording features, including:
Note: If the customer does not have a recording STB or an internet-capable STB, this is a good opportunity to inform the customer of the benefits of these STBs. For more information, see Overview - using the iQ5, iQ4 and iQ3. |
2.3 Advertising objections
In addition to subscription fees, Foxtel also uses advertising to generate extra revenue to cover operating costs and to invest in new technology, such as 4K.
Subscription fees would also be higher without the revenue generated from advertising. Customers may object to advertising on Foxtel, but it is important to educate customers on why advertisements are necessary, and what options they have to avoid advertisements.
Complaints about specific advertisements
If the customer is unhappy with a specific advertisement, provide the customer with the contact details for the Advertising Standard Bureau. The Advertising Standards Bureau deals with complaints about specific advertisements that the customer may have seen when watching Foxtel.
| Contact information for the Advertising Standard Bureau | |
|---|---|
| Website | www.adstandards.com.au |
| Postal address | Level 2, 97 Northbourne Avenue, Turner ACT 2612 |
| Phone | 02 6173 1500 |
| Fax | 02 6262 9833 |
Objection handling tips
| Objection | Discovery questions | Objection handling tips |
|---|---|---|
| Too many ads | What do you enjoy watching on Foxtel? |
Advise the customer of the ad-free content we have, including:
|
| How do you generally watch your Foxtel (e.g. live or On Demand)? |
Advise the customer that in addition to watching Live TV and dealing with ads, they can also view Foxtel in the following ways:
|
|
| Do you use the recording features of your Foxtel box? |
Advise the customer of the benefits of recording features, including:
Note: If the customer does not have a recording STB or an internet-capable STB, this is a good opportunity to inform the customer of the benefits of these STBs. For more information, see Overview - using the iQ5, iQ4 and iQ3. |
|
| Is your Foxtel box connected to the internet? |
Advise the customer of the benefits of connecting an STB to the internet, including:
Note: If the customer does not have a recording STB or an internet-capable STB, this is a good opportunity to inform the customer of the benefits of these STBs. For more information, see Overview - using the iQ5, iQ4 and iQ3. |
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3. Technical objections
If a customer is experiencing signal or equipment issues, you should transfer them to the Technical Support team to troubleshoot the issue (for transfer information, see FoxPages directory - Foxtel departments). Technical support agents will use Customer Zendesk to assist customers with troubleshooting any technical issues.
Note: Ensure that the customer is aware that they can use Foxtel GO in the event of an outage or any other signal/equipment issues. For more information, see Overview - Foxtel GO.
Compensation
If a customer has experienced ongoing technical issues, the Technical Support team may provide customers with loss of service compensation. For more information, see Overview - TV outages.
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4. Service objections
- generally poor agent behaviour and poor customer service
- a previous promise not fulfilled (for more information, see Procedure - check for a promise not fulfilled)
- incorrect or misleading information provided.
If the customer has objections to agent behaviours:
- where possible, ensure that you fix any errors that have been made
- take ownership of the issue
- apologise for the experience
- offer to investigate further (this may include escalating the call to your Team Leader).
4.2 IVR and hold times
The IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is designed to ensure that customers are directed to the correct department when they call Foxtel. If the customer provides their details, the IVR may also identify the customer so they do not have to provide their details again when they are connected with an agent.
If a customer is experiencing issues with the IVR:
- apologise for the experience
- empathise with the customer's frustration
- educate the customer on factors that can affect the effectiveness of the IVR
- advise the customer that Foxtel is always working on ways to improve our IVR
- ask the customer how you can assist them today.
If a customer is experiencing long hold or wait times:
- apologise for the experience
- empathise with the customer's frustration
- educate the customer on factors (e.g. outages, channel changes or high-profile Main Events) that can affect wait times
- ask the customer how you can assist them today.
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5. Billing objections
- the charge is higher than they expected
- they were not informed of the charge
- they were told that they would not be charged
- a discount has not been applied or has ended.
If the customer is disputing charges on their bill:
- investigate the notes in CORE
- educate the customer on billing information
- set the expectation for future charges to ensure that the customer is aware of their ongoing monthly charges
- provide credit adjustments, if required (for instructions, see Procedure - Apply a credit adjustment in Zendesk).
5.2 Collections and payment issues
If a customer doesn't pay their bill on time, they run the risk of entering the collections process, which may involve late payment fees or restriction, suspension or disconnection of their services. If a customer is in the collections process, or is experiencing payment issues (e.g. the customer cannot pay their bill or their payment has not been received), you should investigate this thoroughly and provide the customer with the payment options that are available to them.
If the customer is in collections or experiencing payment issues:
- investigate the notes in CORE
- educate the customer on payment methods and timings (for more information, see Overview - payments, payment plans and payment extensions)
- offer to take one-off payment via credit card (see Zendesk Procedure - take a payment).
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6. Privacy and marketing objections
If a customer advises that their privacy has been breached, this must be emailed to CustomerResolutionsTeam.Escalations@foxtel.com.au immediately with the following information (as a privacy breach is classified as a severity 1 complaint):
<Subject: Severity 1 complaint>
- account number:
- name:
- best contact number:
- outline the complaint:
For more information, see Overview - customer complaints and escalations.
6.2 Marketing
Prospective customers may opt-in to receive telemarketing contact from Foxtel via the following ways:
- partner sites after a purchase is made
- competition surveys
- partner phone leads (the prospective customer has provided verbal confirmation that they are interest in Foxtel).
Current Foxtel customers may also receive marketing information including customer interaction surveys, special offers, programming information and community updates.
Opt-out of marketing
If a Foxtel customer requests to no longer receive marketing, see Procedure - Update marketing preferences in Zendesk.
If a non-Foxtel customer requests to no longer receive marketing, email CLT.Exclude@foxtel.com.au with the following information:
<Subject: Non-customers removed from marketing>
- name:
- address:
- phone number:
- email address:
Do Not Call Register
The Do Not Call Register (DNCR) is an initiative established by the Australian government where people can list their phone number so they will not receive telemarketing calls. When a customer registers a phone number on the DNCR, telemarketers must not contact that number
Note: It may take up to 30 days for the registration to take effect.
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