Orange is the number one UK mobile operator in terms of active customers and forms part of the global telecommunications company France Télécom.

Orange launched in April 1994 and immediately began to work to transform the mobile communications industry. Building a strong, fresh, clear identity that set them apart in a confusing market, they have been working ever since to create direct relationships with their customers.

Orange Retail is a chain of over 200 high street stores where customers can simply walk in and purchase a mobile phone as well as perform other functions such as paying their bill. With the "customer experience" at the top of their list of priorities, exceptional customer service forms the backbone of the Orange Retail promise.

The customer service drive:

In order to reach their desired level of personalisation and customer service, Orange Retail decided to radically improve the way in which they handle the customers that come into their stores. "We wanted to enhance the customer's experience and to avoid duplication and repetition of customer information", says Matt LeConte, Business Systems Manager. To achieve this goal an electronic system was needed which would handle the selling process from start to finish.

A fundamental part of this process was to capture the customer's address and Orange chose Experian QAS to perform this function. "We needed a solution that would be quick and simple to use and Experian QAS was the obvious choice", says LeConte.

Experian QAS speeds up address capture transactions and ensures the accuracy of your customer address records. By accessing the Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF), the simple, user-friendly software enables you to type in a just a house number and postcode to return an accurate address.

The role of Experian QAS:

Experian QAS was easily integrated into the Electronic Point of Sale system used in all of Orange's 200 stores. In addition, the operators soon adapted to Experian QAS' intuitive searching. "There were no teething problems at all", says LeConte, "It is a simple process of putting the postcode and house number into the right box and ending up with an accurate address, you can't go wrong".

Return on Investment:

Thanks to simple integration and the fact that Experian QAS is so easy to use, the new system was up and running in no time. In most cases, the time taken for operators to enter address details was more than halved, greatly reducing the time taken for a sale to be processed and therefore enhancing the customer experience.

The increased efficiency means that Orange customers are dealt with swiftly and professionally. Matt LeConte comments, "The use of Experian QAS has undoubtedly sped up the whole customer experience at Orange Retail".

In addition, accurate addresses prevent duplication and repetition of customers' details. "With our staff dealing with over 10,000 addresses per week, Experian QAS gives us peace of mind, we know that we have a system that will give an accurate address every time and that repetition and duplication is a thing of the past," LeConte comments.

Experian QAS is ideal for use within any customer contact environment whether it be through a call centre, via the web or in the case of Orange Retail, in a store environment. Experian QAS are proud to support Orange retail in their goal to enhance the customer experience.