Renowned UK bookmaker Betfred has overhauled its call centre technology to ensure adherence to evolving industry legislation and an enhanced quality of service for customers.
With a 150-strong call centre in Wigan and a network of 1,700 UK betting shops, renowned bookmaker Betfred sought a new cloud technology infrastructure that would ensure PCI compliance, while revolutionising the brand’s communications with customers long into the future.
Having listened carefully to Betfred’s immediate and longer-term requirements, Vapour recommended the implementation of an omnichannel communications platform powered by Content Guru.
This next-generation solution takes businesses way beyond simply a cloud voice infrastructure, and instead encompasses recordable voice, video, SMS, email and social media dialogue for content-rich conversations that suit the customer.
The platform also includes a secure payment gateway for PCI DSS Level 1 compliance.
Elaborating on how the technology works, Vapour’s CEO Tim Mercer explains: “This really is a futureproofed solution, particularly suitable for businesses with a B2C contact centre operation where security is a must.
“The call recording facility automatically stops, for example, when a customer inputs their card details. The DTMF (Dual Tone Multiple Frequencies) tones are also masked so that the operator hears only a flat sound, then as soon as the three-digit CVC code is inputted, the recording immediately re-starts. This ensures the safe processing of extremely sensitive data, for maximum peace of mind.”
A phased six-month roll out followed an extensive three-month ‘proof of concept’ project, with a VIP team of Betfred beta-testers. The initial focus was to ensure the 150-strong call centre was fully operational, before implementing the omnichannel cloud platform throughout the full network of 1,700 UK shops, one by one.
All communications are now reportable, which means Betfred can produce a host of call-related metrics that drive performance improvements throughout the team. These statistics include the number of calls missed and received, call sources, time and date stamps, and waiting durations. The flexibility of the platform also allows Betfred employees to work from home, should they need to, for business continuity in the event of a disaster recovery scenario or other unplanned event.
Commenting on the project, Tim added: “Betfred has long prioritised the security of its customers details, but as cloud-based technology evolves so too do the opportunities to ensure even greater compliance. This was particularly important around the advent of GDPR, but data protection obligations are only going to grow.
“The investment will also promote greater flexibility within the team, without any detriment to the customer experience. This is a fantastic contract for us to win and it is a testament to the technological capabilities of our platform, particularly because many other industry solutions couldn’t fulfil the compliance brief.”
Commenting on the project, Betfred’s existing technology partner, pure technology group added: “This project is the result of a superb partnership between Betfred, pure technology group and Vapour, which has long focussed on the delivery of significant benefits for Betfred and its customers. It brings together expertise in multiple disciplines to totally transform the organisation’s approach to communications.”
