LIME cuts ties with ACS E-Services
Published:Friday | August 17, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Telecoms provider LIME has dropped the former ACS E-Services as its customer support provider in favour of Canadian-owned TELUS International.
TELUS will use 374 agents to handle calls for LIME, with just over half to be located in Jamaica.
The agreement will result in a transition of LIME's customer-care services from ACS in Kingston to TELUS International between August and October of this year.
ACS E-Service is now owned by American firm Xerox, which announced last month that it would be renaming the call-centre business to harmonise with its brand.
LIME declined to disclose the value of the TELUS deal.
"We would prefer not to disclose the value of this partnership at this time, but we can say it is a significant investment which we are confident will achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves at this time," the telecoms said in response to Financial Gleaner queries.
"It is part of the overall investment in our customer-interaction improvements, which included the new Interactive Voice Response (IVR) which we launched recently, as well as our Facebook and Twitter accounts which are part of our online Help Centre services," LIME said.
Regional service
The deal is expected to deliver immediate service improvements to customers on completion of new centres in Montego Bay, Barbados and St Lucia.
The partnership announcement comes just weeks after managing director of LIME Jamaica and Cayman Islands, Garry Sinclair, told shareholders at the 2012 annual general meeting that the company is focused on customer satisfaction as its top priority.
LIME Jamaica doubled operating profit to J$388 million (Q1 2011: J$172m), but made a net loss of J$430 million on the back of heavy debt-financing charges. The outcome was an improvement, however, on Q1 2011 net loss of J$1.3 billion.
"This partnership with TELUS is exactly what we need as we intensify our efforts to surpass our customers' expectations and delight our customers. So when customers call, chat or email us TELUS will be supporting us to ensure they get the best response in a timely manner. They have an outstanding track record in managing our product portfolio and we expect our customers to have an improved experience as soon as the transition from ACS is complete," Sinclair said.
Changing hands
Sinclair also acknowledged the work of current call-centre operators, ACS which, over the last three years, handled millions of interactions on behalf of LIME.
Xerox acquired the call-centre operation when it bought the Dallas-based ACS, parent of the Jamaican company E-Services, for about US$5.75 billion in cash and stock.
The result was a US$22-billion business combining printing and copying services with information technology and outsourcing.
This deal was struck just six months after ACS paid about US$85 million for E-Services Group, then principally owned by Jamaican Patrick Casserley.
"ACS has served us well, and has helped us to achieve a lot of our customer-care objectives," said Sinclair.
"As we take the next step, TELUS, selected through a tender process, has demonstrated that they can leverage the wealth of experience that aligns with our plans for the next few years. We are confident the transition from ACS to TELUS will be a smooth one," he said.
TELUS International, headed by president Jeffrey Puritt, is a customer-service provider with centres in North America, Central America, Asia and Europe.
Operations will be set up in Jamaica as a part of a regional network of customer-support centres, with others in Barbados and St Lucia.