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Abstract
A lot of companies talk a good game about customer service, but $1.4 billion computer cataloger PC Connection does more than pay lip service to the notion. It has to. The Merrimack, NH-based mailer is strictly a reseller; the more than 100,000 SKUs of computer hardware, software, and peripherals it carries are from outside manufacturers, including Apple, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Microsoft. Since it does not manufacture any of its own merchandise, the company has made stellar service its unique selling proposition. Computer telephony integration (CTI) enables PC Connection to transfer buyer information from its customer database, such as buying history, to telephone reps along with the actual phone call. To keep the computers and the telephones integrated, PC Connection relies on Symposium (version 4), a call center server application from Nortel Networks, and the IBM Call Path client server from Call Pro/Cothern Computer Systems. Symposium tracks incoming orders, outgoing calls, and inventory, and ties together the cataloger's 4 call centers and its Website, says PC Connection spokesperson Matt Cookson.