A little taste of the Openreach Roadshow in Swindon

We were out and about last month, helping to spread the word about superfast fibre broadband. So if you were wandering around the Brunel shopping centre in Swindon on a Saturday afternoon in August, you might have bumped into the Openreach roadshow team.

In a trial run for other areas, we set up some new information stands and handed out flyers to raise awareness of superfast fibre availability in the area. Over three weekends we distributed thousands of leaflets and had a team in the Brunel shopping centre to answer any questions the locals might have had.

We had nearly 650 visitors on the first Saturday and almost double that a week later. We were able to demonstrate the differences between standard broadband fibre broadband using a ‘See the Difference’ presentation on a tablet device. The team also answered questions, showed which exchanges are enabled and gave advice on how to order superfast fibre broadband through a customer's preferred provider.

We learned a lot about the best way to approach these kinds of events from our experience in Swindon, and we’ll be looking to put this into practice in the future.

Double troubleshooters

With the focus very much on improving the current provision and repair situation, we’ve made some changes to help get things moving in the short term and to improve the customer experience in the longer term.

As part of this initiative, we’ve drafted in two specialists, Dan Moss and Steve Askew, to help get things back on track – and keep them there.

Dan may already be a familiar face to customers, as he previously worked as head of DSO and complaints. He’ll become operational GM for escalations and complaints, including the Director Service Office (DSO).  Customers can contact Dan for all ‘business as usual’ escalation issues related to day-to-day performance, both in terms of KCIs and customer updates.

Steve will become GM for root cause analysis and complaint reduction; He’ll focus on strategic change imperatives and will be working with customers and contacts across the industry to improve our service performance. He’s tasked with driving a reduction in customer issues to maximise effectiveness in the handling of remaining escalations.

These changes effectively double the focus on improving the current situation, but with an eye on the future as well. We want Openreach to be better able to address exceptional weather conditions and any unexpected ‘events’ going forward.

The changes are reflected in Customer Service Plans (CSP) and a new customer briefing.

How the cookies crumble

The first time you visit openreach.co.uk next week, you'll more than likely see a message about cookies. Don't worry, we've not branched out into catering; instead we're bringing our website in line with the latest online privacy guidelines.

Cookies are small files that allow a website to recognise and track users. They basically make the experience of using a website better.

We use different types of cookies on our site, based on the International Chamber of Commerce (ICO) cookie category guide:

• strictly necessary cookies enable services you have asked for on our site but the information isn't shared with any other site
• performance cookies collect anonymous information on the pages you visit. Again, this information is not used for advertising on other sites
• functional cookies remember choices you make to improve your experience and, as above, aren't used for advertising on other sites
• targeting cookies share information about your browsing habits with third parties to help make advertising relevant to you and your interests.

From next week you'll be able to control which type of cookies you accept from our site – and can change the settings easily at any time. You'll only get a message about cookies the first time you visit, so if you're happy with the way things are, you just accept the default settings and continue as normal.

Paralympians proving a point

Anyone worried that the Paralympics would be overshadowed by the Olympic Games must be delighted with the competition so far.

As we approach the final weekend, it’s clear from the crowds, the coverage and the reaction of the athletes themselves (including those who lost their rag!) that this has been a hugely successful event. Sixteen countries have taken part for the first time and over 4,000 athletes have been competing in the 500 events.

As the pre-eminent partner of Paralympic sport in the UK, our vision is for a fundamental shift in how disability, and disability in sport, is perceived following the Paralympics. Our aim is to help as many people as possible understand and get excited about Paralympic sport and to continue that momentum beyond London 2012.

Paralympics:10 things you need to know