Paying with Attitude - Starz/Encore Media's customer service training and incentive program - Company Business and Marketing

Starz/Encore Media wants to expand its universe and the company is willing to help other pay networks gain customers if it means Starz/Encore adds them, too.

The Englewood, Colo.-based network is prepared to kick off a new customer service training and incentive program that is designed to pump life back into the entire premium category. Indeed, the "New Pay Attitude" is Starz/Encore's largest point of sale campaign in the company's history, says VP-customer training Jim Hashman.

Operators can use the "New Pay Attitude" program to push any multi-pay packages they want -- that is, as long as Starz! and Encore are part of the package, he says. But the focus isn't on Starz! or Encore, Hashman maintains.

"We think this is a first for the pay category," he adds. "There are plenty of premium service training and incentive programs, but none that have pushed the category as a whole. We think we can push the entire pay category with this program. We want the whole sector to be broader and deeper and we think we can facilitate that."

Encore will help operators set up pay category growth goals and if the system or call center reaches those goals, it wins a trip for two to Puerto Rico the first week of October.

"We know how sensitive people can be with subscriber numbers," Hashman says. "We don't want to know how many HBO or Showtime customers each system has. We just want to see the total numbers go up. So we don't go into specific details with them on their numbers, we just want to see how their pay category percentages grow."

Operator responsibility is low, Hashman says. Starz/Encore will send in trainers to oversee a 30-minute training session for CSRs that's designed to help them sell multipay services. Following the training, Starz/Encore will take 60 days to make mystery calls to one out of two participating CSRs to see if they do the following: determine what the customer wants; present the desired multipay package; and ask for the sale.

CSRs that accomplish those things during Encore's mystery calls will be rewarded with a $25 gift certificate from JCPenney. To win, CSRs must sell the multipay package that the operator comes up with. Solo Starz/Encore sales won't be rewarded, Hashman says.

"The key to this," Hashman says, "is that I don't want people to think of this as a Starz/ Encore campaign."

For every package sale they make, CSRs will also receive a game card worth points toward JCPenney certificates. CSRs send in their cards for the certificates. "Operators don't even have to worry about fulfillment," Hashman says. "We'll take care of everything."

Supervisors and GMs aren't left out of the prize loop, Hashman says. For every 10 cards supervisors distribute, they get an entry for a drawing to one of 40 trips to Las Vegas in October. Other big prizes to be awarded include trips to see Al Unser Jr. participate in various car races. Starz/Encore recently became Unser's official co-sponsor.

CSRs can also win instant prizes that range from coffee mugs and shirts with "New Pay Attitude" logo on it (the Starz/ Encore logo is nowhere to be seen on the logo) to trips to Las Vegas.

So far, no cable or satellite operators have taken Starz/ Encore up on the campaign, but many are exploring the deal, Hashman says. He expects this program to last two years.

"Our affiliates have a total of about 40,000 CSRs and we can handle 20,000 CSRs at a time," he says. "So the first affiliates that sign up can get involved in the program this year. The rest will have to wait until next year."

Starz/Encore wants to have all the participants lined up by June at the latest so there's a full quarter to measure results.

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