Need Extra Help To Stay In Touch With Loved Ones?

NEED EXTRA HELP

TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH LOVED ONES?

Check out how BT can help you stay in touch during the pandemic, and how they are supporters of disability football…

AS a national champion, BT seeks to do everything possible to support all its customers. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the need to provide extra help for those who need it most, particularly those who rely on connectivity to access vital services and stay in touch with loved ones. BT is asking customers to get in touch if they, or someone they know, needs extra help, so tailored support can be offered. This includes disability, illness, financial difficulties or a life event such as divorce or bereavement.

Below are some of the products and services that BT offers that are designed specifically with customers’ needs in mind, where they may need a little extra support.

Extended eligibility for access to BT’s low income tariff

This summer BT is improving its landline and broadband tariff for people on low income. This includes eligibility being extended to cover everyone on Universal Credit – that’s an extra 3 million people. From the end of June, customers can enjoy faster broadband speeds and more generous call allowances on the new service, called BT Home Essentials.

Ketan Hindocha

“ADDRESSING CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS IN A SENSITIVE WAY IS AT ITS ABSOLUTE CORE.”

It also offers a landline-only option for those who don’t want broadband. This is a big step up from BT Basic, BT’s original low income tariff, and will help significantly more people in the UK.

Listen, Care, and Show Empathy – Principles at the Heart of Customer Service

BT strives to help those who who may be worried about paying their bills. If BT is made aware of the issues it’ll help the customer with support that works for them.

The challenge has been that not everyone is forthcoming with what they need help with as Customer Service Quality Director for BT Consumer, Ketan Hindocha, explains; “The support we provide is underpinned by our customer service culture. The key is identifying when someone might need extra help. So we encourage our staff to actively listen, to care and show empathy. When we train our advisors we always say, ‘How would you deal with that if they were your mum or gran?’ Ketan adds: “It’s important that customers come to us if they need extra support. If circumstances change, we need our customers to please tell us.”

As part of BT’s focus on disability and inclusion, and in order to help more customers, this summer it’s improving its training programme for front line staff. This will help teams better identify customers’ needs and improve their knowledge on the appropriate support to offer. Addressing customers’ needs in a sensitive way is at its absolute core.

Expert tech set up in the comfort of your home

For those not comfortable going to shops, BT has Home Tech Experts and EE offers fast expert delivery with Enjoy, giving the option of visits to customers’ homes and workplaces to help set up tech for them. The experts are trained to help customers with their installations as well as how to use the technology. This includes accessibility awareness to better understand the individual needs of disabled customers.

Finding the right service to meet your needs

BT’s dedicated webpage for customers with disabilities and health conditions features useful products and information. It also suggests the best phones and features including the BT Big Button 200 and Doro mobile phone with large screen and adjustable text size.

We’re all relying on technology more and BT Skills for Tomorrow offers a range of free courses and advice to help make the most of life in the digital world. With a large array of useful learning resources, from navigating online GP Services to finding a job online, it helps people with varying levels of tech confidence.

Accessibility is key and for those who need documents in alternative formats, BT provides bills and other printed information in a range of alternative formats, including large print, Braille and audio (CD) versions. BT also offers an Ofcom approved text relay service for deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired customers. Simply type what you’d like to say, and the assistant will relay the conversation in real-time.

BT’s Free Priority Fault Repair scheme gives priority to customers with chronic long-term illness or disability. This means that any technical faults will be dealt with as soon as possible, every day of the year, including Christmas Day. Customers simply need to contact BT to apply.

DISCOVER DISABILITY FOOTBALL

In 2019, BT became the lead partner of the four Home Nations FAs - The Football Association, Scottish Football Association, Irish Football Association and Football Association of Wales. Working closely with the FAs, BT identified the key areas of the game that needed the most support and developed the transformational 4-3-3 football strategy:

4 – Home Nation FA’s 3 – Communities most in need of support (Grassroots, Women’s, Para & Disability) 3 – Commitments to make a meaningful difference and lasting legacy

The commitment BT made to para and disability football was to inspire the next generation of players to get involved in the game and help make their dreams a reality. On International Day of People with Disabilities 2020, BT launched the groundbreaking #DiscoverDisabilityFootball campaign, shining a light on the incredible work that takes place and the inspirational stories that exist. Pushing boundaries, challenging perceptions and giving the game the exposure, it deserves.

This is just the start, If the FA Disability Cup goes ahead this summer BT Sport will broadcast it live. Plus, coming up this summer, presenter Alex Brooker and singer/songwriter Chelcee Grimes, will embark on an epic journey across the UK as part of an exclusive series, Para Football Adventures. This fun and inspiring series will showcase the different formats of the game, with Alex and Chelcee meeting the current and upcoming stars in each nation and being put through the paces themselves. You can catch this on BT Sport and Channel 4 over the summer, so make sure you tune in and get involved in the conversation using #DiscoverDisabilityFootball.

Website: bt.com | Twitter: @bt_uk