New technology is allowing The Funding Corporation (TFC), parent to motor finance supplier and retail network ACF Car Finance, to listen more intently than ever before to telephone conversations with customers.

TFC says it is storing millions of words every week, and is able to analyse speech content for consumer trends, with the end result of staff improving customer relations.

The system is made by US technology company Verint, which supplies recording analysis technology to government and law enforcement agencies, and was supplied by Business Systems UK, following on from an investment made by ACF in August 2009.

The TFC headquarters in Chester, plus the national showrooms and retail offices of ACF, will all use the system, with monitoring based at an evaluation unit in Chester.

‘Improving business’

Lorna Rossi, head of new business at ACF, says the technology will facilitate compliance with standards of financial provision but also allow the company a greater insight into the concerns of customers.

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"The system is as much a function of improving business intelligence as it is a means of verifying conversations and ensuring that individuals are adhering to compliance requirements," said Rossi.

"The technology represents a considerable investment by TFC, but it is providing a resource for information gathering which would be hard to achieve by any other means."

The importance of consumers’ views was recently demonstrated ACF, which revealed it has collated 1,000 online comments of its products since opening up its website to customer reviews.

richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com