The people who make things simple - differently

The community on "telekom-hilft.de", where members discuss Telekom offerings, has more than 940,000 registered members, making the platform one of Germany’s largest service portals. More than 1.3 million posts were published on the website and social media channels in 2017 - and the number of contacts has increased by more than 30 percent each year in recent years.

The team has now grown to more than 120 employees, who handle inquiries about Deutsche Telekom’s full range of services in Kiel, Bielefeld, Westerstede, and Ludwigshafen. They support customers looking for help and moderate discussion forums. An FAQ editorial team drafts answers to frequently asked questions.

Less formal

At first, community moderator Markus Lukowski and his colleagues needed to find the right tone for this still-unfamiliar communication channel. "First, we had to let go of the formal German we had used to address customers in letters or emails," he recalls. On Facebook or Twitter, you get straight to the point more quickly, use a more informal tone, and use emojis instead of formal greetings. "We’re very direct, and we stay with it until the problem is resolved," says Kai Moritz. "If you beat around the bush instead of giving a specific answer, people comment on it right away."

"We also see ourselves as an innovation lab," says Daniela Dulski, who is responsible for the operational processes of services delivered through social media. "Telekom hilft" employees use video streaming to report on new trade show offerings and answer viewers’ questions. Interested customers take part as product testers, and since August 2017, "Horst" has contacted customers a few days after their request has been resolved to ask whether they were satisfied with the service. "Horst" is a chatbot programmed for this dialogue. "It is very well received," Dulski says with pleasure.