Great Lakes Data Systems (GLDS) and Source Cable, a television service provider based in Hamilton, Ontario, share a special relationship. As a longtime GLDS customer, as well as an alpha and beta tester for new GLDS products and features, Source Cable provides invaluable feedback on new solutions, which GLDS uses to ensure its products are agent-friendly and market-ready before they are released.

Just recently, Source Cable, recently acquired by Rogers Communications, became an early adopter of GLDS’ new subscriber management platform, BroadHub—the next generation of GLDS’ previous flagship platform, WinCable—which Source is now using to manage a customer base of about 20,000.

After speaking with Vice President of Operations and General Manager at Source Cable Darryl Chandler, it’s clear that BroadHub is making a big difference in Source’s daily operations. Right off the bat, Chandler mentioned how the program’s sleek new interface makes it easier for agents to complete tasks, thus saving valuable time.

WinCable, it should be noted, was designed in 1999 using development tools that were popular back when the famous Windows “maze” screen saver was still meandering across end users’ desktops.

“The interface has been updated in the new version,” Chandler said.  “It looks like something you’d expect to see in 2015. The old platform was ready for a change.”

In regard to the platform’s modern new appearance, Chandler was quick to point out the addition of BroadHub’s revamped icon set, created by the same third-party design team that has produced icons for major name brands like Nokia and Ericsson Mobile. BroadHub’s new icons feature an expanded color pallet, as well as new symbols with action codes that are not only pleasing to the eye but easier to understand.

BroadHub also features multiple fonts, which correlate with different tasks. The old platform featured uniform fonts throughout the platform.

“Our agents like the new icon sets and the overall appearance,” Chandler said. “The new layout was definitely designed with customer service representatives in mind.”

Indeed, users will find a much more flexible and responsive layout, as the new subscriber management hub now takes up about 40 percent of the screen, while WinCable used just 25 percent. The expanded layout allows for more purposeful field displays (like customer contact information, billing and miscellaneous notes). What’s more, the design team purposely left extra real estate for scalability purposes. As new features are developed and rolled out by GLDS, they can be easily integrated into the platform through software updates.

Another important feature that Chandler pointed out was BroadHub’s new “breadcrumbs” feature, which simplifies the way that agents access customer data during service sessions. Tabs can be easily stored along the bottom of the screen, allowing agents to jump between customer windows with ease.

“The breadcrumbs feature is something our staff loves,” Chandler said. “They can get right back to the subscriber home screen with one click of the mouse when they need to, instead of having to go through an entire screen detailing their last hour’s work history. Breadcrumbs is a big feature that is greatly helping our agents to be more productive.”

Of course, you can’t mention increased productivity without mentioning the fact that BroadHub drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to onboard new agents. This is something that is proving to be particularly useful when introducing new employees from Rogers Communications to the system. Agents who possess a base-level understanding of how to use a subscriber management screen have no trouble at all getting started.

“The product has really shaped our whole company,” Chandler explained. “I can attribute a lot of our success and growth to the fact that this is easy-to-use software that almost anyone can sit down in front of and start using the same day they are shown how to do something.”

That’s not all, though. Aside from making life easier for customer service representatives, BroadHub also makes life easier for Source Cable’s customers. BroadHub automatically syncs with a text messaging service, which sends automated reminders to customers about scheduled work orders the day before they take place. This greatly reduces the number of cases in which customers neglect to send cancellation notices for scheduled repairs, or forget about a scheduled visit and are, therefore, not home to let technicians inside.

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