There is a lot of work to be done in the Middle East in providing good customer service, says Paul Segre, CEO at Genesys, the world’s leading provider of customer service software and services.
“It’s not bad in the Middle East but we believe that there is a tremendous amount of progress to be made,” Segre said.
“Like everywhere, we see many companies that are very difficult to do business with. There is also an issue with fragmentation. The experience you get through the internet is different through the phone and mobile – they’re not connected. In the Middle East it’s too complex and it’s too often disconnected between the channels,” he added.
Despite this, Segre said Genesys has seen some positive work in providing good customer service in the region.
“We are seeing some good innovation. We’re working with some companies that are very progressive. Emirates and Etisalat are customers of ours and are both doing very innovative things. So some companies are doing innovative things and some aren’t. I don’t think its regional issues as so much an issue of individual companies,” he said.
He added that the Middle East is becoming a geographical focus going forward for the company.
“We’re very excited about the Middle East. We’re investing to grow in the region, both with our own people but also by extending our partner network. We think that there is a lot of work still to be done here as far as providing good customer service,” he said.
Genesys was recently acquired by Permira Funds from ex-parent company Alcatel-Lucent in a deal worth $1.5 billion. Segre ensured that the acquisition brought little change management to the company, and referred to a ‘new Genesys’ that Permira is providing more growth opportunities for.
“It doesn’t represent any change to our strategy. It doesn’t really represent any change to the people we have. What it does do for us is it allows us to improve on our execution of our vision. We’re now a company 100% focused on working with our customers to allow them to provide great customer service. All of our people are dedicated to that one mission,” he said.
“When we were part of Alcatel Lucent, many of our particular country managers and executive staff had responsibilities beyond just what Genesys does. Through our owners now, who are very growth orientated, I would say we also have better opportunities to grow through mergers and acquisitions. These are the key areas that the new Genesys are going in,” he added.
