Rite Aid Agrees to Three-Year Deal with Convergys

CINCINNATI, OH - Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) announced a three-year contract to provide Rite Aid, a drug store chain in the United States that operates more than 3,400 locations in 28 states and the District of Columbia, with an automated, speech-enabled store locator service.

Rite Aid customers accessing the Convergys-designed advanced speech recognition (ASR) system at 800-RITE-AID can identify and connect to the store nearest to them based on hours of operation and the services and products they want (e.g., stores that are open 24 hours, offer one-hour film processing, or carry GNC dietary supplements). Convergys also automates the reporting of comments from Rite Aid associates, enabling Rite Aid to gauge employee satisfaction and solicit ideas for improving shareholder value from its employees.

"Using Convergys' ASR system to deliver routine information such as store locations and collect suggestions from our employees enables us to utilize our live agents in critical areas of our customer support operations such as providing assistance with prescription-related questions or other store-related inquiries," said Mike Cadden, director of customer support, Rite Aid. "This project represents a great collaboration between Rite Aid and Convergys that equally benefits our business, customers, employees, and shareholders."

"Companies like Rite Aid increasingly recognize how a balanced use of speech-enabled technologies can extend the reach and efficiency of their existing contact center capabilities," said Jack Freker, president, Customer Management Group, Convergys. "Not only do ASR systems allow our clients to deliver service to more customers in less time, but they also drive increased customer satisfaction at lower costs."