Reading, 15 May 2013 Easyroommate, the world’s number one flatshare and houseshare website, has transformed the customer experience and productivity by deploying Eptica’s multichannel customer service platform across its email and web channels. Customer service calls have reduced by 75%, email handling time by 58% and First Contact Resolution has increased to above 90%.


Easyroommate logo
Originally founded in the US nearly 15 years ago, Easyroommate now operates in 37 countries and 12 languages, matching potential tenants with available flatshare or houseshare accommodation. With Easyroommate, landlords can advertise rooms or property for rent, while tenants can search for accommodation or post details of their requirements.

With user numbers growing by 30% over the last year, Easyroommate needed to scale operations to provide fast, consistent service to customers. It selected Eptica’s multichannel customer interaction suite as it provided a multilingual, multi-brand platform for both Easyroommate and sister brand Vivastreet, which provides local online classified adverts in 19 countries. Eptica’s software is used by 60 agents split between its main contact centre in London, outsourced partners and teams in Africa, Asia and Latin America who provide local language and time zone support.

“Operating globally in multiple languages and markets it is vital that we provide a responsive, local service to our users,” said Karine Teixera, Head of Customer Services, Easyroommate. “Eptica’s customer interaction software enables us to deliver the right answer, in the right language consistently across all the 37 countries where we operate. By using Eptica we’ve improved our First Contact Resolution rate to above 90% and reduced calls by 75% while growing our customer base by 30%.”

As a fast growing online business it is essential that Easyroommate provides customers with a quick, consistent customer experience, whichever channel they choose. Deploying Eptica’s intelligent web self-service enables customers to ask questions, receiving instant answers that mean they don’t need to switch to other channels. After implementing Eptica calls have reduced by 75% and emails dropped by 15%, despite a 30% increase in users. Over half (53%) of all interactions are now via web self-service, which is available in eight languages on Easyroommate sites for the UK, France, Italy, Spain, USA, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Netherlands, Poland and Germany.

Easyroommate now uses Eptica Email Management to handle its 20,000 monthly emails. This has dramatically reduced the average time to answer, more than halving (58%) it from 48 hours to 20. 80% of emails are now answered within 12 hours. All incoming emails are now automatically analysed and sent to the agent with the best skills to answer them, along with a suggested response in one of 11 local languages. Average time to answer Vivastreet emails has reduced by 66%, to 12 hours, allowing agents to focus on providing a personal service for complex enquiries via the phone channel.

Easyroommate and Vivastreet had previously relied on static website FAQs but had no insight into what customers were looking for. They are now  benefiting from a faster, more efficient service and greater understanding of customer needs, enabling real time spotting of potential issues.

“The web opens the door to innovative, fast moving businesses such as Easyroommate to expand across the world,” said Paul Barnes, Managing Director, Eptica UK. “Providing multilanguage customer service across different countries and time zones can be incredibly complex. Easyroommate is a perfect example of how using Eptica’s single unified platform delivers better management, increased efficiency and greater insight into what customers want, wherever they are located.”