ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080008
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Marketplace
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
If you were one of the more than 200,000 people who called the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line this holiday season, you know what a wonderful thing consumer hot lines can be.
The Talk-Line, an 800-number that connected hapless poultry cooks to a team of professional home economists and nutritionists, fielded calls about proper defrosting techniques, roasting temperatures and recipes for leftovers, said Jean Schnelle, director of the Chicago-based service.
Women answering the questions knew their stuff. Each of the nearly 50 operators has at least a four-year degree in home economics or another food-related field. All worked as home ec teachers, recipe developers or hospital dietitians. And all attended three-day "Butterball U" for training about the company's products.
"In terms of having raw recruits who don't have answers, we don't have any," Schnelle said.
Do callers take the consultants' advice? "They have to decide for themselves," Schnelle said. "We're not their doctor, and we're not their mother."
Pick up just about any box of laundry detergent or jar of pasta sauce - or package of computer software, for that matter - and you're bound to see an 800-number.
Connie, a customer service operator for the Jif peanut butter hot line [(800) 283-8915], can tell you that no, you can't use reduced-fat Jif to make peanut butter cookies, because of the differences in the formulas between the reduced-fat and regular peanut spreads.
Tom at the Nestl hot line [(800) 637-8537] can clarify the difference between dutched and undutched cocoa - and no, it doesn't have anything to do with who pays.
And the folk at Johnson & Johnson [(800) 526-3967] can tell you the best way to get a sticky Band-Aid out of your cat's fur.
Customer hot lines are good public relations, said a spokeswoman for consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble Co. Plus, they provide manufacturers with instant feedback from people who use their products in real-life settings.
"We want to remain accessible to our consumers," she said. "It's a direct contact with the people who use our products."
P&G started its product hot lines in the 1970s, making the company one of the first to offer toll-free calling for consumers. She wouldn't say how much the service costs the company - none of the manufacturers would - nor would she say how many operators are on staff (``a lot," she said) or how much training they get.
But she did say that many of the P&G operators are part-timers who hold other jobs - nurses, social workers, mothers, home economists - related to customer service or health care. And they talk to "millions" of consumers a year, she said. Not a surprise, really, considering that every one of the company's hundreds of products comes with an 800-number on the package. P&G offers a special number for after-hours emergencies, too.
At Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of baby shampoo, toothpaste, bandages and skin care products, the hot lines have become so popular that operators have begun to specialize in particular product lines so they can answer complex questions, a spokeswoman said. Registered nurses take health-related calls.
"We are there to be honest and open and accessible to our consumers," she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB