I'm glad you asked me that…

Sky have recently introduced a new interactive service for consumers that installers should also find very useful. It’s called 'Sky Enquiries' and can be found at option 6 in the Interactive section of the Sky Guide.

Designed to answer some of the most asked questions as well as solve common problems, the service is easy to navigate through a simple menu system. On entering the Sky Enquiries domain, customers are given four initial options: Questions and Answers; Technical Assistance; Other Services; Feedback.

Questions and Answers
When this option is selected customers are asked to select from four headings: Financial; Sky Box Office; Subscriptions; General. Financial answers questions about billing and subscription; Sky Box Office provides answers about ordering Box Office movies and explains the occasional use of Macrovision copy protection; Subscription answers questions on the available options and shows how to get detailed information. General, as the name implies, answers enquiries on various subjects including Sky Text, PIN numbers etc.

Technical Assistance
This option from the initial menu will probably prove the most useful for installers. The four options presented on entering this section lead to answers on the Sky Remote Control as well as picture and sound problems. It offers solutions to common reception problems encountered by consumers and also describes the process of performing a ‘Connection Check’.

Other Services
This is a special section Sky uses for receiving contributions from selected focus groups of customers on a wide range of subjects. Focus Group members have a special ‘Sky Service Key’ that must be entered before this section will operate.

Feedback
The last item in the Sky Enquiries menu is 'Feedback'. This section gives viewers the opportunity to forward comments on to both the Customer Service Team and Technical Team at BSkyB.

The new Sky Enquiries service contains a wealth of useful information and solutions that will not only be a useful service for consumers. It will also help the installer by answering many of the questions and solving the problems that have previously involved a return visit to the site.

For this reason alone it is well worth bringing the new service to customers' attention and giving a small demonstration of its features as part of a professional installation.