Press Release

Charles Tyrwhitt Offers Tailor-made Service with FaceTime Technology

Established Jermyn Street shirt-maker implements Instant Messaging Service to increase sales and customer loyalty.

London, March 19, 2001 - Customer satisfaction on the High Street involves exceeding expectations so that when customers leave the premises they are happy with their purchase, and looking forward to coming back. It is just the same online. Jermyn Street shirt maker Charles Tyrwhitt has implemented FaceTime's Instant Customer technology on its website to achieve this. FaceTime enables Charles Tyrwhitt's established level of service to be reflected online by giving consumers instant access to a customer service representative.

Visitors to the Charles Tyrwhitt website (www.ctshirts.co.uk) are able to click on a 'Live online chat' link to initiate a conversation, in real-time, with a customer service representative without having to disconnect from the website. The company already offered consumers a 'phone me' feature in the live help section of the website but felt that FaceTime's product could offer an additional channel of communication that would further exceed customer expectations.

'When people enter our flagship store on Jermyn Street, they are expecting a certain level of service. We wanted to mimic as much of this as possible in our online strategy.' says Gary Robinson, UK web marketing manager. 'The "phone-me" option already implemented did not fully cater for home users as they would have to disconnect from the site to use the phone line. FaceTime's technology fulfilled the remit for excellent customer service, as not all customers want to pick up the phone, some prefer a more anonymous point of contact.'

Charles Tyrwhitt looked at various solutions for this, but chose FaceTime's Instant Messaging solution partly because it offered a trial-run before being implemented. The company plans to monitor the types of interaction that occur via the FaceTime platform and train customer service representatives accordingly.

Marcus Bennett, managing director of FaceTime says, 'For Charles Tyrwhitt, it is imperative that their high level of customer service is maintained, regardless of the channel of communication being used. Just as losing a customer from your High Street branch can be an indication of poor service, so businesses cannot afford to take this chance online. FaceTime's Instant Messaging helps to enhance the service experienced by online customers by offering instant access to a sales representative. Survival in an e-commerce environment is about exceeding expectations, otherwise the customer will go elsewhere.'

About FaceTime Communications
FaceTime Communications, based in Foster City, Calif., is the leader in real-time e-business communications services using instant messaging networks from AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo. FaceTime provides a wide array of Instant Messaging services for the B2C and B2B markets. Its market-leading customer service applications suite helps e-commerce sites generate sales and build customer loyalty by enabling live, person-to-person communication. More than 200 companies rely on FaceTime products and services, including some of the hottest names in e-business including Travel.com.au, Hartley Poynton; Dingo Blue, RedEnvelope.com, Wingspan.com, and Compaq. FaceTime opened its European headquarters in London, in April 2000. For more information, visit FaceTime Communications at www.facetime.com, call 650-574-1600, or instant message the company live, through FaceTime's AOL Instant Messenger BizBuddyName, FaceTimeLive.

About Charles Tyrwhitt
Charles Tyrwhitt is a London shirt maker who has grown from its flagship store on London's Jermyn Street to become England's largest company selling quality shirts, ties and other accessories for men and women through the Internet. The shirts themselves combine tailoring perfection with outstanding value, but the unique point with Charles Tyrwhitt is our follow-up service. Our policy is to ensure that every customer is surprised, delighted and excited. All orders are despatched within 24 hours or the same day if ordered online before 2pm. If a customer is dissatisfied for any reason with any product, they can return it (free of charge) for a full refund or exchange within three months of purchase, regardless of whether the product has been washed or worn.

Contacts:

FaceTime Communications
Barry Shurtz
(650) 572-5892
bshurtz@facetime.com

msr.comm for FaceTime
Kerry Coulter
kerry@msrdotcomm.com
(415) 447-6115 x4

Michele Barnum
michele@msrdotcomm.com
(415) 447-6115 x3