Have you ever walked into a store and looked around for someone to help you and no one acknowledges you? Or you're at the cashier at the grocery store and he or she has not said a word to you since you arrived and just informs you of the total cost of your loot! Would you prefer to help yourself?
Customer service is described as all interactions between a customer and a product provider at the time of sale, and thereafter. It adds value to a product and builds enduring relationship (www.businessdictionary.com). Poor customer service is just the opposite and can discourage any potential client from investing in a particular service or product.
According to an article from the Harvard Business Review, across industries, fully 81% of all customers attempt to take care of matters themselves before reaching out to a live representative. Even in the hospitality industry, we can now check in to a hotel using your mobile phone or use the self check in kiosk at the airport. We no longer need to deal with humans for simple consumer transactions. Isn't this a bit ironic though? Shouldn't customers want to interact with a human being or reach out to them to help solve their problem?
In a world where everything seems to be instant, more and more companies are investing in self service technology with the aim of pleasing their customers. We need to ask ourselves though if this is as a result of consistent complaints of poor customer service from human beings and if so, were the right human beings hired for the job. Social media may also play part in this, with customers having no problem expressing their dissatisfaction on forums like Facebook and Twitter and companies having to spend more time and resources outing these publicly evident fires.
It is important to consider though that systems are not equipped to handle complex problems and companies must still invest in team members who are willing to go above and beyond for their customers. These team members must also be trained in efficient customer service etiquette and must want to help the human in front of them. The talent required to deal with an irate client or difficult problem is insurmountable. Customer service agents are not only required to maintain their composure during their interactions but also provide a solution which also benefits the customer and of course, the company that hired them to do this.
Human to human customer service is essentially extremely important today and once the companies get the right fit for these representatives, their future would be bright. Self service technology though is also necessary in today's fast paced world but they cannot always be a substitute for astute human beings.
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