Believe it! Why Self Service may be better than voice for routine transactions.

As a consumer, I know how many of us hate the call deflection of an interactive voice response system. But with the help of speech recognition combined with traditional dtmf capabilities of virtually every phone, an industry leader such as Nuance has made navigating through the prompts easier and generally improved the overall experience. Clearly the desire of many clients using interactive voice response is to get the more mundane tasks handled by a non-human. The costs of using a machine are fixed. All the work is in the upfront design and the maintenance.

There are many companies that have done a great job of deflecting and, in fact, have made it more convenient to self self-service versus speaking to a live operator.

I believe the ability to understand your voice has improved dramatically. It is not perfect, but it is getting better. And, you can use your key pad if you wish. We all have key pads today versus the former rotary phones. An example of an automated transaction I prefer (along with millions of others) is a bill payment. I either use the web, or I use an IVR. In either case, the fact that I’m speaking with a computer versus a human being that could copy my information makes me feel more comfortable. I pay all of my bills either thru an automated attendant or thru the Internet. When I’m done, for instance when I pay my Verizon mobile bill, before I even hang up the phone I’m text messaged my confirmation.

Other companies such as American Express or AT&T email me a confirmation. I usually get the confirmation within minutes if not hours. It definitely comes the same day. I can’t get a live rep to send me a confirmation but I can get a machine to complete that transaction seamlessly and instantaneously.

Maybe it's time now that the call centers can figure out how they can send me an email when I speak to someone . It is a tough one to solve, that is, ask I live rep if they can email me or fax me a confirmation or some kind of follow up. Very rarely can the call center do this. I know this is an easy software fix (we used to design CRM software so we know). It is a completely different topic that we will shed more light on in future blog posts.

Self Service Avoid’s ID Theft – Let me speak to a Machine Please

I would rather speak to a machine when competing a financial transaction than I would like to speak to a live human being. Especially if you are going to route a call offshore. It scares me to have someone with a different culture and values with access to my information. Do not believe they can be denied access.

ID theft is just plain bad. It's critical to remember that, in today's global village of outsourcing customer service to the lowest cost provider, identity theft means your customer's information may end up in the Philippines or India and sold off to lord know who! Do not believe what you read that this never happens - it does. A lot. Offshore call centers are not sheltered nor are they security proof (sorry Tom).

This is a serious threat. All it takes is one instance and the credibility your firm worked decades to build is gone in a flash. Take a look at this article that clearly outlines the real risks.

Furthermore a recent Gartner study said that a shortage of skilled labor for Indian call centers increases the risk of fraud and identity theft, India will need one million trained and qualified call centre workers by 2009, according to the Indian government, but by that time about a quarter of those positions will remain unfilled. Gartner warned that the shortfall in call center agents will cause offshore outsourcing firms to hire fewer qualified staff and could lead to reduced due diligence.

I hope those reading this post are starting to think about a repositioning of your call center strategy. Cost is important, but let’s not forget about market share and the fact that satisfied customers buy more and tell their friends to buy as well.

Do not force an over use of self-service. Customers will figure out ways to talk to a live rep when they need to. And if you do not service them properly, it is only a matter of time (read short time) until they defect. And they will defect.

In my next post, I will speak about the experience when you finally speak to someone live on the phone.

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