You wake up one morning to find there’s no hot water – your boiler’s blown. You book an appointment and get told an engineer will come the next day between “8am and 6pm”. So, you cancel your plans and wait.
In the meantime, you need to make a query about your latest WiFi bill. You dial your service provider’s number, only to be greeted with an automated robot voice that drones “your call is important to us, thank you for waiting while we deal with a high volume of calls…”
An hour later, you’ve spoken to three different agents, multiple departments and heard enough hold music to put you to sleep. Still, you’ve got no answers – and then the line goes dead.
And, the cherry on top is that you’ve missed the delivery you were expecting today. All that’s left is an ominous note: your parcel has been taken back to the depot for you to collect.
Does this nightmare sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone!
A landmark report from the Institute of Customer Service, revealed that customer service satisfaction levels are at their lowest since 2010. When customers were asked the top three things an organisation should do, the top response was: make it easier to contact the right person to help me.
Trick or treat? What’s behind the decline in customer satisfaction
Chatbots of doom
Have you ever tried to find a company’s contact details, only to have to use some kind of web-chat function instead? Some companies have done away with phone numbers altogether, in favour of online chatbots.
For simple queries and assessing your reason for contacting, these chatbots serve a purpose. But an issue is rarely simple.
When a chatbot doesn’t understand the nuance of your message or won’t provide the right options for you to respond with, you can quickly end up repeating yourself while your query is nowhere near resolved. It’s a ridiculously frustrating cycle of doom.
Spectral voices
In horror movies, our brave, but doomed protagonist often gets a haunting telephone call; its chimes the only noise in an abandoned house, aside from their panicked breathing. A creepy voice tolls from the other end – a ghost calling from beyond the grave.
Is there anything scarier than not knowing who’s on the other end of the phone? In real life, sadly it’s an all-too-common scenario.
Many companies utilise automated systems on their phone lines. It’s efficient, keeping customers informed while they’re on hold. But sometimes, you just want to speak to a real person. After all, they’re the ones who can understand your queries and put right any issues. Robots are good, but they’re not that good – yet.
AI: An alien invasion?
AI is a bit of a buzzword at the moment. And while it has the power to transform menial tasks, automating processes and quickly combing through data, AI is also being used to deal with customers. One Japanese bank even revealed it’s developing a novel AI solution that dials down an angry customer’s tone in real time while keep their words intact.
It’s intended to make a call handler’s life easier, as it’s a notoriously tough role where you’re likely to face abuse. But as the CEO of the Institute of Customer Service points out, this treats the symptom, rather than addressing the cause of customer hostility.
As a customer, would you really be comfortable knowing that AI is infiltrating your communication with a service provider? Human interaction, where there’s back-and-forth, emotional intelligence and engagement with your issue, is surely much more effective.
Customers in staff costumes
Rather than using employees, some companies are using their own customers to provide support to other consumers. Limitless Tech, a UK company launched in 2016, promised to provide so-called experts known as GigCX workers to large brands. But these customer service agents are also customers of the firm. They can be trained in less than a week, and available 24/7.
But do they really have access to all the accounts and systems necessary to handle your query. And if they do, then surely there’s huge repercussions for personal data handling. Their personal devices, home WiFi or public internet connections are much more vulnerable to nefarious hackers, without the proper protections.
Every additional hoop you have to jump through puts you off pursuing a complaint. So, there will be customers who give up after talking to a GigCX worker if they can’t resolve things and “make life easier” for the company. But why should we let companies treat us that way?
Living in a ghost town
High street branch closures are constantly in the headlines. Since 2012, nearly 6,000 bank branches have closed. It’s been attributed to banking consumers’ changing habits and technological evolutions. But with everyone seemingly opting for online business models, it’s leaving many people isolated.
For some things, especially sensitive and financial topics, you want to speak with an expert in person. But with so many business deserting the high street, it means no-one’s around when you need to talk to them.
Tips for getting better customer service
If you’re tired of being ghosted by online chatbots or getting nowhere on phonelines, here’s some useful tips:
1. Be prepared
Have your account details at the ready, as well as past bills or a log of previous communications. A summary of the key dates and points will help you stay on track, as well as serving as your evidence log if you need to take things further.
2. Find the right contact details
Search online using keywords such as the name of the company and “customer service” – the quotation marks will help. Smaller businesses often have their contact details listed on their social media pages. Many financial institutions will have a special line for vulnerable customers.
3. Plough through the bots
Experts say that the less formulaic your answers, the more quickly you will get to a real human. You could even choose random options to speed through the initial vetting process, type nonsensical answers to bamboozle the bot, or just type: ‘Speak to a real person’ or ‘thinking of leaving’ to get through to the retention team.
Good service – it’s in our bones
Our aim at Howden is to make sure it’s all treat, no tricks. Whether that’s helping you find the right level of cover for your car, home, van or business, or making a claim, we have access to a range of mainstream and niche insurers.
We also know how important it is that you can talk to us, however you prefer to. We have over 200 local high street branches and centres, so you can visit us in person, if that’s what you prefer. And you can also ring us if you need to.
Sources: The Telegraph, Institute for Customer Service, House of Lords Library