25 Sep The Customer Experience Time Loop: Give Information, Get Transferred, Repeat
Dina goes online to contact a company she bought cable tv service from. She changed her service package but was still charged her previous package price this month. Annoying. She enters her customer number and other requested data into the chatbot. When the chatbot was unable to help her she was transferred to a live agent. Ugh! The live agent asked for her customer number and information again. Really? They were also unable to help Dina and transferred her again to another agent, who also asked for her customer number and information. OMG. I’m in a customer experience time loop. Shoot me now.
The idea of reliving the same day or hour over and over again is a funny concept for a movie. Groundhog Day is the film classic that inspired countless variations since it’s 1993 release. Audiences love watching the brilliant Bill Murray play a character without empathy who, after years of reliving the same day, finally has an epiphany that stops the cycle.
In real life though, this is a miserable customer experience time loop. Especially when it is created by a company that isn’t properly managing their information flow.
The Problem
Your customer facing AI solutions, like chatbots, never tire of repetition. However, your customers and agents do. Human time is finite. When you honor that with efficient processes to solve customer problems you’re rewarded with repeat business, positive reviews and loyalty. Reducing the number of times your customers have to repeat their information or problem is integral to this success.
Don’t forget your agents. They are the ones who have to deal with your customers’ frustration. When you don’t make information about a customer’s issue available to all agents who engage the customer, you put them in a difficult spot. They can only be as great at solving customer problems as the tools and info they are given.
In addition, ensure your agents are trained to ask clarifying questions. This way they can efficiently help your customers, improve their experience and offer alternate solutions when needed.
The Experience
When experiencing the customer experience time loop, your customers become soured to your company. From their perspective, they gave their information once. Having to give it again doesn’t just waste their time, it makes them feel unimportant. The impact of that is huge. When customers are unhappy the stats say they tell 9-15 people or more. Many don’t say anything and just abandon the company.
Your agents are not only your representatives, they are a vital part of your day to day operations. The turnover in customer service is significant. Trained, skilled agents are expensive to replace.
Policies that force agents to deal with understandably frustrated customers make agents feel like they don’t matter. If you behave as if your agents are expendable, they have no reason to be loyal. If you want your agents to bring their best, give them your best.
The Result
When both your customers and your agents are frustrated by your policies they both leave you in the dust. You may be able to gain new customers and new agents, but this becomes a pattern. Just like the restaurant that never gets the order right, you will become the company to avoid…unless there are no other options. How long do you think that will last in this climate of discerning customers?
Aside from abandonment, there is the loss of revenue. It is well known that it is more costly to acquire a new customer than to retain a current one – up to 5 times more. Plus, loyal customers spend more. Cultivating these loyal relationships requires customer care.
Escape the Customer Experience Time Loop
One of the tools to escape the time loop is making sure information is available agent to agent. Tools like Zendesk Essentials Card and Interaction History allow for an information bread trail for any agent working with the customer.
Another key is to make information on an open ticket available across all platforms. When the customer contacts you by email and phone it is more efficient to have just one ticket open with all pertinent information in it.
Finally, give your agents the support they need to go above and beyond for your customers. A tool like CSAT.AI assists both agents and QA. CSAT.AI can score agents in real time, prompting them to ensure all the customer’s questions are answered. It will also predict their CSAT score, giving the agent time to improve the interaction before it ends.
Contact us to escape the customer experience time loop.