Technology has integrated into almost every aspect of our professional lives and customer service is no exception. While human interaction will always be one of the most valuable aspects of good customer service, developing technologies have great potential to improve the quality and efficiency of customer service in many industries.
Wearable Tech
A few years ago, Virgin Atlantic airlines tested Google Glass amongst its staff to see if the technology could improve customer service. Although the hype eventually died down and not much was revealed about the experiment’s results, Virgin Atlantic stood firmly behind the use of wearable technology to improve customer service and many companies are glad to agree with them.
The main (and possibly only) issue seems to be that there is still a fair amount of work to be done to perfect this wearable tech. Interface can be quite difficult or obnoxious on certain wearable devices and it can be distracting to have to keep switching back and forth between addressing the customer and using the tech. But, in time there is the hope that these issues will be resolved and wearable tech can make huge changes to the customer service industry. Firstly, it allows employees to move around freely and engage customers without having to return to a computer or pull up a bulky iPad when they need information. Wearable gadgets can also be useful for monitoring customers and employees for the sake of security as well as improving the quality of customer service. Wearable tech can also help to record information accurately, which can be great help for those in service industry that need to note down long orders. Being able to record an order on their tech can reduce errors and make employees more efficient. If used right, this tech could completely transform the customer service industry. We need tech that’s subtle, easy to interact with and can offer customer service employees all of the information they need in an instant.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest things in technology today and one of the fastest developing, too. When utilised in the customer service industry, this technology could transform customer experiences and allow businesses to give the most tailored and personal services to their customer possible. But, AI isn’t about replacing humans in customer service. Human interaction is one of the most important features of customer service and offering customer service courses and qualifications for employees will always be a high priority in any industry. But, AI could be used to improve the quality of service that agents provide.
One example of this in action is KLM who used AI to improve their human based customer service rather than replace it. They were receiving so many messages from customers on a daily basis that they were almost running out of staff to keep up. So, to improve the efficiency of employees at the same time as improve the customer experience, they used smart data in their conversations with customers. Customer service agents are given suggested answers to questions, which saves them time from having to search for the information that the customer is looking for. These answers are generated from use data that’s collected on the customer to speed up the process of giving personal and correct answers.
