When customer service became formalised into a specific department the primary channels were the telephone and post. Hence staff were organised in a call centre, as a large part of their job was answering telephone calls, along with responding to letters from customers.A lot has changed since then, with a plethora of new channels now available for customers. The rise of email, the web, social medi...
More and more of us are using mobile devices to interact with companies online. The combination of the ease of use of tablets and the fact that we always have our smartphones to hand, mean that for many it is fast becoming the default way of accessing the internet. Backing this up, consultancy IDATE predicts that by the middle of next year more people will get online through smartphones and tablet...
This week saw the re-emergence of a new name in British banking, with the creation of TSB. Formed from 600 branches of Lloyds Group, it has 5 million customers and promises to focus on local customers and businesses.The divestment of the branches was mandated by the EU as part of the state bailout of Lloyds during the banking crisis. Originally due to be sold to Co-Operative Bank, when that deal f...
Knowledge is at the heart of delivering a successful, consistent and efficient customer experience whatever type of organisation you are in. Collecting and sharing information, incorporating feedback and keeping centralised knowledge updated is central to delivering superior customer service.However while most managers understand the importance of knowledge, many are simply not sure where to start...
Guest post by Dominic Tavassoli, VP Product Management, Eptica Customer service teams should look to leverage cutting edge linguistic technology to address challenges of scalability and efficiency, as well as customer satisfaction.Great hospital emergency rooms excel at what is known as triage, being able to rapidly determine the priority of the treatment of patients, based on the severity of thei...
At long last the UK economy seems to be improving. Figures from the Office of National Statistics show growth of 0.6% in Q1 2013 and the CBI is forecasting an increase of 1.2% over the whole year. Other recent surveys have shown positive results in manufacturing, housing, services and construction.Obviously this is all good news, but how does it affect customer service teams? After a prolonged per...
Many customer service teams need to provide fast answers in times of crisis – for example when products or services go wrong. However when it comes to utilities, crises can be much more serious – essentially a matter of life or death when flooding, storms or other natural disasters strike.The perfect example is Western Power in Australia. Headquartered in Perth and with over 1 million ...
Delivering a straightforward yet engaging customer experience can be a major challenge in complex, highly regulated markets such as insurance. Companies need to make sure that customers understand what they are buying, but at the same time ensure they comply with stringent regulations. And while the majority of the industry has moved to internet-based selling of insurance there can be an enormous ...
As companies embrace fast-growing channels such as social media there’s a perception that these essentially replace older methods of communication. In some cases this is true, but it is important to realise that consumers don’t automatically move to new channels just because they are there. After all, if that was the case no-one would be calling your contact centre any more.What consum...
Modern consumer electronics are incredibly complex – essentially specialised computers that rely on the latest software to function. They need to interact with an increasing number of other devices around them to provide consumers with the experience they are looking for. And to compete with other vendors, manufacturers have to continually develop their functionality, which often means updat...