Self-Service Would be Used More if…
Customers would use More Self Service if Self- Service Providers Thought More about Design
By Ryann Liebenthal, Interaction Metrics Research Lead and Customer Experience Enthusiast
I recently found myself buying party supplies at my neighborhood Fred Meyer. When it came time to check out I stood in front of the registers with my cart overflowing, groaning at the thought of waiting in one of those mega-lines. Then I noticed that no one was standing in the self-checkout area, so I turned my cart in that direction…
Self-checkout may be the most visible example, but it’s certainly not the only type of self-service out there. According to an article lauding self-service programs in
the February.2008 issue of Inc. Magazine, over 40% of organizations now display web FAQs. And software like RightNow, used by nearly 2,000 business clients worldwide, even automates the email process. As customers draft their questions to service reps, these programs analyze keywords in the emails-in-progress and display links to possible answers already on the website.
It all makes perfect sense, because if self service can help customers BEFORE they engage customer service, companies save a lot of money. Whereas that automated response costs less than 60 cents, employing a rep to do it costs an average of $2 to $4 per email and $3 to $10 per call. Furthermore, in addition to shaving costs for companies, self-service helps customers who are tired of waiting in call queues or receiving gibberish replies to their email questions.
But here’s what I’m wondering: When it comes to self-service, are companies saving as much as they could? If self-service were beautifully designed, in the way that Apple designs computers, would the self-service market grow by leaps and bounds?
Companies seem so eager to get their self-service going that they don’t plan for it in they way they do for their website, advertising and other customer communication. For instance, before implementing a new website companies often conduct usability studies and customer experience mapping. Would self-service be used more (and used more effectively) if it were based on a well considered plan that also included quality control?
… Back to my trip to Fred Meyer. What happened in that self-checkout line? Well, I made it through, but I didn’t leave with a smile.
After I failed to properly place my bag on the scale, the screen-robot began loudly barking at me: “Please place your item in the bag. Please place your item in the bag.” I felt goofy and embarrassed. Meanwhile, a Fred Meyer employee stood rigidly behind the counter five feet away, never once offering to help. Randomly, I fiddled with the bag until the robot eventually shut up, but I was annoyed, and next time I’m not sure which line I’ll choose.
Thinking my particular situation through, here’s how the experience could have benefited by a planned design:
- The employee could have been empowered to help me.
- Or, at the very least, she could have acknowledged me with a departing note of appreciation, as in, “thanks for using self service today; sorry our machine was a little cranky.”
- Next to the checkout machine or on the screen itself there could have been a hint about how to make the process go more smoothly. (Whether the trick is put heavy items in the bag first, or wave items over the scanner at an angle, clueing the customer in or involving them in the process is always a smart strategy.)
Strategy to Consider
Add industrial designers to your self-service strategy team. Remember Steve Jobs and the iPod. We are living in a time when good design and easy interfaces rule.
5 Responses to “Self-Service Would be Used More if…”
If companies all agreed on using one type of auto checkout, the process would be easier. I too have shopped self checkout at Fred Meyer. Just when I learned their system I went over to Home Depot where they had a different system. No doubt this lack of monopoly is good in some ways but from the user experience it can be frustrating.
About web self service, I hate the ubiquitous question at the bottom of every FAQ: Did we answer your question? Usually the FAQ did NOT answer my question. Therefore, I have decided that companies are merely stalling on the inevitable. To get a decent answer you have to call or send an email – and if the matter is complex, good luck with any kind of meaningful resolution!
By Matt Jenkins on Apr 7, 2008
Having worked for one of the top customer service retailers in the US until recently I have several thoughts.
Even with our fabulous new technologies (and hey, I use them too) I don’t believe that anything will ever replace a face to face interaction. The need to connect with others is in our DNA and no amount of texting or cell phone minutes will ever replace the experience of looking someone in the eye when you talk with them. In my opinion, email and texting is taking the easy way out of communicating, and I am concerned about the technologically dependent generations’ ability to have a face to face conversation. I’ve had significant experience with this – it confuses them when I walk around the corner to ask a question rather than emailing. When I see two people walking together and each is on their cell phone, I sometimes wonder if they are really talking to each other. Not that I necessarily blame them, this is how the world has been presented to them – better living through texting I guess.
It seems business is doing everything they can to promote that kind customer service in the third person too. They remove the people factor, and are then confused when their customers are not happy with a FAQ (I don’t think I have ever had a Q, F or not, that has been answered by clicking on that link) . This is even more irritating when they claim that customer service is #1 (usually heard as you are on hold, waiting for the next available representative). Prove it. Hire people, train them, empower them, encourage them to have fun, trust them, and turn them loose.
Sometimes, even when a company does hire actual people to serve there’s a misconception that you can legislate the type of service by offering something like a ‘five point standard’ that is used for every single customer that walks in the door. The thinking goes that if the salesperson hits all those points they have a satisfied customer – and maybe that’s all they have — a satisfied customer. This underestimates customers, and insults the very nature of service. A cookie cutter approach to helping a customer will never work – unless your customers actually happen to be cookies.
So where has service gone, and will it be back? That may be for bigger brains than mine to figure out. It’s like appreciating art – I don’t know what I like, but I know it when I see it.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy”
Rabindranath Tagore
By Karen on May 23, 2008
Is it Yes written interesting, but continuation will?
By Anonymous on Sep 16, 2009
Great article you got here. I’d like to read something more about this theme.
By Phone blocker on Nov 30, 2009
when establishing a business, a good customer service is always necessary’-~
By Nathan Lee on Aug 29, 2010