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How self-service experience can reduce customer confusion and increase satisfaction

Lauren Kindzierski, Vice President of Customer Experience Marketing at HGS, gives her insights on how contact centers can effectively implement channels such as voice and text/SMS.

January 25, 2021

Article originally published on Total Retail
Written by Lauren Kindzierski

Shared by HGS inPress Coverage

Total Retail

In today’s retail world, the reality is that everything can change within months, weeks or even a day. While creating an effective customer self-service portal has long been a priority for many, recent world events have made it infinitely more imperative. We’re talking, of course, about the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The pandemic has affected every consumer in some way, creating a host of reasons customers might be driven to contact a brand. Perhaps they need to suspend automatic payments, check location hours, or see whether curbside pickup is available. Maybe they have questions about the health precautions a retailer is taking within its physical storefronts or how recent policy changes might affect their shopping experience.

These and other urgent customer needs have translated into a staggering spike in the volume of customer service requests. This has made it necessary for retailers to begin implementing “self-service” solutions beyond stagnant FAQ pages, search bars that yield hundreds of results, or virtual assistants that don’t understand customers’ questions.