A Shameful Link: CaaS and Customer Service

This blog entry was posted by Ed Margulies, co-founder of FACE IT Corp. Margulies is a telecommunications architect, usability expert, inventor, and the author of 17 books on telecommunications, contact centers and service automation.

Raging Against the Machine

What good sport to it's been to dissect, criticize and bemoan the state of customer service. There are not too many instances in which you can navigate conversations at a social or business event without someone recounting their latest customer service fiasco. "Gee whiz, their Voice Response system is just the worse" or "I don't believe how they ask me to repeat what I already told the machine." In fact it has become so popular to complain about customer service, entire initiatives and web sites are dedicated to it. Take the MSN Money-Zogby International, Customer Service Hall of Shame and Get2Human.com.

The Shameful Link

I have a particular interest in making a difference in customer service. After thirty years of designing, tweaking and auditing self-service systems I feel almost obligated to "make it all better." But I'm a little scared about something... In the MSN Money- Zogby Hall of Shame, a full HALF of the worse customer service offenders are communications companies: AOL, Qwest, Time Warner Cable, Sprint and Comcast. Worse, NONE of the top ten companies that "treat you right" were Communications as a Service company. I don't think it's a coincidence. Half of the most loved are in the retail business where the customer service is "walk up."

This begs the question; "Are communications businesses doomed to the Hall of Shame?" Well, maybe not. Take Apple and NetFlix. Neither has a strong face-to-face presence, yet they both garner high points on the customer service side. OK they don't get the same transaction volume as the Communications as a Service companies, but they do what they do mostly in a long distance context.

Choice and the Handcuffs of Service

Could it be that when you sign up for local cable service there are not too many options? I mean you have one dominant cable TV provider and the other choice is Satellite. Incidentally none of the TV players, IP, Cable or Satellite make the top ten companies that "treat you right."

Of could it be that when you sign up for cell phone service you get locked in to a contract that costs hundreds to break - and therefore you have no choice but to choke down bad service? Yes, choice or the lack of it must be a factor. Let's face it, not having a choice puts you in a bad mood. And that bad mood lasts for the whole relationship.

Sheer Volume Cop-Out

Some argue that Communications as a Service companies, Travel, Financial and Insurance sectors all have huge call volumes and therefore automation must be used to handle the onslaught of transactions. I don't think so. It's a matter of policy. Take Southwest Airlines. They actually made it in to the top ten companies that "treat you right." As a carrier, they get millions of calls a month. But talking to a voice robot is only an option. Southwest seems tickled pink to offer humanized service over the phone. Not to mention how the flight attendants regale you with cheesy jokes. I mean they're all pretty bad jokes but almost everyone cracks a smile because they are so sincere about spreading a little joy.

The Innocence of Machines

Some argue that the bane of customer service is the machines themselves. I say it's not the machines but the poorly designed programs that go on those machines. I am constantly surprised at the many obvious human factors violations that glare at you from both web sites and voice response systems. Take for example, too many choices on security challenge drop-downs, captchas that you just can't read, or 7-choice voice response menus that are impossible to remember. Is it any wonder why so many people bail out to speak to an operator?

But in the end, it's not the machine's fault. It's the people who program and maintain these machines. Read the excellent book: "It's Better to Be a Good Machine Than a Bad Person," authored by my old friend Bruce Balentine, a long time human factors and service automaton expert. Here you will see how machines get a bad rap. I say it's the people who ruin these machines. People who stubbornly program the machines not to easily give up the Operator. People who bury the contact information on web sites so you can't call. People who decide if you have a two year contract, you are not worth keeping happy.

Time to Salt the Earth and Start Over

So the soft, chewy center of the Communications as a Service enterprise is the human flesh and bone that can give comfort (read Customer Service) to consumers. And we've put full body armor on this soft, chewy center in the form of web sites, kiosks, and voice response systems. Why? To reduce the number of people who have to talk to people. Why? To cut costs. Why, to eliminate customers?

We need to start all over. It's the consumer who deserves the screen pops. And agents should be the ones waiting in line, not customers. Consumer plainly need a more unified, predictable, and dignified experience.

In summary, my belief is that it is in fact possible for enterprises to offer good customer service. Even if the call volume is high. Even if the choice to over-automate is there. It comes down to who's hungry. Southwest chooses to be competitive. Nordstrom's chooses to put the customer first. For the "Hall of Shamers," we need to figure out a way to force them into submission. And I'm working on that full time now. Stay tuned.

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