Digital Customer Service

CHAPTER 2The Peaks and Valleys of Customer Service

What we'll share in this chapter:

• Call centers (and the toll-free numbers companies offer) were once a value-add for customers, and the quality of the phone experience was of paramount importance to most companies.
• But over time, the fundamental corporate desire to constantly drive down operating expenses set up a tug-of-war between cost and quality in service. It was no contest.
• Amplified by an inherently negative societal bias, the reputation of customer service declined.
• However, the source of this negativity has evolved over time – from frustration over phone experiences, to frustrations experienced during digital interactions. And while this changing dynamic creates a different challenge, it is considerably easier to overcome.

IT WASN'T ALWAYS THIS WAY

If you're under the age of about 55 or so, it might be hard to imagine that there was a time when call centers were considered a “bonus” for customers. It's true.

The option to reach customer service by phone hadn't existed previously, other than to call a corporate switchboard (with 25 people sitting in front of a wall of crisscrossed wires), hoping to reach someone in the Complaint Department.

And while some companies had been operating outbound “boiler room” sales centers – the first one, Dial America, was created by Time Inc. in 1957 to hustle subscriptions to ...