Digital Customer Service

SECTION OneThe Problem with Customer Service and the Digital Opportunity

This book is divided into seven chapters that fit into three major sections.

In this first section, we will begin with a frank examination of why customer service as practiced at most companies isn't as successful as it ought to be (and why that isn't anyone's fault!), but more importantly, what you can do about it. These first three chapters are the leadoff leg of the book and have been designed to get things off to a fast start.

In Chapter 1, we will describe the “right now” opportunity for every company that is willing to rethink the way they serve their customers. The overall reputation of customer service is at an acute inflection point that will likely make or break the future success of many companies. But what we've discovered is a strategy – one that can be employed by any company – that appears to be creating an extraordinary confluence of positive results.

In Chapter 2, we will uncover how customer service as a collective discipline has gotten to where it is today, by tracing the evolution of our profession, starting from the days of the first call centers in the 1980s. If you've been around for a few decades, this chapter will take you back to some places you probably haven't thought about for a while. If you're a little newer to the field, it will feel like a trip to the customer service wing of the Smithsonian.

In Chapter 3, we will describe why digital self-service has become both the biggest ...