improving & innovating the customer experience

How can I do a really bad job for our customers today?

January 2011, London - How many of us go to work with the single thought in our minds - "How can I do a really bad job for our customers today?" Very few. But many large companies are forcing their customer service representatives into this mindset by the use of dehumanising systems, according to a new insight paper from business improvement consultancy, Insight Exchange.

The paper "Please press 1 for..."examines how many companies forget the impact of their customer service systems on employees as well as customers. With UK companies losing more than £15 billion a year through poor customer service experiences driving customers to competitors there is a strong business case for dehumanising customer service processes.

The paper asserts that it is those companies that use technology to support employees rather than replace them that will win out - growing revenues, reducing employee churn and building a loyal customer base in the process.

Commenting on the insight paper, Matt Lynch, partner, Insight Exchange says; "Time and again we see how scripts can lead to stress, pressure and depersonalisation as they force representatives to approach every call in exactly the same manner. Employees end up feeling like robots due to the lack of sincerity of their conversations and inability to express their own personality."

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