As a recent college graduate and an avid technology user who can type faster on the iPhone than a computer, who never had to dial an operator, and who hasn’t written a word on paper since the SATs – trust me, calling a customer service line isn’t my idea of optimal. It’s not like we’re born hating these hotlines, but time and time again we are underwhelmed with these services and all their downfalls. Do I even have to describe what we expect from customer service lines? Holding for representatives, getting transferred around to different representatives, impossible accents, and fruitless efforts is what we expect.

I can recall the last time I demanded customer service from a large corporation infamous for their futile customer service efforts. When I rang up the line, I was actually impressed and astonished that I only had to go through 3 menus to reach a live agent. After describing a 10-minute story about an error for which the company was responsible, I was transferred to a new department in which I was required to describe the same story again. I was told “notes” were being added to my account, which were not present upon my next call the following day. So, I did what I had to – you know, raising my voice, lying, and demanding a manager. And eventually, I got my way. But while I did achieve my end result, why did I have to resort to such drastic measures to correct a mistake the company had made in the first place?!

My story is one everyone has heard and moderate in comparison. In fact, a typical consumer who leaves a customer service experience with a bad taste in their mouth will tell about 8-10 people, and many will tell upwards of 20 people. Statistics further show that it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one negative experience.

Here are some further statistics about inbound contact centers (our industry’s glorified name for call centers): Over 63% of consumers who contact customer service do not expect to have their problem solved. Here’s the kicker: 76% of people who reach out to customer service do so because of an error the company made, either in billing, technical issues, or delivery problems.
So upon entering this industry, I do so with full faith that there is help on the way. The corporate care landscape is drastically changing. There are no longer monopolies on service of any type – you have your choice of cable companies and cell phone service provider, and for every iPhone app, there are 20 more that do the same exact thing. What does this mean? We, consumers, drive the market. If we aren’t happy, we can grab our things and go. It’s a good feeling, isn’t it? According to the Customer Service Impact Report, in 2010, 82% of consumers stopped doing business with a company because of bad customer service. In 2006, however, it was only 59%. Moreover, consumer-centric companies that have the best customer service have seen greater strides in bottom line results recently. Perhaps the most powerful statistic representative of this comes from analyst Claes Fornell: “Retailers with improving ACSI scores lost about 30% of their market value in 2008, while those with declining ACSI scores lost nearly twice as much (57%).” Clearly, companies are beginning to recognize the importance of good customer service.

Upon beginning my career, I have been in the following dialogue countless times:

They ask, “So what does the company do?”

To which I reply, “Interactions is a hybrid solution bridging the gap between live agents and Interactive Voice Response systems.”

“Interactive Voice Response systems?”

“Yeah, like when you call a company for customer service and a robot voice speaks to you and understands when you speak back.”

“Oh, I hate those things.”

Well, at this point I usually play the demo, to which they respond, “Wow, that’s amazing. That’s pretty good. I wish (Insert name of large cable/cell phone provider) had that!”

With a unique solution and some great minds leading the company, Interactions, I truly believe, is going to make a difference in the industry and I am thrilled to be on board.