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You’re trying your best to be patient as you call about the status of a prescription. But at a certain point, the water boils over, and you shout, “speak to a representative!” Naturally, the robot on the other end fails to understand. Sound familiar?
There’s no denying that the customer service landscape has changed. But if it’s any comfort, you’re not the only one who’s aggravated. According to CX Today, upwards of 60% of consumers are worried that new technology will make reaching a human even more difficult.
Outsourcing, AI, and a volatile economy have contributed to a customer service crisis across American industry. So, what can be done about it?
What’s Going on With Customer Service & How Can We Fix It? – Main Street Explores
In the age of chatbots and foreign call centers, what does good customer service look like? To say nothing of exceptional care? Even defining the term is tricky. Ask 100 different companies or consumers and get 100 different answers.
Emerging technology can save businesses a boatload of cash. But in the long term, delegating customer interactions to glitchy voice recognition software could have major consequences.
To define better service, let’s start by looking at what doesn’t work. That way, we might reverse-engineer a stronger way to operate.
Customer Satisfaction Reaches an All-Time Low in 2024
As it has for the last nine years, Forrester Research Inc. conducted its Customer Experience Index survey for 2024. Forrester polled consumer perceptions across 200+ brands to identify trends in service and satisfaction. As you may have guessed, the results were dismal.
Among the brands reviewed (including such major players as Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA, Tesla, and Zappos), the average consumer experience score came in at 64%.
If this survey were a report card, some of the most recognizable brands on Earth would receive a depressing D for service. What is going on?
Challenge: The American Consumer is Primed for Disappointment
Prices have been going up and quantities down at a steady clip for the last few years. Understandably, these trends have made the average consumer jumpy. Supply chain problems still plague certain industries, and inflation is only starting to slow. The average consumer is aware of these challenges and on the lookout for the consequences.
When consumers feel that they’re bearing the brunt of these issues, especially at the point of sale, they won’t hesitate to explore alternatives. Even McDonald’s restaurants, once thought unshakable, has resorted to pulling out all the stops to win customers back.
We’re exhausted from safeguarding our money and from trying to make the smartest purchasing decision. So, to save a little energy, we fast forward to being disappointed before money even changes hands.
Solution: Resist Shrinkflation, Eliminate Junk Fees, or Create Value Elsewhere
Responding to inflationary pressures is itself a game of push and pull. A reduction in quantity can be offset by a tangential service, offered for free or at a discounted rate to compensate your customers. Similarly, an increase in price might sting less if you offer faster shipping or discounts for bulk orders.
Consumers have the strongest reaction when the actual and perceived values fall (i.e. when price goes up, quantity goes down, and no effort is made beyond a press release to justify the change). Here, transparency and a good-faith effort to reimburse your customers can go a long way.
How Main Street Does It
As other vendors reduce the quantity of their standard check bundles (down to 60 from 90, in many cases), Main Street has resisted. We know that if our customers are getting the checks they need at a price they can afford, then goodwill is maintained and positive feelings multiply.
We also remain committed to our no-fee culture. We don’t charge for phone calls, troubleshooting, or reprints within 90 days (including shipping and handling). Hidden fees are the direct opposite of good-faith business practices, and they can only make an already challenging economic moment more difficult.
Finally, we offer Strategic Account Management services at no extra charge. All Main Street clients are paired with a dedicated Account Manager who can help them increase check program ROI and recommend policy and training changes to maximize program performance.
Challenge: Relying on Robots for Your Customer Service
Let’s get one thing straight: chatbots aren’t all bad. In any industry, chatbots provide an immediate response to consumers in need of assistance. Furthermore, when compared to the cost of a human service professional, chatbots are more affordable. So, what’s the issue?
For starters, not every problem can be solved through a decision tree of pre-programmed responses. Additionally, while chatbots may be convenient in some instances, they can be infuriating in others. It’s important to remember that “emerging” is the operative word when dealing with emerging technology.
Our customers may be willing to begin their customer service experience with a chatbot, email, or fillable form. But they shouldn’t be forced to continue on that path when they know that a human being could serve them better or faster.
Solution: Make it Easier to Speak to a Human Being
Let’s return to the call we made at the start of this article, the conversation with the robot about our prescription. When we scream, “speak to a representative,” what are we really frustrated about? We’ve gotten along with that robot before, haven’t we? So why is it so aggravating this time?
It could be that we have a more complex issue to solve. It could also be that we’re pressed for time and don’t want to listen while the robot lists the same old options. Finally, we could be upset by the barrier between us and another person who could both understand and solve our problem.
When it’s hard to get a human on the line, we don’t feel as valued as we should. By making a customer service representative available, even as a safety net for chatbots, we’re giving consumers the power to choose how they interact with our brand.
How Main Street Does It
Profit margins aren’t everything, especially if widening those margins costs you customers. At Main Street, our partners know that when they call, a human answers. We invest in an industry-leading Customer Service team because we believe that people are the heart of the financial services industry – not robots.
The community banks and credit unions we serve feel the same way about interpersonal relationships. Face-to-face interactions power the community banking industry in a measurable way. So, it’s only fitting that a person answers when a bank or credit union calls their check vendor.
In fact, we have some pretty incredible numbers on the subject:
Join Main Street in Solving the Customer Service Crisis
From a business perspective, it’s easy to be cutthroat about phone calls and troubleshooting. We too often associate customer service with simple courtesy – a matter of etiquette to be disposed of in pressing times.
But we might also try the inverse perspective, placing customer service at the core of how we operate. If our customers feel that their needs are more important than our profits, then they’re more likely to stick with us through shrinkflation, price increases, shipping delays, and the rest of the wrenches thrown into America’s economic machine.
Creating Better Outcomes Through Better Service – The Main Street Difference
At Main Street, customer service isn’t complicated. When you call, a human answers. Our Customer Service team is committed to first-contact resolution, meaning that whatever your issue is, it shouldn’t need a second phone call to solve. To learn more about what separates Main Street from other check vendors, download our Check Vendor Comparison Guide today.
Sources:
Fisher, Rhys. 2024. “Customers Reject AI for Customer Service, Still Crave a Human Touch.” CX Today. July 9, 2024. https://www.cxtoday.com/speech-analytics/customers-reject-ai-for-customer-service-still-crave-a-human-touch/.
Deighton, Katie. 2024. “Customer Experience Gets Worse. Again.” WSJ. The Wall Street Journal. June 17, 2024. https://www.wsj.com/articles/customer-experience-gets-worse-again-23774dff.
Mishra, Savyata. 2024. “McDonald’s Posts Rare Profit Miss as Customers Turn Picky.” Reuters. April 30, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mcdonalds-sales-misses-estimates-customers-cut-back-spending-2024-04-30/.