8 November 2016

Top Reasons Why Self Service Answering is Bad for Business

Customer Service 118530830Today’s busy world is full of businesses that use self service answering systems to process their customer calls. While these types of systems can have their benefits, on the whole, relying on them to handle your customer service is a bad idea. Here are the top reasons why self service answering can be bad for business.

Customer confusion is a real concern

Your customers are calling you because they have a problem or a concern that they want to have addressed, but they may not be able to get the results they need if your self service answering system is complicated to use. You could offer a million choices for them to choose from, but they may not necessarily know exactly why they’re calling. In other words, they may know that they’re unhappy about something, but not sure who to speak to in order to get the situation rectified. In this instance, a live call centre agent is a better option for their call.

Machines don’t have emotions

Your customers are looking to you for understanding and support when they have a problem. An automated answering system isn’t going to provide this, but a live customer support agent can. A real person can express the empathy that your customers crave when things aren’t going right and they can help expedite the problem resolution, keeping your customers more satisfied. A self service answering system, on the other hand, can seem like a cold alternative when what they really need is bit of understanding and patience.

Technical glitches can have disastrous results

If your system goes down, even for a little while, your customers won’t be able to reach you, which will lead to frustration and possibly anger. Calls could be dropped, misdirected, or stuck on a loop that leaves customers fuming, longing for the sound of a live human being. Plus, it’s not cheap to maintain these self service customer service systems. A breakdown could be costly for you and frustrating for your customers.

For more information on why live customer service agents are a better choice for your business, visit Answer 365 today.