Comments on: The 5 Rules of Self-service http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/ The blog about customer service and the customer service experience. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:35:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Service Untitled » Expect self-service to help, not cure. - customer service and customer service experience blog http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-771420 Service Untitled » Expect self-service to help, not cure. - customer service and customer service experience blog Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:11:58 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-771420 [...] thorough answers to their questions and don’t have to wait for anyone to respond. I’ve written about the best practices for self-service before, but I didn’t cover an important aspect of self-service is enough [...] [...] thorough answers to their questions and don’t have to wait for anyone to respond. I’ve written about the best practices for self-service before, but I didn’t cover an important aspect of self-service is enough [...]

]]> By: Service Untitled » To Offer Phone Support or Not - customer service and customer service experience blog http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-466648 Service Untitled » To Offer Phone Support or Not - customer service and customer service experience blog Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:41:10 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-466648 [...] A reader suggested I write a post targeted at small businesses that aren’t quite at the point of being able to offer phone support. It also applies to companies that may not have it in their business model or just aren’t setup to offer phone support. His fundamental question is what sort of message does a lack of phone support give. It is definitely a good question and most certainly a question that a lot of companies that are deciding whether or not to offer phone support end up asking themselves. The biggest factor any company that is on the fence about phone support should consider is: does the business model call for it? If you pride yourself on quality service at an affordable price, then you most likely get away with providing support over mediums like email and live chat exclusively. However, if you are a premium provider and you are in a business where the low end companies offer phone support, it should be something you do as well. I hate to say it is a case of “keeping up with the Joneses,” but when you’re dealing with competition in business, it really is. If your competition offers phone support, then it would probably serve you well (from a competitive standpoint) to offer it. Some companies simply can’t afford to offer phone support based on what they’re charging — if you are one of those companies, then you should look elsewhere for ways to support your customers (such as considering more self-service options). [...] [...] A reader suggested I write a post targeted at small businesses that aren’t quite at the point of being able to offer phone support. It also applies to companies that may not have it in their business model or just aren’t setup to offer phone support. His fundamental question is what sort of message does a lack of phone support give. It is definitely a good question and most certainly a question that a lot of companies that are deciding whether or not to offer phone support end up asking themselves. The biggest factor any company that is on the fence about phone support should consider is: does the business model call for it? If you pride yourself on quality service at an affordable price, then you most likely get away with providing support over mediums like email and live chat exclusively. However, if you are a premium provider and you are in a business where the low end companies offer phone support, it should be something you do as well. I hate to say it is a case of “keeping up with the Joneses,” but when you’re dealing with competition in business, it really is. If your competition offers phone support, then it would probably serve you well (from a competitive standpoint) to offer it. Some companies simply can’t afford to offer phone support based on what they’re charging — if you are one of those companies, then you should look elsewhere for ways to support your customers (such as considering more self-service options). [...]

]]> By: Service Untitled http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-444939 Service Untitled Fri, 22 Feb 2008 02:44:52 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-444939 Jeff, You're absolutely right! Everything in customer service should be customer focused. Things should be as easy as possible for employees, but customers should be the number one priority. Jeff,

You’re absolutely right! Everything in customer service should be customer focused. Things should be as easy as possible for employees, but customers should be the number one priority.

]]> By: Jeff Toister http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-444833 Jeff Toister Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:25:28 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-444833 Good post -- not enough attention is paid to the "service" component of self-service, so I'm glad you tackled it. I'd propose an addition to your rule #5: self-service options should be customer-focused and not simply employed to make things more convenient for the company delivering service. A lot of companies that implement self-service options track metrics like productivity improvement and cost-savings, but quite often little thought is put into customer satisfaction. Good post — not enough attention is paid to the “service” component of self-service, so I’m glad you tackled it.

I’d propose an addition to your rule #5: self-service options should be customer-focused and not simply employed to make things more convenient for the company delivering service. A lot of companies that implement self-service options track metrics like productivity improvement and cost-savings, but quite often little thought is put into customer satisfaction.

]]> By: IVR Blog by Angel.com http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-442551 IVR Blog by Angel.com Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:30:54 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-442551 [...] Their latest post focused on self-service FAQs on the web and the author offered the following recommendations about what a good FAQ should be and should not be: [...] [...] Their latest post focused on self-service FAQs on the web and the author offered the following recommendations about what a good FAQ should be and should not be: [...]

]]> By: Steven Di Pietro http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-441878 Steven Di Pietro Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:32:22 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-441878 Good thought provoker. Although 5 points are neat I think there is a 6th with FAQ's. Don't assume knowledge. Err on the side of dumbing down because it ensures you help as many people as possible. Those in the know will skim while the majority will be thankful of the effort. By the way I referenced your blog in mine. Good thought provoker.

Although 5 points are neat I think there is a 6th with FAQ’s.

Don’t assume knowledge. Err on the side of dumbing down because it ensures you help as many people as possible. Those in the know will skim while the majority will be thankful of the effort.

By the way I referenced your blog in mine.

]]> By: Service Untitled http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-441294 Service Untitled Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:51:02 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-441294 Ahmed, The parallels are indeed interesting. There seems to be a lot of parallels in quite a few areas of customer service. Ahmed,

The parallels are indeed interesting. There seems to be a lot of parallels in quite a few areas of customer service.

]]> By: AhmedBouzid http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/comment-page-1/#comment-441224 AhmedBouzid Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:10:37 +0000 http://www.serviceuntitled.com/the-5-rules-of-self-service/2008/02/19/#comment-441224 Very interesting how the 5 requirements above closely match to some best practices in phone self service: (1) don't hide the zero out option, (2) use information that you can gather about the caller and the context to serve them intelligently, (3) get feedback from callers and monitor caller satisfaction, (4) offer accurate information and solve caller problems, (5) make sure the call flow is coherent and rational (for instance, don't drive people crazy with jumbled menus full of holes - "For Support, press 1, for sales press 7, for billing press 5," etc.). See more about this in article I wrote recently about IVRs needing to treat humans humanely: Very interesting how the 5 requirements above closely match to some best practices in phone self service: (1) don’t hide the zero out option, (2) use information that you can gather about the caller and the context to serve them intelligently, (3) get feedback from callers and monitor caller satisfaction, (4) offer accurate information and solve caller problems, (5) make sure the call flow is coherent and rational (for instance, don’t drive people crazy with jumbled menus full of holes – “For Support, press 1, for sales press 7, for billing press 5,” etc.). See more about this in article I wrote recently about IVRs needing to treat humans humanely:

]]>