Themed Customer Service?
Author: Roger Sumner
Themed shopping and dining experiences have been popular for quite some time. Now some companies are using the same concept to add fun to their customer’s contact center experiences.
What am I talking about? In concrete terms, think of the Rainforest Café – “A Wild Place to Shop and Eat.” From the moment you approach the restaurant to the second you walk out, you get the feel of the rainforest. A large alligator greets you at the entrance; hissing snakes hang down from the ceiling in the retail store; and fish tanks, gorillas, butterflies, lions and other animals accent the restaurant. The themed aspect of the Rainforest Cafe put you at ease and prepares you for an “experience” rather than just a meal.
What if you carried this concept into your customer service organization? Some companies, such as the Geek Squad, are already using this approach. The Geek Squad, which installs and maintains computers and home theater systems, employs this strategy to position themselves as a special taskforce that can combat any high-tech threat. All incoming calls are initially handled by an automated system that has a persona of its own. The computerized voice sounds intelligent and has a sense of urgency. He tells callers that they’ve reached the Geek Squad 24 hour taskforce and then asks them to enter their secret pass code if they have one, or “hold for an actual human.” When you reach an “actual human” they use the word “Agent” before their name to introduce themselves or, in some cases, you may reach a super agent or some other variation. The themed approach doesn’t end there – agents carry it through their conversations, refusing (politely, of course) to disclose things such as their “top secret location” and providing estimated repair times in minutes rather than hours.
The Geek Squad is taking a creative and fresh approach to customer service. Their automated system is intuitive, and they use a computerized voice and carefully selected language to communicate directions in an amusing but to-the-point manner. By the time a customer reaches a “human agent,” there is a strong likelihood that they’re already in a positive frame of mind, making the job easier for the agent and paving the way for an exceptional interaction.
Taking a fresh approach to the actual customer service you deliver can really transform the way you interact with your customers. But the cornerstone to all of this, of course, is leveraging coaching tools and maintaining regular training, as well as having the right contact center technology in place, such as the voice portal, skills-based routing and quality management applications.
Would you consider applying a theme to your contact center operations?
