Human consultants who see themselves as customer service experts can respond to and resolve incidental issues that would leave even the most sophisticated AI bots baffled and useless, because they would be able to interact with the customer to reach a practical resolution. That we are able to sympathize and approach a problem from various angles that only the human mind can identify is what puts humans beyond robots in the realm of customer service. In this issue, we explore the importance of being service-minded and how to develop a service mindset.
The expanding role of AI in the customer service sector
Artificial intelligence as an instrument of customer service allows for storage and processing of quantities of information that humans could not even dream of achieving, and it can execute precision service with no errors, not to mention the lightning speed at which it processes the services it provides. AI is designed to promptly identify and provide solutions that a customer is seeking. Also, a single AI bot can handle multiple customers at once. With this and more that make up the many merits of AI, the customer service sector is embracing AI and its advantages.
However, customers are becoming increasingly disgruntled with AI customer service. As AI by nature has to draw from a set repertoire of responses in meeting a customer’s need as quickly as possible, many of the customers on the receiving end are not satisfied with the experience, if not the outcome as well. It is true that AI is quickly taking hold in the customer service market, but it is still nowhere near matching human service in terms of quality.
The human customer service mindset vs. AI
An AI bot with even the largest data storage and a set of algorithms that continues to improve with ongoing machine-learning cannot surpass a person of even the most modest of ability when it comes to emotion. Only we can read each other’s emotions and form ideas about what the other could be thinking or feeling (and maybe our cats and dogs as well, to a degree). Our ability to emotionally understand our customers is what sets us apart from robots, and how we perform better than robots. Once this is understood, we must engage with our customers in the right frame of mind for service.
So what forms the kind of customer service mindset that moves customers? The most important thing is your understanding of the customer. What does the customer mean to us in terms of business? It is the customers who keep our doors open, and without them we could not grow as a business. That is the value of the customer, and once you understand this, it only makes sense to treat them with the utmost care. Also important is to recognize the customer’s emotional state in your interaction. Interact with the customer as two emotional beings in meeting their needs, and there will not be a single customer who leaves negative feedback. The last important thing is to understand the inclinations of individual customers so that you can provide service that fits them personally, fulfilling their needs as individuals. To do this, you will need to be able to accurately understand what kind of situation a customer is facing and how they want it handled.
Writer Editorial Department
2022.08.04