In 1993, a graduate student at MIT taped a small LCD screen over his eye and never took it off. His name was Thad Starner and he found that this wearable computer deepened his social interactions and improved his school work. He no longer forgot facts about people, and MIT eventually granted him a degree that read, “Thad Starner and his computer.”
Now, before you call him a cyborg, remember that Thad isn’t all that unusual. There are few things we accomplish these days without the aid of machines. From Neil Armstrong to your favorite DJ, they’re what make us superhuman. And in today’s overcrowded and digitized world of customer support, they’re what can make us just plain human too.
It’s a Computer’s World; We Just Live In It
Today, almost 3 billion people are on social media. Billions more use mobile messaging like WhatsApp. We send 269 billion emails, 19 billion texts, and untold billions of support requests through phones, branded apps, and chat systems. To call this environment loud would be a dramatic understatement: it’s an overwhelming amount of noise, especially for someone trying to sort through it all.
Today’s support agents must find the significant details amidst this noise. Like Thad, they’re relying on automation, and they’re using it to find real customers with genuine needs and deliver quick resolutions. They’re using computers to scan social media and tag messages by sentiment, to integrate all channels into one manageable dashboard, and to help customers get directly in touch with a human as quickly as possible.
Computers in this context create more human interactions. They automate simple requests and free agents up to spend more time with each individual and provide them with more satisfying customer service. And so, as we approach Customer Service Week, we want to recognize the men and women plus machine dream teams behind the world’s best customer support.
Calling for Nominations: The Agent + Automation Customer Service Award 2017
So, what’s your agent plus automation success story? Where has the power of automation allowed your agents to surprise and delight with a heavy dose of humanity, across any channel? We’d love to hear all about your agents, how they’re best utilizing automation, and what makes them successful.
Submit your nominations and stories here. We’ll select one winner per day during Customer Service Week. Each winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.
Then, stay tuned! Follow the Bold360 blog as we announce the winners and launch our series of Agent + Automation profiles for the heroes of 21st century support.
The post Introducing the First Agent + Automation Award for Customer Service appeared first on Bold360.