Live chat is exploding. (Chatbots are too, but that’s a whole different discussion.) Businesses are installing live chat on their websites and support portals. There are tools out there that make it easy for anyone to implement live chat affordably. In many ways, it’s great. We as consumers want on-demand information and immediate responses. We live in a world of instant gratification, after all.
But when it’s implemented without a strategy, live chat can actually slow down the customer service cycle and frustrate users (and probably customer service reps, too).
One experience I had that brought this issue to light is below. I had a simple question that could have been resolved with one well-thought-out response (or even a video or link to a help article). Instead, the rep and I went back and forth over the course of a day. Needless to say, I was frustrated. And I’m guessing the rep wasn’t enthusiastic about the process either.
My hypothesis is that this rep was answering me from his phone. He chose to respond quickly instead of thoroughly. I understand the pressure to do so, but it wasted everyone’s time. I would have been happy to wait 24 hours for an answer that solved my problem on the first go-around.
All this to say that if you’re implementing live chat, make sure you set expectations, have a response plan in place, and avoid the immediacy trap if it impacts the quality of service.