One of the first things I do every morning when I get to work is check the messages that have been left by customers who called the store the day prior, after we closed for the day. And while some callers are happy to leave a message, others don’t. All we hear from the latter group is the sound of them hanging up.

When you think about it, five or six hang-ups a day adds up to quite a few missed calls over time, which in turn means a good amount of lost business. And looking at the situation from the customer’s perspective, they may be left feeling frustrated, especially if they’re calling because they need urgent help.

So how can we improve the customer experience for those who need help or information after we’ve turned off the lights in the shop and in the front office for the day?

AI to the rescue

One of the possible options is AI (Artificial Intelligence). I was recently introduced to the wonders of AI, and I say, “wonders,” because it’s hard to believe what this technology can do. For starters, it can be programmed to talk to customers the way a human being would. AI can respond to questions, offer advice, and give the customer options and solutions to their problems.

Most importantly, AI never gets upset with the customer, it never raises its voice, and it never gives up on the caller. AI will never hang up on a caller, no matter how annoying or irate they may be. Instead, it will keep offering solutions and ideas until the caller gets the help they need.

After-hours help

We’ve decided to give AI a try in our store, but only after hours. While the system will be on during the day, just to handle any calls we might miss when all our staff is on other calls, the goal is to have it kick in after 5.00pm when we’re typically closed.

The system has been programmed to answer the phone using my voice (like I said: “wonders”), although we’ll let them know right away that this is the AI version of Ken Borg. After all, our goal is not to deceive anyone, nor have them think that I’m actually on the phone with them.

Endless possibilities

If a customer needs immediate help, the system will be able to send me a text or email so that I can reach out to them right away. If they’re looking for pricing for a set of tires, the system can be programmed to offer options and prices, if that’s what we want it to do. The possibilities, quite frankly, are endless.

From a customer service point of view, we believe this will allow our customers to feel heard and be cared for. Rather than the same old canned message people hear every single time they get an answering machine: “Hello, you’ve reached such-and-such company. No one is here to take your call. Blah, blah, blah…,” the AI system will be able to greet them by name (in most cases), ask them what they need, and help them find solutions.

This might mean transferring the call to me, or one of my staff, calling a tow truck for them, alerting CAA in their behalf, or letting them know that someone from my team will call them back the next day, first thing in the morning, to take care of any non-urgent needs. In short, if this works the way I think it can, this could be the next step in delivering stellar customer service.