Ten Heart-Warming Calls Show Why Consumers Prefer Human Contact Centre Agents over Bots
Leading customer experience provider Webhelp asked 8,000 contact centre employees to share their most distinctive customer interactions
The woman whose cats eat better than she does. The holiday shopper who provided life advice and inspiration. And the mum-to-be who was afraid her baby might come before the cot she had ordered. Webhelp, one of the country’s leading customer experience providers, has lifted the lid on some of its employees most heart-warming customer exchanges after a YouGov study it commissioned confirmed that consumers prefer customer service from ‘contact centre’ humans over automation.
The anecdotes reveal how instant bonds can be formed between people who haven’t met and most likely never will – even though some do stay in touch. While some of those on the other end of the phone will not have heard of Webhelp, its employees deal with customers of some of the UK’s best-known brands, including Sky and easyJet as well as several major retailers.
Following are highlights from 10 heart-warming calls from the contact centre employee point of view:
The case of the Missing Cat
A customer complained about not being able to find her cat – She said the cat must have jumped into the supermarket’s lorry, and the driver had already left. I had to call the store and go on a wild goose chase for ‘Lola’ the cat.
The case of the powerful Vacuum
An elderly lady called about a vacuum cleaner she had received that day. She said it was ‘sucking up her carpet’ and ‘taking her off the floor’.
I arranged a collection for the vacuum, and she told me that she was going to order a less intense one.
Polos The Mint With The Hole
I had a customer complain that she had ordered a 4-pack of mints, but the colleague had misheard her and sent her four packs of mince.
She then told me that she was partly at fault as she had taken her teeth out before making the order. It was my last call of the night and I went home on the train still laughing.
An Inspirational OAP Couple
A customer called to find out about a holiday to Cuba. We ended up talking about how much the customer loves his wife, so I asked to speak to the wife.
My heart was filled with joy speaking to this couple in their 60s who gave me life advice and inspiration.
Photos of Your Grandchilden or your dog?
My favourite customer call was with a lady interested in a new phone. I found out that she likes to take a lot of photos, around 50 a day, entirely of her dog Rosie.
We ended up talking for over an hour about how much she loves her dog – during which she admitted to deleting pictures of her grandkids to have enough room on her phone for all the photos of Rosie!
OAP Behaving Badly
I had a customer who was just the sweetest elderly lady (88 years old). She ordered all the basics and the cheapest possible products for herself before going on to spend over £40 on high-end cat food for strays. She told me all about the 60’s – the dances, the music, the cigarettes and alcohol and listening to pirate radio.
The Agitated Pregnant Woman
A pregnant customer due in a week was ranting because she was still waiting for her baby cot to be delivered. I had to be empathetic because I know how stressful it is trying to organise everything before the birth of a baby. I tried to calm her down by asking if it was her first born and to my surprise, she answered much calmer and said it was her fourth. While she was talking, I found out the baby cot was to be delivered the following day. I asked if she still wanted to log a complaint and she said no, she just wanted somebody to listen and give her the proper information.
Old people can Use Smartphones…
I was on the phone with a customer who struggles with her mobile phone – especially since her sister who had helped her had just passed away. We managed to get her voicemail issue sorted, but she called back later that night and asked for me. She was so happy to have a familiar voice and this time we chatted about her favourite bands and some songs for me to learn on the bass. I managed to get all her Google settings saved this time and with some new music and some great life advice I wished her on her way.
Good Advice from an Elderley Gentleman
I once had a customer who had a query about his phone data and just needed general assistance. I believe I spoke to him twice within two weeks. He told me he suffered from cancer and could not walk and struggled to do a lot of things. However, he told me he is a very happy man and thanks God he still lives up till today. I cried and told him I appreciate the positive great man he is. I still think about it a lot.
Free Range of Organic Chicken?
A call once came through about an organic chicken and the customer said that because the way the leg was sitting it couldn’t have walked and therefore there was no way it was organic.
Additional Information
Webhelp is a global business process outsourcer (BPO), specialising in customer experience and payment management in addition to sales and marketing services across voice, social and digital channels.
From more than 140 sites in 35 countries with an approximately 50,000-strong team, our focus is on engineering performance improvements and delivering a real and lasting transformation in our clients’ operating models to generate financial advantage. We partner with some of the world’s most progressive brands including Sky, Shop Direct, Bouygues, Direct Energie, KPN, Vodafone, La Redoute, Michael Kors and Valentino.
For additional information on Webhelp visit their Website
