CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE

On-line self-service can lower your costs while offering greater convenience to your customers.

Customer self-service systems may be used with both structured, ongoing relationships and one time sales. For example, you may be able to access and update your bank or credit card account (ongoing relationship), but you can just as easily check on the status of a one time purchase from an e-commerce site (one-time sale).

Typical features of an on-line customer self-service system include:

• Ability for customer to review and edit account information and view up-to-date activity, billing and payment data.
• Ability to make payments on-line via credit card or check.
• Customized data validation and on-line help.
• Ability to save changes and come back later may be needed.
• On-line review
• edit and approval by a customer service rep.
• Ability for service rep to assist customer and enter changes on his/her behalf.
• Automated two-way interface to in-house systems.
• Automated notification to customer by e-mail, and automated production of hard copy correspondence.

Support for Customer Service Representatives

Access by a service rep to customer account records may be handled by existing legacy systems that have a real-time interface to the on-line system. Alternatively, the Customer Service Rep (CSR) may actually be using the same system as the customer. Where that occurs, the CSR will generally have different features available than customers such as the ability to access the account of different customers, view or change information not available to the customer, or approve customer transactions.

The design objectives for the CSR interface are often somewhat different from that of the customer. For example, the customer interface must be extremely intuitive and simple to operate, while the emphasis for the CSR may be the ability to execute transactions with a minimum of keystrokes.

Typical features of an on-line CSR system include:

• Ability for CSR to view and edit same data as customer, and possibly additional information as well.
• Ability to enter credit card payments on behalf of customer.
• Ability to enter credits and corrections within boundaries defined by business rules, with overrides by authorized managers.
• Customized data validation and on-line help.
• Ability to save changes and come back later may be needed.
• On-line review, edit and approval by management may be required for certain transactions.
• Automated two-way interface to appropriate in-house systems.
• Automated notification to customer by e-mail, and automated feed to produce hard copy correspondence.