When it comes to customer support and experience, more and more studies are showing that there are more cons to chatbots than pros. While consumers tend to turn to chatbots to lodge a complaint or get a quick answer, when it comes to major decision making or problem solving, consumers would rather speak to a real person.
By the numbers:
According to The State of Chatbots Report:
- 30% of consumers worry that a chatbot would make a mistake, such as purchasing the wrong item or making the wrong reservation.
- 43% of people prefer to deal with a real-life assistant than a chatbot.
- 47% of people felt that chatbots had too many unhelpful responses.
- 46% of the study’s respondents felt that chatbots are used specifically to keep them away from live operators.
The last statistic is incredibly interesting. Imagine you, as a business owner, want to be able to provide a great customer experience. One way in doing so, you’re thinking, is to have a chatbot. But that very chatbot can be seen as a negative customer experience for those who just want to reach a real human being.
People want to talk to people
As the statistics show, a chatbot provides a pretty narrow service. Answers to basic questions or to be a sounding board for a complaint or issue. But when it comes to making a payment or purchase or scheduling, people want to talk to a person. People are still much more trustworthy than an artificially intelligent chatbot.
Recent studies show chatbots aren’t cutting it
While the rush among businesses to add chatbots to their websites to provide real-time customer support, this AI-powered tool just can’t compare to human interaction. A study by CGS, a business applications, learning and outsourcing services company shows:
- Merely half of participants in the study said they would turn to a chatbot for a quick customer service need.
- 40% of respondents said they’d prefer speaking to a person.
- The study concluded that using chatbots to manage quick service requests is fine, but companies should provide human agents to be available for helping with more detailed, complex customer queries.
Phone calls are becoming the faster way to communicate
Imagine having a problem and bringing it to a chatbot. It may take five minutes or more just to get the chatbot to understand what you’re asking. And even worse, the chatbot can’t provide an answer or solution for you. You eventually pick up the phone and call the business or company. Here, the chatbot serves as simply a middleman before you call. Imagine the time saved had you just picked up the phone in the first place. While automation is interesting and the idea of it seems great, the execution simply is not, and may never be, there.
Bolster your customer experience with live answering
If you want to provide the best customer support and experience, but can’t answer all your calls and can’t build out a team of customer service representatives, consider hiring a live answering service. Real, human operators will answer your calls, take messages and send the messages to you. It’s real time customer service with a human answering every single one of your calls.
VoiceNation is the most inclusive answering service
At VoiceNation, we do more than just answer calls and take messages. We can forward calls to your team members or other departments, process orders, set appointments and more. Our affordable pricing and quality service us make the best in the industry. Want to learn more? Give us a call at 877.679.3777 or give us a try for free.