Quality Standards for Automated Customer Service/Tech Support, etc???

I thought I’d throw an idea out. I did look over the different categories on the site and just have looked around in general and really haven’t seen anything on the subject. I’m wondering if there should be some sort of ISO standards for the implementation and use of technology in automating customer, client, member, etc service and tech support.


It is to the point that you can no longer call or communicate with a human without going through an endless phone menu tree, bots, chat bots, voice recognition bots, etc. When that fails, if you stick with it long enough, maybe you just might get a person. Odds are though they will have no knowledge or authority or ability to help resolve the issue. Nothing much ever gets resolved. It does generate a lot of frustration and aggravation for the people calling. All that pent up frustration probably causes all sorts of other external problems. However, the system probably has great metrics, handling an enormous number of calls at a very low cost. It saves all sorts of money.


I remember a number of years ago someone suggested that non governmental organizations, standards and so forth could take the place of government regulations. I was skeptical. On the other hand for automation of customer/client/member service, tech support and the like, a lot of the places using it are international and can be accessessed from almost anywhere, but their actual location is pretty much unknown, just somewhere in the ether. So regulations work with political boundaries, these systems often transcend them. So maybe some sort of ISO might be a place to start.


It also requires buy-in from firms that use it, but if countries can point to some effective ISO standards to conform to it might make things a lot easier. Different countries are different countries and often see things differently and working together is not an easy thing.


Someone who should be in the know about economics mentioned the other day to me that while use of technology is at an all time high, productivity gains are going down. Maybe the inability of anyone to communicate and problem solve due to all of this automation and cost saving is one of the reasons for this.


It seems there needs to be some meaningful metrics and a way to collect them and then the ability to show that systems meet those standards of effectiveness, both in terms of dealing with and correcting problems as well as keeping costs down.


So this is not robocalls, but it is on the same continuum. Maybe someone has some ideas on this?

 

I think this is the crux of the issue. These companies do what they do to save cost and this would be in direct opposition to that. So as not to come off as completely cynical, I know there are some companies out there that do care and they have decent customer support. They don't need an ISO standard, though, to provide it.

I would probably take exception to this statement. There are no effective ISO standards; there are effective companies that operate under ISO standards (see above).

Meaningful metrics would be easy. Getting anyone to take appropriate action is another. Again, they're squeezing every penny out of every dollar and cost impacts bottom line which impacts stock price which...

 

Getting a company hell bent on cutting costs I get, but if say there were some meaningful metrics and standards, governments or consumers or someone through legal means could sort of demand it or try to. The whole thing is totally out of hand.

 

OK, I can see there are some metrics. I'll look a little more. I know years ago I read about metrics for customer service. But that was when there were actually people doing it.

No it is endless phone menu trees, bots, chatbots, etc. It is just present as a ritual thing that no longer functions in any way (other than for companies to say they have an efficient way of providing this service and have metrics, not on issues addressed or solved, but simply calls handled and costs). Maybe some surveys that limit the responses only to those provided. It isn't so much an attempt for input, but more of a way to filter out any input.