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The chat bots always just seem to be frontends for their knowledge bases, because a lot of people don't even try to self-help. But that's so frustrating for tho

The chat bots always just seem to be frontends for their knowledge bases, because a lot of people don't even try to self-help. But that's so frustrating for those of us who do; YES, I have tried resetting it, let me get past you chatbot.

Spooky23 4y ago
The chatbot is there to encourage abandonment.
- 562949953421312 4y ago
  I work on a chatbot that provides support. I also do analytics for all of our support channels. Businesses do not want higher abandonment, and deploying automation reduces abandonment. When we deployed a chatbot on our phone support channel, abandonment went down 20% (this includes people that abandon inside the chatbot). The reason why chatbots exist and why they aren't going away is because they reduce support costs. Our chatbot resolves 40% of issues. That translates to millions of dollars in savings. I'm not trying to defend chatbots by saving they improve customer experience. In most cases they hurt customer experience. It's too tempting for corporations to resist though. Sooner or later someone is going to ask why support costs are so much higher than their competitors.
ceejayoz 4y ago
It's a pity you can't opt for a short quiz to prove you've tried the usual approaches.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Or just put down a deposit that gets refunded only if the issue ends up being legitimate. A "I bet $100 that I'm not a dumbass" button.
  - echelon 4y ago
    Sounds like a very quick way to build a negative brand image.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      You can frame it in a more "brandable" way, such as calling it a support contract.
      - dylan604 4y ago
        If the support contract came with the refundable part, I'd be more enticed to purchase said contract. I so rarely have issues that require support a $25/per incident would still be so so much less than the typical prices of support contracts. To then have that $25 be refundable when it turns out there's an actual issue with the product would make it a no-brainer. After all, if your product wasn't broken, I wouldn't need the help of support. Which means you sold me something that doesn't work. I really like the idea
  - still_grokking 4y ago
    I bet $1000000 that every dumbass would push that button. Dumber people even quicker than others.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      As long as it’s priced properly to compensate the technical support advisors dealing with the stupid tickets, why not?
      - lazide 4y ago
        Checks would probably bounce.
- echelon 4y ago
  That would take engineering time and resources. Given the multiplied bell curve distributions of technical aptitude, domain experience, and whatever else might compel a person to solve their own problems, this audience is vanishingly long tail. If you put the direct contact link on the website, people who forgot to plug the product in will find it. Another solution is to hire more customer support staff. But that's costly - headcount, training, etc. And there's a lot of churn from downright abusive customers. A business has a million other things that need attention.
  - lazide 4y ago
    Is it better or worse when you know exactly why they’re fucking you that way?
ilyt 4y ago
Shibboleet [1] * [1] https://xkcd.com/806/ https://xkcd.com/806/
- ericd 4y ago
  Not the point of that comic, but I love how the first guy doesn’t even have a computer on his desk, so he couldn’t help directly with anything even if he wanted to.
- netsharc 4y ago
  I wonder if any telephone menu engineers have actually implemented this after reading the xkcd. I'm trying to think of other real life copying fictional concepts, but can't come up with anything right now...
  - dylan604 4y ago
    It sounds like something that might be included in this answering service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXx-n6T7tZg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXx-n6T7tZg

Spooky23 4y ago

The chatbot is there to encourage abandonment.

562949953421312 4y ago
I work on a chatbot that provides support. I also do analytics for all of our support channels. Businesses do not want higher abandonment, and deploying automation reduces abandonment. When we deployed a chatbot on our phone support channel, abandonment went down 20% (this includes people that abandon inside the chatbot). The reason why chatbots exist and why they aren't going away is because they reduce support costs. Our chatbot resolves 40% of issues. That translates to millions of dollars in savings. I'm not trying to defend chatbots by saving they improve customer experience. In most cases they hurt customer experience. It's too tempting for corporations to resist though. Sooner or later someone is going to ask why support costs are so much higher than their competitors.

ceejayoz 4y ago

It's a pity you can't opt for a short quiz to prove you've tried the usual approaches.

Nextgrid 4y ago
Or just put down a deposit that gets refunded only if the issue ends up being legitimate. A "I bet $100 that I'm not a dumbass" button.
- echelon 4y ago
  Sounds like a very quick way to build a negative brand image.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    You can frame it in a more "brandable" way, such as calling it a support contract.
    - dylan604 4y ago
      If the support contract came with the refundable part, I'd be more enticed to purchase said contract. I so rarely have issues that require support a $25/per incident would still be so so much less than the typical prices of support contracts. To then have that $25 be refundable when it turns out there's an actual issue with the product would make it a no-brainer. After all, if your product wasn't broken, I wouldn't need the help of support. Which means you sold me something that doesn't work. I really like the idea
- still_grokking 4y ago
  I bet $1000000 that every dumbass would push that button. Dumber people even quicker than others.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    As long as it’s priced properly to compensate the technical support advisors dealing with the stupid tickets, why not?
    - lazide 4y ago
      Checks would probably bounce.
echelon 4y ago
That would take engineering time and resources. Given the multiplied bell curve distributions of technical aptitude, domain experience, and whatever else might compel a person to solve their own problems, this audience is vanishingly long tail. If you put the direct contact link on the website, people who forgot to plug the product in will find it. Another solution is to hire more customer support staff. But that's costly - headcount, training, etc. And there's a lot of churn from downright abusive customers. A business has a million other things that need attention.
- lazide 4y ago
  Is it better or worse when you know exactly why they’re fucking you that way?

ilyt 4y ago

Shibboleet [1] * [1] https://xkcd.com/806/ https://xkcd.com/806/

ericd 4y ago
Not the point of that comic, but I love how the first guy doesn’t even have a computer on his desk, so he couldn’t help directly with anything even if he wanted to.
netsharc 4y ago
I wonder if any telephone menu engineers have actually implemented this after reading the xkcd. I'm trying to think of other real life copying fictional concepts, but can't come up with anything right now...
- dylan604 4y ago
  It sounds like something that might be included in this answering service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXx-n6T7tZg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXx-n6T7tZg