Are you an Introvert? Online Chat may be the right channel for you…

Flipping through the newspaper one morning, I came across a full-page ad from my cable provider flashing a very attractive rate of $39.99 for the same package for which I am currently paying $70.99 a month.

Of course, I realized there was some ‘fine print’, but it was a whopping $31 difference! I sprung into immediate action. On my way to the office, I dialed the 1-800 number, going through the routine automated instructions. Ten minutes later, the annoying ‘on-hold’ music was still playing when I stepped into the elevator. My connection was lost, along with my place in the ‘queue’. It was 9am by now, and if anything, the wait time would be longer. Back at my desk, I logged on to the website and started a chat session.

Immediately, the online chat function connected me to  an agent. Here’s what I experienced:

No wait: Within five seconds of typing my name and a description of my issue, a chirpy agent greeted me – and by name.

Acknowledged: I was (undeservingly) recognized as a valued customer: “I see you have been our customer since March 2014 at this address”

On hold, but assured: Granted, it took the Agent another 10 minutes to provide the next piece of substantive information, but every two minutes, she pinged me with messages of assurance “Sorry for the delay, please give me a few more minutes”.

Away with caller fatigue:  On telephone, I have little tolerance for awful music, or worse, ‘dead air’, while being put on hold. On chat, I was notified of a new response, when the browser window flashed with a soft ‘ping’.

Multitasking: The best part was that I could attend to the typical morning rush of emails and even answered a phone call during the chat session.

The above did not surprise me, since fast response is a key characteristic of online chat, as we’ve noted before in our CX Act’s Customer Touchpoint Stress Test. But what really delighted me was the ease of negotiating via this channel:

‘Haggle’ with confidence:  According to C.G.Jung, I am a classic case of “Introversion”. ‘Haggling’ is not my strength. However, I somehow found the courage to bargain with the chat agent. Perhaps it was the absence of ‘human contact’ that boosted my confidence. I further substantiated my case with plan details posted on their website – a simple copy and paste, which required no further explanation.

Taking my time to make a decision: Another characteristic of an “Introvert” is the need for time and space for reflection. On the phone, I sometimes feel obliged to be quick, especially when the agent speaks fast, or there is noise and endless ringing in the background. On chat, it is impossible to feel hurried, even if the agent seems to have the unworldly capability to type 100 words per second (which can happen when a pre-defined script is copied and pasted). Feeling less pressured, I slowly evaluated options, asked questions before reaching a carefully considered decision – all without feeling guilty about wasting someone’s time.

After a 30-minute session (no more than 10 minutes of active attention), the agent had explored three possible price/package options. I accepted the offer for an upgrade to my current package (for $2 less). Sure, she didn’t shave $31 off my bill, but I was still satisfied. Most importantly, I felt valued and satisfied that I had been offered the best deal.

CX Act’s most recent study, Optimizing Multi-Channel Customer Care Through Focus on What Matters, suggests that regardless of the choice of channel, customers just want their issue to be resolved quickly, easily, and with little effort.

My experience proved that online chat can be successfully executed. And, who knows, it may even be just the channel for the introverts among us…