Customer Service Reps

A call center is vital to an organization’s relationship with its customers. For many businesses, it serves as the primary touchpoint for customer interactions. As such, optimizing your call center’s efficiency, accessibility and reliability is critical to delivering exceptional customer experiences. However, modern customer service extends far beyond traditional phone calls. While the term “call…

Imagine a customer support agent who never sleeps, learns faster than any employee, and can juggle dozens of complex tasks at once. Sounds like science fiction, right? It’s not. Welcome to the world of agentic artificial intelligence — a new frontier in retail innovation. AI was a major theme at the NRF Big Show this…

Just when retailers thought they knew what consumers wanted in their interactions with customer service, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved the goalposts. A survey by Vonage found that 75 percent of consumers are comfortable with AI-powered customer support in retail — among the highest acceptance rates across industries, second only to gaming (80 percent). This…

The burnout crisis in retail is creating a ripple effect across the industry. As employees struggle under mounting job expectations and opt to leave, retailers are facing $19 billion in annual turnover costs. Business leaders and managers are now asking: How can organizations break this cycle? This question is particularly urgent in contact centers, where…

Conversational artificial intelligence is at a tipping point. Beyond customer support, these solutions are being embedded across marketing, sales, IT, and even on search platforms — hinting at a soon-to-be ubiquity. In 2023, conversational AI’s market share was valued at $5.8 billion. By 2028, it’s projected to hit $31.9 billion. These are not the stilted…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword; it’s a game-changer in customer service. Businesses are leveraging AI to transform contact centers from reactive support hubs into proactive, predictive engines that enhance customer experiences and streamline operations. With AI, companies don’t just respond to customer needs, they anticipate them. In this article, I explore…

E-commerce is a tough business. The margins are often wafer-thin and competition is intense. Consumers have elevated expectations. Success demands a frictionless experience on the front end, along with hyper-efficient operations on the back end. For as long as anyone can remember, e-commerce businesses have tried to meet their efficiency and user experience (UX) goals by…

The success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year was monumental. Adobe Analytics reported record-breaking online sales of $10.8 billion and $13.3 billion, respectively — an impressive 10 percent increase from 2023. This surge wasn’t just due to deep discounts and deals; artificial intelligence was a gamechanger. AI-powered tools like chatbots and virtual agents…

As the holiday shopping season gathers pace, retailers are working extra hard to satisfy increased customer demand. There’s a strong emphasis on in-store teams, but contact center agents are also critical, serving as the touchpoint between retail brands and millions of customers grappling with online order issues, delivery delays and other complex questions. Artificial intelligence…

The holiday season is a double-edged sword for retailers — a time of immense opportunity and significant stress. Deloitte is forecasting sales growth of 2 percent to 3 percent this season, which will put pressure on retailers, their online platforms, and customer service teams. They will face a spike in questions, requests and returns. Add…