Why General Motors Is Doing Away With Its "Call Center"
The fact that millions of customers rely on telephone support is not enough to refute the fact that the call center is dead.
After all, the term “call center” connotes more than the method of communication. It speaks to an entire conception of customer service, and that conception—one of retroactive, isolated “support” for customers’ issues—simply does not jibe with expectations in today’s marketplace.
In today’s “age of the customer,” buyers expect their voice to influence the entirety of a brand’s operations. From the way the company in question delivers customer service to the way it formulates and updates products, all strategic initiatives are to have a basis in the “voice of the customer.”
Since the “call center” represents the brand’s truest link to the customer, its traditional modus operandi is no longer sufficient. Customer support inquiries are no longer self-sustained interactions to be acknowledged and resolved on a single call; they are now starting points on the journey to business excellence. What happens on such calls must resonate throughout the entire organization.
And insofar as business strategy must be forever married to the voice of the customer, brands can no longer afford to define that voice simply by what disgruntled or conflicted customers share with service representatives. Brands must now proactively establish relationships with customers, building chains of communication that provide a perpetual window into the marketplace.
Aware of this fundamental shift in customer management, General Motors this month announced that it is transforming its call centers into “Customer Engagement Centers.”
“We’re not waiting for customers to come to us,” said Alicia Boler-Davis, vice president of Global Quality and U.S. Customer Experience. “We proactively reach out to offer support and open a dialogue with our Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac customers. This includes our social media team interacting on Facebook, Twitter and popular vehicle forums to offer assistance.”
Steering into (and out of) cynicism
General Motors is no novice when it comes to boasting of customer experience transformation.
More than a year ago, the company appointed a Vice President of Customer Experience so that it could give the voice of the customer a seat at the executive table. Though the initiative was presented as an invaluable exercise in customer-centricity, cynics wisely contested whether it truly deserved praise.
After all, should a brand really be lauded for giving its customers a voice in the decision-making process? Is that truly a risky, groundbreaking endeavor?
Cynics will presumably have the same reaction to the quote from Boler-Davis. A commitment to proactive customer care is great, but if the centerpiece of that initiative is providing support on social media, General Motors is hardly treading new ground. Engaging with customers in social communities is a presumed part of the customer management status quo; it is not a bold leap forward.
Luckily for GM customers, its call center transformation is about more than social media support. According to GM’s press release, a key facet of the strategy is the insertion of “advisors” into the customer contact process.
Rather than hiding behind the “don’t shoot the messenger” conception of customer interaction, General Motors will be “staffing Customer Engagement Centers with expert advisors who reach out to new owners to answer questions and are empowered to resolve most issues on the spot.”
These advisors, who will address customers in multiple channels, finally put the “call center” in position to empower customers. The advisors will arm representatives to deliver resolution not based on what is scripted but based on what is needed. And that will assure the center functions as a mechanism not of deflection but of welcoming; meaningful relationships will be created with the pretext that the business is committed to doing right by customers.
Beyond the advisory component, GM will also be “implementing processes and tools to enable the channeling of data from the centers to its designers and engineers to capture the voice of the customer for further improvements in vehicle programs.”
With that pledge, GM is going beyond the often-hollow notion of “giving the customer a seat at the table” and instead giving the “customer a seat on the assembly line.” Products will be launched and improved based on actual customer insights, and that means the experience—long before a support representative is ever contacted—will be optimized.
Call for excellence
Do not fall victim to the misconception that the “call” portion of the “call center” is what is bad. Customers still have a great affinity for phone support, and brands would be foolish to ignore that while chasing trends in new media. Social customer care is important, but it is not mature enough to rank as the only support option for customers.
What gives the call center a bad name is its history of coming up short on customer-centric objectives. When operating in a silo according to strict, antiquated policies that have nothing to do with current customer need, these centers are unable to deliver the delightful experience that create loyalty. And, as a result, they become the enemy of customer-centricity.
There is no pressure to follow GM’s lead in changing the name of your call center to something more “customer-centric.” But you absolutely must follow their mindset in transforming the center into something that empowers customers.
