Something You Should Know · Podcast summary
Secrets to Getting Great Customer Service & The Curious Story of Remote Controls
Consumer advocate Christopher Elliot shares his secrets to getting great customer service, and professor Caitlyn Benson Allot reveals the surprising history of the remote control.
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The State of Customer Service Today
Christopher Elliot, a consumer advocate and syndicated columnist, notes that his specialty is travel, so he deals with a lot of travel complaints. However, he also handles a fair number of other consumer complaints, such as issues with cars bought at dealerships or appliances that stop working.
Elliot observes that we are currently in a phase of automation in customer service. When you call a company, you're often put through to a chatbot, phone trees, or AI. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. He's cautiously optimistic that automation might improve things, but the jury is still out.
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