Consumers Hanging-Up the Phone in Favor of Online Chat for Customer Service, Finds New SupportSoft Research

• Waiting on hold – 92%
• Having to repeat the same information on every call – 64%
• Being told to do things I've already done on my own – 52%
• Having to call multiple times to get my problem resolved – 51%

Associated with a growing preference for online chat is the fact that consumers are frustrated with using the telephone for technical support inquiries. Top telephone frustrations expressed as a percentage of survey respondents include:

When asked specifically about the use of online chat for resolution of more complex technology problems, chat is again closing the gap with the telephone as the first point of contact for consumers. While 40% of those surveyed said that the phone remains their first choice for resolving a technical issue, online chat trails just behind with 32% of people saying it would be their first choice to receive a favorable outcome. Moreover, almost 47% of those using online chat to resolve complex technical problems believe that it can help them get to an answer faster than the telephone, while only 28% thought that resolutions via the telephone would be faster than online chat.

SupportSoft solutions provide a comprehensive, multi-channel approach to technical service delivery that tightly integrates both online chat and telephone capabilities, so that end-users have a choice of the service option they prefer, while support organizations can more efficiently manage end-user demands for assistance. For example, SupportSoft Intelligent Assistance Suite™ software provides the following features:

• Intelligent issue routing to ensure that each customer is routed to the most appropriate telephone or online chat representative. And, in the latter case, the end-user can connect to the same service representative, again, even in cases where a computer reboot is necessary — helping to reduce waiting time and speed problem resolution.
• A single system of record is maintained by the Suite's LiveAssist™ product functionality to facilitate tracking of each chat interaction and, further, to avoid duplication and assist with regulatory compliance within many industries, such as healthcare. Additionally, the customer can print a copy of the interaction for future reference.
• Automated gathering of diagnostic information to enable chat or telephone service representatives to more quickly identify and fix end-user problems, avoid unnecessary steps the user might have already taken, and increase first contact problem resolution rates.
• Flood call management and seamless escalation using SupportSoft LiveAssist "chat back" functionality that allows end-users to easily convert online chat requests into Web requests or vice-versa, helping ensure that a support incident is never lost and always resolved.

"With the rapid growth of the Internet as a preferred method for personal and professional communications, it's not surprising that online chat is growing in its appeal for handling customer service issues, including hard-to-resolve technical problems," said Marc Itzkowitz, director of product management and marketing at SupportSoft. "Nevertheless, telephone support will always remain an important part of the service equation. That's why SupportSoft has designed its products to tightly integrate a rich set of online chat, online self-service and telephone service capabilities. The beneficiaries are end-users, who get to choose their preferred service channel based on need, while the support provider gains the opportunity to create more satisfied customers and reduce operational costs."

(1) Survey conducted on behalf of SupportSoft by Decipher, Inc., an independent online market research firm, and completed in May, 2006. The sample includes 301 individuals who have used online chat for customer service or technical support within 6 months of taking the survey. All survey respondents work for a company of 1,000 or more people where they use a PC as part of their job on a daily basis. The survey indicates a margin of error of +/- 6.3% at a 95% confidence level.