Customer self-service can be as frustrating as it is fabulous. Who hasn’t smugly sailed passed a long line because you checked-in the night before? In fact, 
57% of people now use self-service check-in for their flights. The more we embrace self-service as companies and customers, the more intuitive and robust an experience it becomes, offering us choices in communication and access at our fingertips.
Self-service is a growing industry with the market for its software at just under $1.5 billion (ABG research). Smart companies aren’t looking at self-service as a way to cut down on the costs of human assets, but as a way to offer choice to their customers.
Canadian Tire does it App-tly
An example of a company that has done self-service well is Canadian Tire. Their app allows you to check on inventory, location of stock in-store and even price notifications. Want something on sale? The app will notify you. (Side note – way too much money has been spent in our house because of this handy-dandy little feature.) The stores themselves have in-store self-service kiosks and sales people – and, they still send out their weekly flyer. All of these options ultimately result in choice for the customer. Prefer to speak with someone? Check! Would rather find it yourself? Check and check!
No more free sandwiches
Remember the days of the HR lunch and learn? Human resources are frequently turning to “e-learning” to pass on new information. That’s self-service and smart companies are integrating it more and more. Often-times, we’re lulled into reading company policy by the siren song of an interactive screen. Good employee self-service can compel us to review and hopefully retain a new policy in a way that we simply would not have engaged before. We are no longer reliant on calling up our employee-benefits specialist to find out if your pre-teen’s braces are covered (family vacation or straight teeth – you decide).
It’s about excellence
Self-service is ultimately about choice. If done right, whether it’s an app or a kiosk, it’s a thoughtfully implemented tool that enables customers and employee’s to better help themselves. And that’s really the key. Once you move to self-service options in your own company, the question always needs to be; was this experience the best-possible experience? Because only good-enough never cuts it.
Are you ready to make a customer service impact? Let’s chat.