In a significant move to champion the rights of everyday Americans, the Biden-Harris Administration has launched the “Time is Money” initiative. The effort seeks to address the pressing challenges that have long plagued consumers—excessive hold times, convoluted processes, ineffective and poorly designed automated customer service systems, and more. We commend this initiative as a crucial step toward putting an end to the frustrating experiences that have remained all too common in the customer service landscape.
Shifting the Culture: Customers Rule
For too long, consumers have been at the mercy of what the government aptly describes as “doom loops.” These are aggravating cycles where customers are forced to navigate endless organizational systems and processes to eventually get little to no resolution. For decades now, the focus has been on operational cost savings—what we call the “containment model.” This model prioritizes keeping costs low even at the expense of customer satisfaction, often leading to the very frustrations that the Administration aims to tackle.
At Interactions, we advocate for replacing this with a customer engagement model recognizing that the contact center is not just a cost center, but a central player in establishing and ensuring customer loyalty. Under this model, the primary focus is on the consumer and the delivery of effortless customer service interactions. This is not just our product vision; it is a commitment we have made for twenty years to our clients, their customer service representatives, and, most importantly, their customers. By placing the customer at the center of everything we do, we ensure that every interaction is not just a transaction but a positive, efficient experience that respects their time and effort. And contrary to common belief, focusing on the consumer does not equate to higher costs; in fact, it often delivers superior customer experiences while driving significant cost savings for customer service leaders.
The Problem with Chatbots
One of the Administration’s key points is the shortcomings of customer service “chatbots”. Off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all chatbot applications designed for businesses rather than for customers leave customers feeling trapped in a digital loop, receiving inaccurate information or being unable to reach a live agent. This is an area where Interactions excels. Our product vision is to make every customer service interaction effortless. We do this by working with our clients to craft an experience unique to their brand on every channel and by combining the best of predictive AI and Generative AI with human intelligence to deliver that experience, ensuring that customers, on their terms, get the accurate, efficient, and human-like interactions they deserve.
The Consumer Experience: A Call for Change
The Administration also emphasizes cracking down on corporate tactics designed to pad corporate profits without consideration for customers’ interests, time, and effort. Who hasn’t experienced the agony of trying to cancel a subscription or claim a refund, only to be met with resistance at every turn?
The Administration’s focus on simplifying cancellations and refunds is especially timely. At Interactions, we reimagined the partial cancellation and refund process for a web hosting services client. Instead of forcing customers to endure lengthy hold times or ineffective chatbots, our Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) engages them in a seamless, conversational manner. By pulling in customer service representatives in the back end only when necessary, we give 30% of the time spent back to the consumer—eliminating the meaningless hold times waiting in a queue, reducing frustration, and creating a truly craveable customer experience.
Our approach addresses the very issues the Administration is targeting, while tackling the reality that skipping automation to shortcut to human staff results in even longer wait times. But while basic chatbots and legacy IVR systems often fall short, leaving customers feeling trapped and unsupported and calling for an agent, our hybrid AI delivers an effective conversation that resolves their requests quickly. We pick selectively from the best of what predictive AI can do, blend it with the promise and the power of Generative AI, and partner both with engaging human intelligence at need. The result is a natural interaction where the customer can hang up a phone knowing their needs were met while another customer is still waiting on hold for an agent. This isn’t just about solving problems—it’s about making every customer service interaction effortless and ensuring that consumers never feel like they’re being given the runaround.
Conclusion: A Future of Effortless, Craveable Interactions
The Biden-Harris Administration’s initiative is a much-needed step toward a future where customers rule. As we move forward, it’s imperative that businesses across all industries take heed of this call to action. At Interactions, we are excited to be at the forefront of this shift, providing solutions that not only meet but exceed the expectations of the modern consumer.
In a world where time is indeed money, we remain committed to making every customer service interaction effortless and craveable, saving consumers precious time and ensuring that their voices are heard and respected.
