Bots ignoring customers are no bots

Here are some example on why people are disenchanted with Bots. Without a customer in the equation, a chat bot is just a parrot

Microsoft Virtual agent (PREVIEW)

Hello Miha!

Tell me about your problem and I'll help you find the solution you need.

hrlp

Glad to talk to you. Could you describe your problem in detail?

help

Could you try to rephrase the question? Using different words can sometimes help.

are you human

Glad to talk to you. Could you describe your problem in detail?

are you a bot

Could you try to rephrase the question? Using different words can sometimes help.

chatbot?

Could you try to rephrase the question? Using different words can sometimes help.

what ca you do?

Could you try to rephrase the question? Using different words can sometimes help.

is typing...

Nice article from Chatbot Magazine, probably the inspiration for Microsoft

How To Build And Launch A Chatbot Over The Weekend

A quote:

Like most projects and companies I’ve launched, I began by defining the following:

1. Timeline- Sunday was my deadline since this was a weekend project.
2. Goals- Learn about the existing tools for chatbot developers that I could use to leverage technology and build on top of (I decided on Chatfuel). This would provide me with the fundamental understanding of chatbots.
3. Success Outcome- Build a functional chatbot that did one thing well, iterate on real user feedback, and launch.

This is elegant and correct. As the author says

 Unlike past projects, I didn’t have the exact idea in mind prior to making the decision to begin

This last part people forget to think and to add. This is the final result

Art ChatbBot

The same parroting as Microsodt Assistant (click to read)

But the analytics extracted are interesting and focused



No Customer, No Bot

This is not the criteria : chatfuel or not chatfuel. It is  the customer Happiness Sweet Spot. It is disarmingly simple

Amazon Customer Service

If one company has the Artificial Intelligence to speak to people aka customers, this is Amazon

When calling the Customer Service, one already went trough many filters. The customer always speak with humans. Or so it looks like. If you called once, they know your number.

Last time I called I was furious of two unauthorized charges. Buy the end of the call, I felt as a good friend helped me.

Amazon decided the Sweet Spot for customer satisfaction is nearly 100% human assistance. However there is subtle Artificial Intelligence that makes the queues to be 30 seconds long and NOT 120 minutes like in ATT call centers.

Jeff Bezos Empty Chair

These  quotes are applicable to chatbots. A chatbot is more than a toy. It is a money making addition to any company communicating

1. Don’t Just Listen to Your Customers, Understand Them

“Everyone has to be able to work in a call center.”

2. Serve the Needs of the Customer

“We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with what the customer needs and we work backwards.”

3. The Empty Chair: The Most Important Person in the Room

“Focusing on the customer makes a company more resilient.” 

4. Never Settle for 99%

“We’re not satisfied until it’s 100%.”

5. Respect Today’s Customer

“If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000.”

6. Strive to Create a Customer-Centric Company

“If we can arrange things in such a way that our interests are aligned with our customers, then in the long term that will work out really well for customers and it will work out really well for Amazon.”

7. Don’t Be Afraid to Apologize

 “We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.”