Customer Service
In their peer-reviewed study Lee and Lee (2020) show that untact, i.e., online exchanges, as opposed to contact, i.e., face-to-face exchanges in a brick-and-mortar store, are increasingly part of the new normal of shopping and customer service. The authors show that even restaurants are resorting to untact customer service, providing customers with kiosks for order food instead of relying on waitresses, waiters, etc. The idea of untact comes from the concept of no contact described in a prior study by Kim et al. (2018). No contact customer service is presented in the article by Lee and Lee (2020) as the new mode of customer service for the foreseeable future now that the digital age is firmly here to stay.
The authors conclude, based on their assessment of the data that they obtain in their study, that so long as the technology is not too complicated to use, customers may go along with untact service. However, if the technology is too complicated to use, customers would prefer a more traditional face-to-face contact...
The authors do also point out the limitations of the study based on the lack of
literature available on the subject and the lack of a theoretical framework developed for understanding this new type of customer...
…I would definitely prefer a person-to-person encounter. On the plus side, no-contact customer service is typically more efficient than traditional methods, as it eliminates the need for customers to wait on hold or be transferred to multiple representatives. Additionally, automated systems can often provide more accurate and up-to-date information than a human agent. However, some customers prefer the personal touch of speaking with a live person, and may find automated systems to be impersonal and frustrating. In addition, No-contact customer service may not be able to handle more complex issues that require a human touch. Ultimately, the pros and cons of no-contact customer service will vary depending on the…
