Customer service trends will never eliminate sales rep product knowledge altogether, because then customers have no need to reach out to reps; they already have a smartphone in their pocket to discover basic product information or specifics about what they are buying, so customer service agents need more than just an Internet connected device to do their jobs.
But having an Internet connected device to help them perform their jobs soon will become the norm.
More than Apple (News - Alert) now sports customer service professions carrying tablets or smartphones. A growing number of companies are realizing the benefits of connected customer service professions, including Delta Airlines; the company just announced its plans to outfit more than 20,000 flight attendants with the Nokia (News - Alert) Lumia 1520 phablet.
For Delta, outfitting its flight attendants with phablets delivers a number of benefits.
First, it allows the airline to eliminate the 500-page, five-pound On-Board Manual that must be carried by every flight attendant. This alone is expected to save Delta more than $1 million annually in reduced fuel and printing costs—not to mention making it easier for flight professionals to quickly access information in those pages.
But giving flight attendants a smart device such as the Lumia also will allow flight attendants to better take customer meal orders, receive detailed information about their flight and provide information for personalized service, including customers' frequent flyer status and potential need for special services during flight.
“The phablet is a great foundation for future software applications that, in time, will allow our flight attendants to readily access customer preferences, previous travel experiences with Delta and worldwide connectivity to the company, enabling them to provide the more tailored experience many customers have come to expect," said Theresa Wise, senior vice president and chief information officer for Delta.
The devices will start to be handed out to flight attendants in October, according to the company.
Soon such rollouts won’t even be news because every business will use smart devices such as tablets, smartphones and phablets for customer interactions and daily business in general.
We already live in a digital world; few businesses can function without computer-based information. Smart devices are the natural extension of that, enabling us to access that essential information on the go and in a light, easily-accessible package.
So while some air travelers might smile when they first see the flight attendant showing them the gate of their connecting flight from a phablet, in time it will be as common as the expectation that everybody has a phone in their pocket.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson