When booking a flight for grandma to come visit for the holidays, I was reminded of how far self-service has advanced in a very short amount of time.  At PGi, our customers are increasingly telling us they want more self-service options. Offering that capability while maintaining quality can be tricky.

We talked to Catherine Haley, Senior Director, Training & Customer Experience, about some of the things PGi is doing to help ensure a quality self-service experience.

What is the biggest tool our customers have for finding information on their own?

Catherine: “Our Knowledge Management client support site has a wealth of information on our products and applications. Customers can learn the ins and outs of a product, experience web products and even submit their own support ticket.”

What are some things our customers should look for if they don’t want to read long tutorials?

Catherine: “There are almost 40 quick hit video tutorials found under the top navigation bar. Many of our customers really enjoy these because they are like visual how-to guides.”

Sometimes customers can’t find the answer(s) themselves. What other options do they have?

Catherine: “Live help is available 24/7 through chat in the U.S. The chat goes to a customer service agent who can work directly with the customer or escalate the issue internally while continuously keeping the customer updated on the status of the issue.”

How do we evaluate the effectiveness of our self-service tools?

Catherine:  “We’re always trying to look at it from our customers’ point of view, and one way to do that is through our customers’ own words. A feedback button on the support site helps us gauge the effectiveness of our site.  We are also focusing on how customers use the site and are in the process of identifying what paths a customer takes.  Using Omniture analytics to gain insight into customer behavior on the site will help us continue to work toward making it the best experience possible for our customer. (Omniture provides real-time intelligence about paths visitors take through a Web site.)”

 “Self-service is just another way of doing business. We try hard to provide options and make it easier for our customers. Overall, it has to be at their fingertips and on target while offering concise easy-to-understand information. We have to make it quick, make it easy, and make it work or our customers won’t use it.”

Catherine Haley, Senior Director, Training & Customer Experience