Can customers be satisfied with online only customer service?

[Steve Sherlock]

We’re currently going through a major update process to our website and one of the things that we are talking about is customer service. Traditionally Coverzones has offered an online and phone service, so that our customers can either instant message one of our representatives or speak to them directly should they require assistance.

This has always worked well – and there has been some research from Gartner recently suggesting that chat and voice can work very effectively together to increase sales conversions. Forrester Research reported that people have a certain reticence when buying financial products to rely solely on online services. We wanted to ask how you guys felt and why.

Do you or your customers prefer to speak to someone directly? We’re planning to keep both services on the Coverzones site, but it would be good to hear of your experiences both managing customer services and as a customer. Which has worked better for you; online or offline communication and under what circumstances?

Steve

 

[Tim Barlow]

Whilst there is nothing wrong in working to reduce phone calls by providing excellent online service, there is still a need for phone service as far as I am concerned.

 

[Former Member 1]

I've had a quick look at your site Steve and a little 'play' with the quote system which I found quite useful... ESPECIALLY since I could get ballpark quotes without entering personal details and thus risk being pestered by salespeople...

Ultimately though I'd probably want to talk to somone sensibly before committing. And that's basically because I just don't trust insurance companies....

For instance there are questions about working on oil rigs and near railways... LONG time since I filmed on an oil rig; and it's very rare to film from a plane.. But I'd not like to preclude such work...

My experience of insurance is it's a bit of a con; I've only ever been involved in insurance claims once or twice in my life. And found that the insurance companies' main priorities are to wriggle out of doing what they said they would do when they sold you the policy.... And that I wound up seriously out-of-pocket as the result of being the victim of theft or another's negligence....

....I assume they're 'generic' questions, but I'm wondering why you're asking a video producer about working trackside on a PLI quote, why you're not really looking into and considering my professional background and wondering where the catch is....

In the event of a claim arising out of routine work in say a shopping centre, I'd not like to be screwed over for cover because two years ago I took some shots of steam trains from the trackside in the west Highlands!!!

So yeah! The ballpark quotes are good... They might work for me as a call to action BUT I'm wondering what's the catch and would really want to instigate a call, and view sample paperwork before I'd consider moving forward...

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

I'm with the others, you do need both.

The phone is really the only option if things go wrong as you want to know your problem or issue is getting dealt with promptly. I've sent emails to companies who take 4 to 5 days to reply so you end up calling after a couple of days anyway.

If you can develop the online side so that it takes away a proportion of the easier to resolve issues then great but you'll never get rid of the phone if you want to maintain a very high standard of customer service. Just my 2p

 

[Murray]

It is great to have the ability to order goods/services online but in this instance I think that as it is insurance the client wil need personal contact at some stage in the process. It is great if they can get a rough figure themselves but prior to committing to an insurance contract I am sure they would need that personal contact so as to be confident in the product they were purchasing.

 

[Steve Sherlock]

Thanks for your feedback all.

TFGtv.com, it’s really unfortunate that your experiences of insurance haven’t been very positive to date – the insurance industry as a whole tends to be tarred by negative experiences similar to yours. It comes back to that old adage, if you’re satisfied with a service you tell 5 people, however if you have a complaint you tell 20. That’s why here at Coverzones we’re really interested in hearing customer feedback, both good and bad, so as to improve on the aspects we’re doing well and rectify areas where we may not be delivering in line with expectation.

Your reaction to buying insurance online reassures me that we’re right to offer the two paths to customer service. What’s clearly apparent is that our customers need the opportunity to pose questions and discuss their concerns – and whichever means allows them the fastest and most convenient way to do that is the way forward.

As for the questions themselves, we work directly with insurers to establish a standardised question set for each product and occupation. It’s different from any other price comparison website targeting personal insurance as we don’t allow each insurance company to pose the same question in a multitude of manners. Each insurer must agree to one set of questions and base their risk assessment on the answers Coverzones customers provide. That’s why some of the questions, whilst perhaps not relevant to your immediate activities, are included. They represent areas which insurers consider to be risky in your line of business. You can appreciate that in some instances a video producer may well be working near a railway. We just want to make sure all bases are covered!

Steve

 

[Former Member 1]

Thanks Steve...

I wasn't actually looking for a justification for the questions... Merely providing somw insight as to why they might trouble someone...