The perils of live chat

Submitted by rernst on Sat, 04/12/2008 - 9:38am

More companies are using live 'pop-up' chats to drive sales and provide a more personal customer experience with their audience. The first site I noticed to do this was Rackspace. One of the companies I've worked for recently implemented this on their sites, and I've had the chance to observe things from the rear. It's a really useful tool. Really. But it has its downsides.

Poor-quality agents can really drive people away. Or worse: they can lead to a blog-powered worldwide linkfest over profanity and stupidity as this post from The Consumerist details:

Reader Pam asked Jessica if she could port her landline to her mobile account, prompting the Sprint CSR to respond: "No, are you nucking futz?" Pam wasn't expecting an abusive chat when she visited Sprint's website to research a potential contract extension, but Jessica unexpectedly appeared with advice that wasn't just rude, but also wrong.

I am in awe. Customer service may be at an all time low, but Sprint here sets a new low for everyone.

'Online Wireless Communications Expert' indeed...

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