How multi-channel complaint logging is transforming customer service
From early days to today: multi-channel complaint logging
We have come a long way from the “call customer service” to today where multi-channel complaint logging is the norm. I remember in mid nineties of the last century Citibank Cards phone banking introduced a revolutionary technology called the IVR! The first attempt to automate complaint logging and resolution.
I was not a fan. I doubt anyone was. Calling up the Citiphone number to be greeted by Press 1 for English and Press 2 for.. this was simply too much. We impatiently punched 7 (or was it 9) to be connected to a live “phonebanking officer”.
Citibank was of course smarter. They started increasing the wait times for the live experience. And, the IVR menu became smarter and the number of things you could get done through it started increasing. Without quite saying so, the switch to a regime where you had to be really desperate or innovative to speak to a live agent, was complete.
I made my peace with IVR. I guess all others in my generation did as well. And that was the first step to ushering in multi-channel complaint logging in customer service.
From then to now in customer complaint handling
Now we have chatbots handling the primary user interface. Whether it is Railways bookings, banking transactions or logging complaints for your refrigerator, chatbots are ubiquitous. There are chatbots on website, in WhatsApp, on Facebook.
Simply C2 app, is another way for customers to log and track complaints. But, we are acutely aware that we can’t stop there.
Today the buzz is multi-channel complaint logging. So, the customer wants more than one way of interacting with you. It can be WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Or even Instagram. Why, it may not even be a formal complaint. So, a snide remark mentioning your brand, a RePost of a complaint of another customer- they all need to be captured, responded to and the sentiment must be respected.
What does the future look like?
Mostly, customer complaint handling has 3 main parts:
1. Complaint logging
2. Complaint assignment to the right agent
3. Complaint resolution.
Here, let me focus my crystal ball gazing on the 1st part: Complaint logging.
Complaint Logging — Moving to Multi-channel & Automated Capture
As you can see, the current pain points are:
- Manual ticket logging (phone, email, forms)
- Incomplete or inconsistent data capture
How to address the pain points
AI-Powered Chatbots & Voice Assistants will become better. They will use Natural language processing (NLP) to understand and log complaints across WhatsApp, web chat, voice calls, social media, etc.
Self-Service Portals with AI Assistance: As alreeady happening, customers can log issues, upload photos/videos, and get real-time status updates.
IoT & Automated Event Triggers: For products with embedded sensors — complaints logged automatically when equipment parameters breach thresholds (e.g., fuel dispensers, pumps, valves).
What do you think? Please leave your comments below or email us at simply AT simplyc2 DOT com.
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