What's in a Conversation? Addressing the Impact of Web Applications on Associate-Customer Conversations

Abstract

The ability to deliver quality customer service should not be hindered by the use of software applications. However, the nature and quality of associate-customer interactions may be greatly impacted by the conversational flows mandated by specific applications due to interface variables (e.g., navigation) as well as underlying system infrastructures (i.e., mainframe vs. web-based). If the conversational flow required by an application does not synchronize with the conversational flow preferred by the associate (user) and customer, the result can be frustration on the part of the user, as well an inability to meet the needs of the customer. The present effort attempted to isolate and define the component parts and patterns of an associate-customer conversation associated with a current mainframe-based application, as well as to determine potential effects during a transition of the application to a web-based platform. Associate-customer interactions were analyzed while utilizing a current mainframe-based version of a customer-service application, as well as three prototype web-based versions of the same application, each employing a different navigational and download structure. From these evaluations was culled a set of distinct conversational types that may occur during an interaction. While the applications were onscreen, conversational patterns did not differ between the mainframe and web-based applications or among the three web-based applications. However, during periods of downtime while waiting for the application to load, it was found that a single-page scrolling web application with a single up-front download period yielded the highest percentage of rapport-building “niceties”, business profitable “selling” comments, with the least amount of silence. In contrast, it was found that a web application divided into 27 navigable pages and download times resulted in the least percentage of nicety conversation and selling and the highest percentage of silent time.