Answer:
I believe they can be a great way to support your customers. When someone needs help (whether it's with navigating your Web site or finding out more about your products and services, they want it immediately. Some live help Web features offer customers the ability to request a phone call from the company; others open a personalized chat window that allows real-time online, typed chat with a customer service representative. To me, it can reduce frustration and provide customers a way to speak to (or chat with) a real person instead of continuing to wait to find his way through an automated phone answering machine with too much information and too many options.
If the Live Help feature will not be staffed 24/7, it might be a good idea to have an automated way to let customers know when it is staffed and when it's not. Some Live Help software does this automatically. If yours does not, consider posting something that describes what hours and days the Live Help is actually available.
A call center certainly could be trained to provide the support. Obviously, if they are going to answer questions about the Web site, they will need Internet access so they can be "on the same page" as the customer. Since they may be working closely with customers attempting to access their accounts, you will want to make sure you've done appropriate background checks and training on call center staff because they may be given confidential information by customers during the Live Help sessions.
First published on BankersOnline.com 8/6/01
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