Self-service in the world of web is electronic support that helps the customers and employees to get important information and do regular tasks on the internet. Moreover, when support is available for online interactions of the employees, the term is familiar as employee self-service. This service is popular as customer self-service. Whereas, “assisted service”, is a service for which an employee or customer takes help from other source or channel. For instance, a call center could act as a channel of assisted service.

Significant Features of Self-Service and Assisted-Service
  • Tool for customer satisfaction and management of costs– When cart abandonment is significantly higher with 3 out of four customers going to another channels resulting in the breakdown of online customer service, web self-service is needed to bring improvement in the customer satisfaction and management of costs.
  • The same type of service like the digital browsers – On the other hand, assisted service channels extend support to those users, who do not have the proficiency or access to online channels and there assisted service could give the same type of excellent experience as digital browsers with the necessary extra support.
  • Relevant for CRM & ERM – Web self-service is really helpful both for customer relationship management (CRM) and the employee relationship management (ERM). When support of the service goes for the online interaction with employee, the prevailing practice is familiar as employee self service (ESS) and when it is specifically done for customers on the internet, it becomes customer self-service (CSS).
  • An important tool to include digitally excluded persons – Assisted service is really important for including large section of digitally excluded customers. Assisted service is vital for achieving digital inclusion of a large number of people. Surveys have indicated that almost 92% of people interviewed do not have the access and skill for the operation of digital service.
  • 24 ×7 Day support for employees and customers – Both for employees and customers, self-service gives round-the-clock support. To add to it, it provides immediate access to information without the necessity of waiting for a response by email or through a phone call.
  • Assisted service-catalyst for the inclusion of underprivileged – Although, the thrust has stayed on including more and more people to web self-service, the growth in the inclusion of underprivileged people has stayed nominal. It is the assisted service that could act as a catalyst to bring more and more people to web self-service.
Combination of Assisted Service Channels and the Web Self-Service

The combination of web self-service and assisted service channels could bring rapid development in the quality of service for the customers.

Let’s see some of the important changes in the quality of service that could come with the combination of both the patterns of service.

100% Digital inclusion-possible through the combination – Assisted service channels could make faster digital inclusion of more and more of people, who are ignorant about online interaction. Gradually, this measure builds up the habit in them to opt for more and more web self-service.

Assisted service possible only through a Live Agent for a complex question – For arriving at a solution for self-service, virtual agent technology is normally used in order to offer employees and customers round-the-clock access to information. But assisted service is essential when the solution needed is a complex one and the end-users need the help from a live agent. Here, the solution is relevant to a customer’s situation.  Moreover, the necessity for service is urgent. There, assisted service becomes instrumental in bringing a solution. The customers prefer to make a live chat with the live agent to get the right solution for their need.

Self-service for repetitive queries and assisted service for skillful handling – When there are general questions, self-service is desirable as the same questions appear at intervals from the customers and employees. There, the virtual web agent executes the task by guiding the end users through an end-to-end process. This spares the customers from making an exhaustive search for the answer to a specific question. But assisted service is the true necessity when a question from a customer or employee requires skillful handling.