When’s the last time you visited a site and immediately greeted by a chatbot?

We do the majority of our shopping online and prefer not to be bothered by a salesperson.

Chatbots seem very impersonal, but the last thing you want is to be hounded by customer service while you’re browsing.

This is much different than the retail experience where employees usually greet and ask if you’d like any assistance. Since retail has been dying stores have taken a different approach and tend to let shoppers browse on their own now.

The bottom line is: customers are educated and want the freedom to do things themselves; they’ll initiate support if needed. Between reviews and recommendations online platforms such as Amazon and Walmart are self-service e-commerce sites.

There’s evidence that Millennials spearheaded this movement, but with the convenience of home delivery it’s generation-wide accepted.

As a business owner the shift that needs to happen is creating a sales free process. That doesn’t mean eliminate customer service completely, but make the buying transaction as efficient as possible.

For example, with the online SAT/ACT prep company I own, this student profile form collects the same information an initial phone call would. It offers parents the opportunity to input the information on their own time without having to talk to anyone.

Chatbots aren’t destroying customer service, in fact they are enhancing it by allowing the shopper to reach out when they are ready. Self-service is the wave of the present and companies must adapt or die.