It seems like people can accomplish just about anything through a company's interactive voice response (IVR) these days: pay bills, get flight information, refill prescriptions, get answers to questions.  And we are strongly encouraged by companies to do so; to essentially "help ourselves."

Sometims I'm glad for a self-service option, whether it's via a website, the phone, or even a text message. It speeds up various chores and gives me independence. But other times this convenience comes at the cost of some extremely important customer interactions. It makes me wonder: Are we in danger of going too far with customer self-service?

According to the 2007 Genesys Global Consumer Survey, 91 percent of consumers in the United States already feel that companies are pushing them to use self-service systems instead of talking to live people. Approximately 66 percent of the survey respondents react negatively to this pressure, and 75 percent feel less loyal or take their business elsewhere. At the same time, consumers increasingly wish to communicate with companies using newer technologies, and value having access to multiple channels, such as email, SMS, and Web chat.

It's a delicate balance -- self-service is especially suited for today's tough economic climate because it offers companies a way to reduce operational expenses. It cuts down on the amount of human resources needed to address basic but time-consuming questions and activities. In some effective deployments, companies have seen IVR self-service completion rates upwards of 30 percent. As a result of this success, some companies have begun to automate more processes, including fairly complex ones like filing an insurance claim, and building interfaces they hope will inspire more customers to self-serve.

Consumers may have reached a breaking point, however. As the systems get more complex, and people feel forced to handle their own customer service requests, they start to push back. There is a point where customers grow weary of self-service systems, lose patience, and become frustrated. The mundane process of walking through a touchtone IVR system becomes a loathsome chore for customers each and every time they call.  Speech recognition systems often still fall short of the promise of interacting with an intelligent computer system capable of understanding and interpreting information, and expressing emotions.

Companies need to evaluate all their customer interaction channels – and build in self-service capabilities where it makes sense. Not every channel is well-suited for complex self-service. Unlike the voice channel, the Web is more conducive to providing advanced self-service options. Consumers using the Web expect to encounter a self-service option, thus they are more relaxed, both mentally and physically. Consumers are able to see the next steps and choices they have to make. This added level of information increases customers' comprehension of their activities and allows them to control the pace of the interaction.

But you can't predict customer needs. Companies will always have customers with complex needs that have to interact directly with agents, using multiple channels. Planning for how to handle these unpredictable scenarios is often where companies fail. Southwest Airlines does a great job of handling their phone-based customer service requests, even when traffic is high. As Lance Morton, Southwest Airlines' director of automation resources for customer support and services, recently summarized in an interview with Customer Service newsletter, "We have plenty of self-service options on Southwest.com, and we figure that if someone's calling, it's because they want to speak to us."

Instead of treating phone calls as overflow from the website, Southwest treats calls as important interactions that can't be resolved via the other self-service channels. In order to maintain a high-quality experience, the company installed virtual queuing software that allows customers who reach the queue to hang up, and receive a call back from a live agent. This feature helps customers feel as if they are important, and puts the responsibility for completing the service request back on Southwest. As a result, callers who can "help themselves" via the website do so, and those who need extra help are not treated like second-class citizens. 

We know that customers often want to "help themselves." But they also want to be given a choice – and, when it's too difficult, they want the option of asking for assistance. It's important not to leave customers feeling like they are doing your job. Don't give the impression that speaking with a live person is a last-resort option. Don't charge your customers a fee for asking for basic service. Most important, don't squander opportunities to show customers you care by eliminating one-on-one interactions.

About the Author: Eric Camulli is Chief Technology Officer of Virtual Hold Technology