Most enquiries are the same five questions
Where is my order, what is the delivery cost, does this fit, can I return it, and can I change my order. In most stores those five account for the large majority of contacts.
All five have documented answers, which means all five can be handled without a person for most customers.
Answer them before they are asked
- Order status — proactive dispatch and delivery notifications with tracking
- Delivery cost — on the product page, not only in a policy
- Fit and compatibility — on the product page, in detail
- Returns — clear policy and self-service requests
- Order changes — a self-service window before dispatch
Proactive notification removes more support contacts than any help centre. Customers ask where their order is because nobody told them.
What must stay human
- Anything that has gone wrong — damaged, missing, faulty
- Complaints of any kind
- Anything about money owed in either direction
- Anything where a customer is upset
- Anything unusual enough that a wrong answer would compound it
Measure the right things
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Contacts per hundred orders | Whether the store explains itself |
| First response time | The main driver of satisfaction |
| Contacts by reason | What to fix next |
| Repeat contacts on one order | Something is not being resolved |
Contacts per hundred orders falling while orders rise is the number that shows the approach is working.
Fix causes, not just responses
A store answering the same sizing question forty times a month should change the product page, not get faster at answering. The response is a symptom; the page is the cause.
Reviewing contact reasons monthly and fixing the top one is what keeps support volume flat while the business grows.