These thoughts follow up from my comments about self-service last week.

Let's consider self-service in the context of support. When customers seek support, their aim is to resolve challenges they encounter with using a particular product or service.

Yet they don't necessarily describe their aim in this way. Why? Customers often unknowingly develop habits that lead them to conflate the process of requesting resolution with the outcome of achieving it.

What is the benefit to the customer? That is the question that technology vendors frequently ask themselves as they prepare their arguments for why call center managers should purchase their products.

To answer this question in a way that is meaningful for your call center, it's a good idea to eliminate certain assumptions about the inherent rewards of automation and cost reduction.