The hottest Customer Service Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

LLM links

In My Tribe • 136 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Robotics Customer Service Language Models Artificial Intelligence
  1. Chatbots like Gemini can reflect biases based on data sources - having diverse datasets can prevent skewed outcomes.
  2. Human brains and Large Language Models (LLMs) share similarities in predicting and processing information.
  3. AI assistants like Klarna's are proving effective in handling customer service inquiries, improving efficiency, and customer experience.

Balancing Speed and Sustainability: The Operational Dilemma of Reusable Cups in Drive-Thrus

Gad’s Newsletter • 50 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
💼 Business Sustainability Operations Efficiency Customer Service Environmental Impact
  1. Introducing reusable cups in drive-thrus can slow down the service, leading to longer wait times and potential inefficiencies.
  2. Starbucks' focus on operational efficiency conflicts with the introduction of reusable cups, impacting speed and customer satisfaction.
  3. Visible queues in drive-thrus make operational inefficiencies more apparent, potentially affecting customer decisions and perception.
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Airbnb’s Algorithmic Odyssey: Balancing Automation, Pricing, and User Trust

Gad’s Newsletter • 35 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
💼 Business Technology Processes Market Dynamics Customer Service
  1. Airbnb's core pillars for a great service include affordable prices, reliability, and customer support during issues.
  2. Airbnb faces challenges with customer support, especially with cancellations and non-existent listings, impacting trustworthiness.
  3. Achieving 'product and process market fit' is crucial for companies like Airbnb to align product value with operational processes to meet market demands.

Services That Scale

Build To Scale • 19 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Management Startups Sales Customer Service
  1. Professional services can be a significant revenue enabler and differentiator for enterprise software companies.
  2. Implementing a 'Concierge' offering can help address customer challenges and lead to larger subscription deals.
  3. Offering hands-on assistance during implementation and troubleshooting can increase customer satisfaction and improve product-market fit.

Everyday examples of mundane low-stakes data modeling fails

Data: Made Not Found (by danah) • 51 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Data Modeling Supply Chains Customer Service Delivery Services
  1. Focusing on low-stakes data modeling failures is important to understand how algorithms are shaping minor aspects of our lives.
  2. Supply chains and service-based businesses are facing challenges from flawed data modeling, affecting customers, workers, and businesses.
  3. Everyday interactions like car rentals and food delivery are revealing flaws in data modeling, leading to frustration and distrust in brands.

How to handle top customer objections, create powerful case studies & measure product-market fit.

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 17 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
💼 Business Sales Customer Service Marketing Product Development Entrepreneurship
  1. Create a concern-handling template with objections, responses, and additional resources segmented by buyer journey.
  2. Develop powerful case studies by analyzing existing clients, conducting interviews, and creating various types of social proof.
  3. Measure product-market fit with the Sean Ellis Test by asking users how disappointed they would be without the product.

Customer Service as a Differentiator

Fish Food for Thought • 5 implied HN points • 11 Oct 23
💼 Business Customer Service Marketing AI Revenue Generation
  1. Service recovery paradox: Fixing a mistake can make customers more satisfied than if no mistake happened.
  2. Excellent customer support can be a competitive differentiator: Consumers value human-centered support over automated responses.
  3. Chatbots and generative AI can enhance customer interactions while maintaining cost efficiency: Implementing them can lead to higher customer loyalty and revenue.

Why AI can't replace customer service 📞

Year 2049 • 8 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI Customer Service Chatbots Productivity
  1. AI can't fully replace human customer service agents due to limitations and the importance of human connection.
  2. AI chatbots are improving but people still prefer interacting with human agents for emotional support and flexibility.
  3. The potential lies in having AI and human agents work together to enhance productivity and performance in customer service.

Heavy load: is Tesla using software to force customers to buy its parts?

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 07 Nov 22
💼 Business Regulation Customer Service Antitrust Marketing
  1. Tesla appears to be linking safety software like "Trailer Mode" to the use of its own branded tow hitch, forcing customers to buy expensive OEM parts.
  2. Using third-party tow hitches on Tesla Model X and Model Y vehicles without the Tesla Tow Package may result in safety implications and warranty issues.
  3. The situation raises concerns about potential violations of federal antitrust laws, particularly related to 'tying arrangements' where the purchase of one product necessitates the purchase of another.

Oh Air Canada!

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 17 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Chatbots Legal Customer Service Data Privacy
  1. Businesses are responsible for what their chatbots say, as established by Air Canada paying compensation due to inaccurate information provided by their chatbot.
  2. It's crucial for companies to ensure that the information provided by AI or chatbots is accurate and aligns with their actual policies to prevent legal issues and PR nightmares.
  3. Being reasonable with customers and resolving issues effectively can prevent situations from escalating to legal battles and negative publicity for a company.

Why Facebook Messenger is a big deal for customer service

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 06 May 16
🕹 Technology Social media Customer Service Messaging Artificial Intelligence Communication
  1. Facebook Messenger has been turned into a platform for customer service, allowing companies to use bots to chat with users, showing how small changes can have a big impact.
  2. The efficiency of Messenger for customer service is highlighted by its quick, familiar, and continuous interactions, bridging the gap between customers and companies.
  3. Using a messaging app like Messenger provides quick and convenient communication, with the potential to scale interactions efficiently and pave the way for AI integration in customer service.

Cool/wow

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends • 0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 15
🕹 Technology Internet VR Customer Service
  1. The future of the Internet might change due to ad-blockers potentially making it cleaner but threatening the web's infrastructure
  2. Virtual Reality is on the horizon, with experts predicting possibilities straight out of science fiction within the next decade
  3. Insights from a nine-month stint in Uber's customer service provide revealing perspectives about the company