Efecte Blog

Self-service Check-in

People hate wasting time.

I can still remember when self-service check-in was introduced to air traveling. What a relief! No more queueing at the airport, at least an hour saved in time, and no need to listen to the bossing of airline “service” desk clerks. The same with online banking: why would I queue in the bank just for paying bills? And again the same with IT: why can’t I just get the services online?

What if IT could state: “All services available online. No more hassle.”

• No ambiguous intranet sites that try to explain you what services are available and how
• No lengthy email conversations or complex forms when ordering services
• No annoyingly complicated phone calls with Service Desk
• Clear understanding of what you will actually get when ordering
• Immediate completion of the service

IT can easily offer most of its services online as a self-service if it just decides to. Gartner has estimated that up to 40% of all contacts could be handled through self-service, while the current average is 5%. Cost of one contact is about 3-7€ in self-service, 13-16€ in the first line support, and it multiplies when going further.

For the business: this is productivity and customer satisfaction talking. All your employees spend less time in ordering, and they get their services faster.

Self-service is making breakthroughs in every single business: bookstores, retail stores, banking, traveling, etc. You can even order tailor-made suits and dress shirts through an online self-service. IT has all the means to do the same with their services. This is what their customers expect and need. Wouldn’t it be great to witness that surprised smile on the customer’s face: wow, this was easy!

IT self-service has arrived. Check in on time to get the best seats.

P.S. The self-service check-in systems broke down at the airport the other day. This caused huge queues at the airport, and increased pressure for getting to the plane on time. I didn’t have time to eat breakfast at the airport, and you can all picture the taste of that dry airplane bread stuck in my throat. Some self-service love around here.