As Biden prepares to leave the White House, the US president recently came up with the "Time is Money" initiative. This regulatory move is meant to address issues like excessive paperwork and long wait times that “pad the profits of big business at the expense of everyday Americans.” While public opinion about it is mixed, Time is Money is extremely relevant for us in the world of CX.
"Biden is saying businesses put these obstacles in consumers' way deliberately, which we in the CX industry would obviously question," says Martin Taylor, Co-Founder and Deputy CEO of Content Guru.
In fact, the growing ease with which customers have been switching brands since the pandemic has driven business in the opposite direction: focusing intensely on customer experiences. But while we may disagree with the deliberateness assumption, Biden's initiative is still a red flag:
"If general public sentiment is that service is poor – that is to be taken seriously," Taylor suggests.
"Therefore, while many businesses are already going to great lengths to deliver great CX, this might indicate a need to communicate these efforts better," he says.
Two CX Forces Converged
The Biden initiative marks a new government layer being thrown to the customer service mix in America, which quite interestingly brings the United States and Europe views on CX closer together.
"The US believes in the market to sort things out but has a tradition of intervening when noticing impending market failure – which we're now seeing an example of," Taylor notes.
With Time is Money on the one hand and the EU AI Act and "the right to speak to a human" on the other, both now promote regulatory initiatives to protect consumers from corporate interests and ensure a decent level of service.
"The CX industry can definitely get on board with this, being well aware that a tightening of regulations can result in much better service," he says.
The Rise of the Customer Effort Score
The pandemic has been a major contributor to the crowning of the Customer Effort Score as the new king of CX quality measurements, as customers are likely to leave brands after as little as one bad experience.
However, some businesses continue to repeat common customer service mistakes. Whether it's forcing customers onto cheaper support channels, making it hard for them to cancel, or failing to reduce wait times – there's plenty of room for improvement.
How Does This Relate to AI?
By adopting AI-powered solutions, businesses can drive a huge improvement in their Customer Effort Scores while reducing their own efforts. Here's how: