I. Introduction
Customer service is a well documented problem in today’s fast paced retail world.
Standing around waiting for impolite or incompetent associates has conditioned us to
loathe visiting stores for information. Some people bypass them altogether by researching
and ordering online. For many, however, this is not an acceptable solution. Either lacking
the knowledge required navigating a website, or simply wanting to go to the actual store,
many people are forced to rely on assistance from a human being.
But what if there was an alternative? What if a customer could come in to a
crowded store, bypass all unwanted human communications, and go directly to an oasis
of information and polite assistance? That service can be provided with our solution to
the problem, the ASK, or Automated Service Kiosk.
II. Inception
The original idea of the ASK came about when a team of experts were analyzing
a common problem – poor customer service. From personal experience, the team agreed
that in one store, Best Buy, associates were hard to find, uninterested in helping, or not
competent enough to answer questions. Poor customer service in retail stores, such as the
examples mentioned, is a cause for low customer retention. And, since customer service
is on the top ten reasons as to why businesses fail,1 one could reason that improving
customer service would help maintain a healthy business.
1
Belmont University: Center for Entrepreneurship. Published 09/22/2005
http://forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/archives/003452.html
Once the problem of poor customer service had been addressed, the team came up
with subsidiary problems. When entering a store with a general idea of a product in mind
(say, for example, a digital camera), customers are obviously unaware of every possible
option. Product location in the store also plays a part, as well as availability. Associates
are hard to find and aren’t always the most polite or knowledgeable. All of these
problems degraded the customer’s in-store experience.
The proposed solution to the mentioned problem was an in-store terminal that
could provide a customer with valuable information in a concise, timely manner that
could not be achieved by a customer service associate. The terminal would provide
detailed information specific to each product in an easy to read, easy to navigate
interface. The terminal would coordinate with already existing inventory databases to
query specific information about a product, as well as location and availability.
The terminal’s integration to store databases would be as autonomous as possible.
The terminal(s) would be placed in strategic positions throughout stores in need, in a
standalone kiosk. Thus, the name ‘Automated Service Kiosk’ was coined.
III. Elaboration
In order to provide the best possible shopping experience for customers, it was
determined that a substantial amount of capabilities be built in to the ASK. The ability to
check stock availability and store location, as well as providing a simple map indicating
the location of the product were determined integral to the product. Detailed information
about specific products would be available upon request, as well as a side-by-side
comparison of similar products. Notification of sales, coupons, and rebates would also be
available. For uncommon words in the descriptions of products, a glossary would be
available (for example, to describe the purpose and applications of RAM in a digital
camera) by touching any word on the screen. A touch screen terminal used for navigating
a friendly and simple yet informative GUI would help users unaccustomed with the
typical chaotic website and keyboard / mouse.
Direct benefits to the store would be available as well. With the ability to analyze
what items customers are searching for, and comparing those to what items customers are
actually purchasing, store managers would have the ability to modify stock and locations
of items. In addition, the Ask could provide a clean and easy way for a customer to voice
his or her opinion directly in the store.
The physical properties of the ASK, as determined to fully alleviate the defined
problem, will involve many parts. A suggested 5 to 10 kiosks per store will be needed
(obviously, statistical research will be required to find the exact number and placement of
kiosks so as to provide stores with the best possible product for their money). A thin
client machine, containing only the minimal software and hardware, will be used for the
customer interface device. The thin client will connect to an ASK server, which does the
statistical analysis for stores, as well as interfacing with the store inventory database to
query all requested information. The store inventory database will need to be completely
accessible by the ASK server.
III. Construction
Development of the ASK prototype will involve multiple parts simulating an
actual in-store product. As indicated in figure 1, a thin client, containing the software and
Figure 1
hardware required to run the ASK will interface with our ASK server via a network
connection. The client, running a flavor of Linux, will be the only interface to customers.
It will consist of a touch-screen monitor, as well as a simple computer.
The ASK server will serve out all required software to the ASK terminals. It will
also house an internal database use for storing hit / miss analysis for store use. It will
store the necessary information as applied to the glossary and other components of the
ASK software. Additionally, it will maintain an interface with the store inventory
database, and will return all information queried back to the terminal as needed.
The store inventory database is 100% exclusive to the store – we will neither
manage nor maintain it. One will be provided if required, but will be the sole
responsibility of the store. All information related to specific products will be located in
this database (or at least will be available from a similar server). Location, stock
availability, price, product specifications, and other information to be made available to
the customer will be stored in this database.
The hardware required to connect and present the aforementioned computers is
fairly simple. Network access will be required at each terminal, and a switch with the
correct number of ports is required. Housing for individual terminals has yet to be
designed, but it will be at a reasonable height (so as to assist customers in locating the
nearest kiosk). A simple rack for housing the ASK server and switch(es) will suffice.
Figure 2 depicts the integration of the ASK software with the store inventory database.
Figure 2
The estimated cost per unit for the ASK team to build one working package (see
figure 3 for everything that is included) is slightly over $20,000. This is an all-inclusive
package – everything the store needs to get up and running is provided.
Item
Price
3 Com Network Switch (up to 24 ports)
$550.00
Dell Precision 380n & Dell E153FPT Touch Screen Monitor (x5)
$6,240.00
Dell Xeon Server (x2)
$10,000.00
Network Integration Materials
$500.00
Installation
$1000.00
Database License (MySQL)
Free!
Testing & Building
$1,829.00
Total Cost
$20,119.00
Added cost per additional thin client & touch screen monitor (each) $1,248.00
Figure 3
Not included in this figure is the optional inventory database server and Oracle
database license, which are $5,000 and $40,000 respectively.
V. Conclusion
The ASK will provide an in-store solution to an all too common problem in
today’s retail world – poor customer service. By giving detailed information, similar
product alternatives, and notification of sales, the ASK will offer a friendly, easy to use
alternative to the typical incompetent and unhelpful sales associate.