The Importance of Upskilling

A couple of days ago I contacted a CMS company I had issues with some of my interactive forms; it gave an error message ‘Couldn't submit form due to a temporary issue. Try again later’. I had to submit a request through my CMS account on their customer care contact site. I had to answer questions via AI before talking to an expert.

After going through AI questions, I still didn’t receive the solution which I needed. Finally, I was put through a customer care agent by clicking receive a call back. I was called and connected to a service agent who placed me on hold for 30 seconds than hanged up on me. A minute later they returned my call, the connection was crackly, the call got hanged up.

I had to go through another round of AI questions without getting anywhere or even a basic solution. I had to repeat the process of call back and within a couple of minutes a different service agent called me back. She tested my website and stated it was because I was in “preview mode’. I stated that was not the issue. I have other interactive forms that work in preview mode. We argued and our conversations started to go around in circles. I decided to end the call. I realised the service agent who served me was not a technical expert on CMS editors she was only the frontline customer service agent.

I wasn’t connected to a technical IT CMS agent who can resolve the issue. My website error wasn’t escalated. I had to go through multiple rounds of AI questioning, and customer service agent who weren’t helpful. They made me feel; it was my misinterpretation.

After going through this experience, I realised how important frontline staff are. I had to jump through many hurdles to get through two customer service agents and not receive real help. It felt like fluff. Customer care agents should either have IT technical skills or upskill to fix errors issues; not just provide a service. Their roles are important for a better UX and CX and cannot be replaced by AI.