Page 26 - GS230401

er
v
CoverStory
St
y
Co
o
r
An upsurge in self-help solutions has ports. While these solutions compensate for service pro-
vider personnel shortages and high employee turnover,
been a blessing and a curse for merchant they may present challenges to merchant customers who
acquirers, according to recent reports. are unaccustomed to self-help options.
While these solutions compensate for Indeed, self-service dissatisfaction was highest among
service provider personnel shortages and survey respondents with business volumes of $1 million
high employee turnover, they may present and below, J. D. Power researchers noted, adding that nu-
challenges to merchant customers who are merous respondents found the information provided to be
lacking in usefulness and clarity.
unaccustomed to self-help options.
"As self-service capabilities have improved, call centers are
typically experiencing more complex issues and frustrat-
ed customers than in the past," Cabell said. "Having the
payment methods, as a result of faster merchant account right problem-solving approach to these conversations is
funding," they wrote. Cabell concurred, advising provid- key and makes a key difference in client experience."
ers to focus on delivering seamless digital experiences by
offering to train clients on how to use digital apps, web- Of all the self-help categories, email and chat were the
sites and analytics. These tools can create a robust, durable most problematic in terms of customer satisfaction, which
onboarding experience, he added, as new restaurants be- researchers judged according to four criteria: promptness
come clients and experience events like fraud and charge- of being served; knowledge of the company representa-
backs. tive; timeliness of resolving your problem, question or re-
Manage, demystify fees quest; and courtesy of company representative.

Highlighting the need to educate SMB clients about fee "Email/online chat is rated lowest of the contact methods
prices and options, J. D. Power researchers mentioned that with a large year-over-year decline, driven by drops of
small businesses operating in restaurant and food service Promptness of being served and Knowledge of the company rep,"
sectors would like to have better support in understand- researchers wrote, alternatively citing video conference
ing payment processing and fee structures. and website interaction as high-growth areas that received
high rankings for Timeliness of resolving your problem, ques-
Cabell asserted lack of clarity about service pricing and tion or request.
fees is a leading cause of merchant services dissatisfaction, Provide smart POS
stating, "Small businesses appear to be experiencing what
feels like more surprise charges and fewer fee waivers." Gregg Aamoth, co-founder and CEO of POPcodes, agreed
Providers need to frame their merchant services solutions customer service representatives (CSRs) play a key role in
in terms of value offered by highlighting features and merchant retention. "When something goes wrong any-
benefits of their solutions beyond just payment processing where in the payment ecosystem, the inbound call vol-
and demonstrating why these options are competitively umes spike, bringing a lot of the same questions and not
priced, he added. a lot of answers," he said. "High CSR turnover and con-
stantly changing technology means repetitive CSR train-
While price sensitivity has long been a staple of the mer- ing, which puts additional stress on merchants and ser-
chant services trade, recent reports indicate merchants are vice providers."
more price sensitive than ever, especially regarding credit
card interchange and related fees. J. D. Power found most Aamoth proposed that smart terminals can solve these is-
service providers will be less likely to waive fees this year, sues by reducing deployment, training and support costs.
compared to last year (35 percent compared to 38 percent) He revealed that POPcodes is finalizing a case study with
as they strive to find the right balance between retaining a top merchant acquirer and 20,000 merchants that de-
customers and maintaining healthy margins. ployed smart POS technology in a variety of ways, includ-
ing self-serve access to FAQs, step-by-step instructions,
"There is no one answer [to balancing fees and profit mar- and QR codes that directed users to online videos and
gins] here, since the fees and customer perceptions vary guides, which, he added, helped participants reduce in-
from brand to brand," Cabell said. "However, providers bound support calls by over 50 percent.
who proactively and effectively communicate to clients
how to avoid fees and service charges are more likely to "CSRs can close inbound calls more quickly by directing
see higher client satisfaction in the long run." end-users to answers and instructions they need on the
Improve self-help smart POS terminal," Aamoth said. "This technology can
also enable real-time notifications to keep merchants and
An upsurge in self-help solutions has been a blessing and their associates informed and less frustrated when there is
a curse for merchant acquirers, according to recent re- an issue that has to be 'fixed' externally."

26