Customer Service State and Future

Good look at state and future of customer service, including advanced tech being used.   Have noted changes in how I use customer service.   In CustomerThink:

Customer Service: Where We Are and Where We Are Going
By Fara Haron in CustomerThink

Product and service-based businesses need a place to direct customers in need. If they don’t have one, it’s a fast road to an angry audience and a poor reputation. Customer service is a constant need across industries and has been for decades. However, not much light has been shed on the vast progress of this industry over the years. It started out with confused or upset customers picking up their landline for help, but today the average contact center supports an average of nine communication channels among email, web chat, social media and much more. To provide some insight on what’s happening behind the customer inquiry scenes, let’s take a look at the evolution of the contact center. How are customers currently serviced, how can we create the most efficient environment today, and how can customers expect to communicate 20 years from now? Perhaps more importantly, what is the data about customer expectations telling us? ... "