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 Delivering the service promise. Finally, commitments must be deliv-

ered through on-site service, support from employees and physical 

fulfilment. If not, online credibility is destroyed and a customer may 

never return.

As a conclusion to this section review Mini case study 9.10, which shows 

how one company delivers service quality online.

Will software replace ‘humanware’?

‘Some remote customer service 

contacts will always require personal, 

human interaction rather than 

automated electronic responses.’

Debate 9.2

Mini Case Study 9.10

In 2005, Barclays deployed web  self‑  service to answer customers’ question online and reduce the 

100,000 monthly calls to its helpdesk. Accessible on every page, via ‘Ask a question’, the Barclays solution 

allows customers to ask questions and receive meaningful, accurate answers on any subject from credit 

card offers to information about how the company credit scores.

In the first 12 months, ‘Ask a question’ was used by 350,000 customers and answered more than half 

a million questions. Only 8% of customers escalated through to the call centre, pointing to high levels of 

customer satisfaction and resulting in improvements to  call‑  centre efficiency and quality of service. In 2007, 

more than 2 million customers used ‘Ask a question’ to find answers to their questions.

‘Ask a question’ is providing invaluable insight at the critical  decision‑  making process about what con‑

cerns customers have and what products are of interest. For example, it identified a higher demand from 

personal banking customers for making foreign currency payments than was previously known to Barclays. 

This information is being used to inform the bank about customer trends and requirements, and for creating 

 customer‑  driven  website  content.

It was apparent that website visitors who ask questions through web  self‑  service were more than cas‑

ual browsers but customers with genuine buying requirements. There was potential to increase sales con‑

version by putting the right information and product offer in front of these customers based on what they 

were asking about. ‘Ask a question’ was enhanced to incorporate ad‑serving, which serves up targeted 

Online customer service at Barclays

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