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My family and I moved from Europe to the US in 2017. We had already learned a lot about the similarities and differences between the European and the US healthcare systems, but even after three years of living in California, there’s still more to learn. And I was surprised that one of these lessons dealt with the ease of communicating with virtual agents and a human healthcare agent.
When the Coronavirus pandemic started to escalate, I had a lot of questions. But at the same time, I wanted to respect the healthcare agents’ time. After all, they need to focus on those who need urgent care rather than support me with my less-important questions. So, I hesitated to call my healthcare provider. But I had to do it when I realised that I had a preventive care appointment scheduled with my doctor.
First, I visited my provider’s website to search for guidance on whether I needed to reschedule my appointment due to the Coronavirus. I logged in and checked the FAQ first, then used the search bar to find the information. No luck.
Then I got a chat offer that started in an atypical way, “Hi, I’m Elvira, how can I help you?” This intelligent virtual agent already knew who I was and what I was looking for. The virtual agent offered proactive support to answer the specific questions I had. It answered almost all my questions, but I still had one that was sensitive — and I wanted to discuss that with a human representative. I asked the virtual agent if I could speak to a human agent and I was immediately connected to a representative.
Out of habit, I was about to explain to the agent who I am and what I already discussed with the virtual agent. But, I was surprised when the rep, “No worry, Tibor. I know who you are, and I can see what you discussed with the virtual agent. So, you don’t need to explain the context of your call. I’m happy to answer your remaining questions.”
After I got the answer to my sensitive question, we agreed to reschedule my appointment. I felt a little guilty taking up the agent’s valuable time with a rescheduling task. But that friendly agent said it was no problem; she handed me over to a virtual agent that helped me with the rescheduling.
I spent no more than five minutes total with the virtual agent, and I spent less than a minute with the human agent. Together, they answered all of my questions and rescheduled my appointment in the smoothest way possible.
The Beauty of Virtual Agents and Human Collaboration
The virtual agent handled the most time-consuming part of my support request, while the very kind human representative handled the more sensitive part of my inquiry. After the call, I felt less guilt over taking up the time of the busy healthcare agent — and I got all the answers and the service support I needed in one uninterrupted transaction.
Before the agent handed me back to the virtual agent, I heard in the background “Honey, lunch is ready…” Was she at working from home — just like me? Probably.
Learn more about how Google and Genesys joined forces to deliver the best possible customer experiences in such challenging times. See how we’re seamlessly blending specialised virtual agents and human interactions.
