Remember in the movie Back to the Future Part II when Marty McFly goes into Cafe 80s? The first thing you see is a woman sitting at the bar placing her order with Michael Jackson. Well, not the real Michael, but a screen that allows the customer to interact with the late musician. When Marty goes to order his Pepsi, he doesn't talk with a waiter or waitress. Instead, he orders with Ronald Reagan and Khomeini-- or better said; their avatars.
I'm taking you down memory lane because of a recent article I read. The article got me thinking: Is the idea of using avatars in customer service bad for business? My initial thought was that customer service should be hands-on-- a person-to-person interaction with a friendly smile or a hand shake. Customer service should involve a representative that can’t break down. But then I started thinking of how many times I've gone into a retail store, airport, or hospital only to find that there was no one around to help, employees were too busy, or I received bad information. I guess humans can break down, too.
Imagine walking into Wal-Mart and rather than seeing a friendly, elderly man as the greeter, you are welcomed by a holographic image of Sam Walton himself. Actually, that doesn't sound too far-fetched. We already have interactive digital signs, 3-D animation, and holographic images-- why not combine all of these technologies to enhance our customer service? In my opinion, it would be cool to ask the founder of Wal-Mart which aisle the orange juice is in.
Now, I'm not saying I want holographic avatars to take all of the Wal-Mart greeter jobs. But it would be functional and captivating to see this technology. Instead of kiosk directory outlining how to get from point A to B, the avatar could simply tell you (or print it for you). I can see this concept being used for way-finding in the near future, but believe its capabilities are limitless.
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