What matters most to modern customers? Convenience and efficiency.
Instead of waiting to get answers or working through cumbersome phone systems, customers want self-service options to quickly find information, solve issues, and move on with their lives. Self-service has seen incredible growth in recent years, and this is just the beginning. 81% of customers want more self-service options.
Self-service options range from online FAQ portals and communities to chatbots, kiosks, and knowledge centers. But no matter their form, self-service can significantly lower costs, reduce wait times, and improve employee experience—all while delivering a high-quality and convenient customer experience.
Here are 20 of the best examples of self-service:
1. Amazon Offers Streamlined and Personalized Online Support
Like the rest of its brand, Amazon’s self-service page is personalized and intuitive, with information catered to each customer’s specific item or problem. Troubleshooting help is broken into categories, which leads to more detailed questions and solutions. The interactive content is easy to understand and links to chat or request a phone call for more support.
2. Squarespace Builds a Community Around Self-Service Resources
Aside from engaging support articles and videos that are organized by topic for easy access, Squarespace also creates a community of users to share tips and answer questions in the forum. Squarespace hosts regular webinars to help users get the most out of its product.
3. Hilton Guests Control Their Stay Through Mobile App
Hilton gives loyalty program members incredible self-service options through the app. Guests can set the exact room they want, order meals, check in and out, and unlock rooms and elevators with a digital key. Guests can order room service through the app and track its progress as it moves from the kitchen.
4. Babylon Health Symptom Check Bot Gives Quick Answers
Using machine learning and AI, the Babylon Health symptom checker bot allows patients to enter their symptoms and risk factors. It then provides potential causes and next steps, such as scheduling an appointment or getting over-the-counter medicine. The bot is a time-saver for doctors and patients, who can get an accurate diagnosis and proceed with treatment.
5. Walmart Guides Customers with In-Store Wayfinding Kiosks
Walmart is testing in-store kiosks to help customers locate 300,000 specific products, down to their exact location on the shelf and real-time data of how many items are in stock. Customers type in their desired item and instantly get directions and a 3D map to the correct aisle. They can also use the kiosk to ship oversized or heavy items to their homes.
6. Optimum Chatbot Streamlines Reporting Outages
Optimum’s chatbot solves a major pain point for TV and internet customers: reporting outages and getting updates when issues arise. Customers simply text their issue, and the bot instantly responds with the best solution, including personalized timetables of when to expect a resolution.
7. MacPaw Provides Answers and Welcomes Suggestions
The software company’s help page is broken down into categories for each app so customers can quickly jump to the right section. Customers can find FAQs, articles, and contact support on each product’s page. But the most unique feature is the ability to suggest a feature through a simple form, which adds a collaborative element to self-service.
8. Home Depot Offers Secure Pick-Up Lockers
Instead of waiting for in-person support, Home Depot customers can order items online and pick them up in the store’s convenient and secure pick-up lockers. Customers get a pin number or QR code when their order is ready, which opens the door with their items inside.
9. Urban Stems Seamlessly Moves from Bot to Live Chat
When they have questions or concerns, customers of the online flower marketplace can chat with a bot to quickly get answers. Customers can seamlessly transfer to a live chat with a human for more complicated issues at any point. Giving customers the live chat option from the start gives them more control over the experience.
10. GoMoto Kiosks Allow for 24/7 Dealership Check In
Instead of waiting to check in or drop their vehicle off for maintenance during business hours, customers at dealerships across the country can use GoMoto kiosks to check in, report issues, and securely drop off their keys. When service is done, customers can use the outdoor kiosks to securely open a locker with their keys inside, make a payment, and drive away.
11. Apple Streamlines Self-Service Answers and Repairs
Apple support is known for its clear and concise search options. Customers are directed to the right resources as they answer more questions about their issues. With Apple’s self-service repairs, customers can request repair kits for their devices and get instructions on repairing their phones, tablets, and computers from home.
12. Google Builds Strong Support Communities
The tech giant leverages its billions of customers to create communities for advice and best practices. The help page is broken down by product. Within each section, customers can ask questions and get help from other users and product experts with a track record of excellent answers.
13. Quest Diagnostics Cuts Wait Time with Kiosks
Medical lab company Quest Diagnostics cuts wait times with interactive kiosks that patients can use to check in, upload insurance information, and make payments. The devices help patients be seen faster, allowing medical staff to spend more time working with patients and less on administrative tasks.
14. Cosmopolitan Hotel Uses a Digital Concierge with Personality
The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas is known for its helpful (and sassy) digital concierge named Rose. Guests can chat with Rose to book show tickets and dinner reservations and ask questions about local attractions and hotel amenities—all with a playful personality. The convenient service leads guests who chat with Rose to spend 37% more at the hotel.
15. WYNN Guests Get Voice-Activated Service
Another Vegas hotel leading in self-service is the WYNN and Encore Resort, which installed Alexa Echo devices in every guest room. Instead of calling the front desk, the bot provides quick, personalized service. With voice activation, guests can ask the device for everything from the weather to room service ordering and changing the temperature and lights in the room.
16. Santander Leaves Room for Customer Updates
Customers using the self-service portal for retail banking company Santander can search for answers on their own or chat with a bot. Articles are divided into common categories for easy searching. At the bottom of each piece, customers can provide feedback on anything that needs to be tweaked or updated so that the resources are always clear and current.
17. Fabletics Adds Real-Time Features to Price Checkers
The activewear store takes the price checker to the next level with a kiosk that tracks real-time inventory information and product details and even allows customers to leave feedback. Fabletics reports that empowering customers boosts satisfaction and increases employee productivity.
18. Lemonade Bot Simplifies Self-Service Insurance
The innovative insurance company Lemonade uses a chatbot named Maya to interact with customers in a friendly and easy-to-understand way. Maya guides customers through getting an insurance quote and upsells them to personalized product recommendations.
19. Albertsons Streamlines Grocery Shopping with In-Store Lockers
Albertsons gives customers full control over when to pick up their groceries with temperature-controlled lockers at stores nationwide. Customers order their items through an app, and employees shop for them and put the items in specialized lockers to keep them cold or hot. When customers are ready to pick up their groceries, they check in at the lockers and can quickly get their items.
20. GrubHub Delivers Robust App Support
Grubhub makes it easy for customers to check or change their orders without contacting customer support. It only takes a click to change an order or request a refund on the app. Delivery drivers can also report delivery issues through the app instead of having to wade through a phone tree.
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Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist and the bestselling author of The Customer of the Future. For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
