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A customer service robot lands a retail job

Lowe's is experimenting with customer service robots. What could possibly go wrong?

December 2, 2014 by Jeannie Walters — Chief Customer Experience Investigator, 360Connext

Home improvement store Lowe's is beginning to experiment with customer service robots.

Yes, that's right. Robots.

I think there is a lot here that can work. Robots don't take breaks or get tired of answering the same question over and over again. They can scan a doohickey you found in your garage and let you know what it's called. They can provide useful tips for how to use a specific tool. All good things for customers.

But robots also don't necessarily get nuance or sarcasm or humanity. So I'm very curious to watch this pilot and see what happens.

When designing any customer experience, it's critical to think about what could (and inevitably will) go wrong. Innovation is so incredibly intoxicating we sometimes wish for the best and ignore the rest. This tangible example of extreme innovation is exciting! What could possibly go wrong with robots? I mean, except for the obvious takeover of the human race thing. It's a great example to think through for the potential hiccups we know could happen.

What if the robot is wrong? What sort of recourse does the human customer have? Is there a button to push to get human help? Or is the onus on the customer to track down a real-live person?

What if the robot malfunctions? Does the customer stand there while the robot screen goes on thefritzand the robot voice becomes a slowed-down version of itself?

What if the robot arrives and the product is out of stock or misplaced? The robot uses scanners and beacons (at least that's my understanding) but if the product isn't where it's supposed to be, how can the robot and customer track it down?

I'm not saying Lowe's hasn't thought about all of these "what if" scenarios. I hope they have. It's an example of innovation for the purpose of helping customers have a better experience in their stores.

With that in mind, what else could robots improve?

Robots in airports have been discussed before, and for good reason. Imagine a robot who speaks your language anywhere in the world. They could help weary travelers book their ticket, find their gates and ask for help. This same idea could be applied to grocery stores, libraries, warehouse clubs. Anywhere people have trouble finding what they need, when they need it.

Ever try to find your way through a large hospital? A robot to guide you might be more comfortable than asking the information desk for where you have to go for your colonoscopy.

Innovation is vital to continue to deliver more than your competitors. It can be amazing. It can also lead to unforeseen issues if the "what ifs" aren't carefully considered in the experience design phase. I'll be watching Lowe's and this experiment carefully. What's next in experience innovation? Where do you think we could use robots today?

Photo credit: peyri via Commons license.