At airports, supermarkets and big-box retailers, "customer service" in recent years has meant self-serve--aided by touch-screen kiosks.
As digital kiosks become more user-friendly and capable of handling more complicated tasks, healthcare providers, fast-food chains and other businesses say trading face-to-face encounters for face-to-monitor transactions improves service and saves money.
North American consumers in 2007 are forecast to spend more than $525bn at self-checkout lanes, ticketing kiosks and other self-service machines, including postal kiosks, according to IHL Consulting Group. That figure could reach nearly $1.3tr by 2011.
Source: CRM Buyer, http://crmbuyer.com