tablet kiosk solutions
Self-service is quickly becoming the norm
and is expected by many consumers in
a variety of different situations. Society
has come to terms with self-service
and its benefits are widely accepted for
both consumer and business. Shoppers
can save time, avoid human contact,
maintain control and businesses can
save money on staffing resources.
The only problem is that the
self-service experience is not quite
up to scratch, with many retailers
and businesses not embracing new
technology quickly enough to keep up
with consumer expectations. The journey
to get the masses accepting self-service
was not so smooth, here we are going
to have a brief trip through self-service
history, look at today’s options and
then look further into the future at how
self-service will pro vide the ultimate
customer experience.
A less than positive start
People didn’t always respond to selfservice in a positive way. With the start of
the self-service revolution beginning to
take place after the Second World War,
many were resistant to this new way of
life that seemed to be beneficial only to
corporations.
When supermarkets first established
self-service in the 1950’s, customers
were presented with shopping baskets
and instructed to collect their own
goods. Unfortunately there was a
fear regarding a lack of knowledge
and understanding of what they were
supposed to do.
Now in the 21st century the gradual
transition of self-service towards a
technology based solution was not
a popular concept with consumers.
With difficult interfaces and glitching
software, it seemed to the user that the
only beneficiaries of self-service were
businesses.
Over time, improvements and
breakthroughs in technology have
allowed companies to create a better
user experience with more intuitive
software and engaging interfaces. This
journey of constant improvement has
won over many self-service sceptics with
it now being accepted as an ordinary
part of everyday life.
With automated technology
performing tasks at double the speed
of humans, people are now associating
self-service with saving themselves
time and money. From supermarket
checkouts to express check in stations
at hotels, consumers now feel in control
and empowered, with a greater level of
choice and flexibility.
Since the start of the self-service
revolution, society has become more
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