Online shopping can be tough. Sure, its convenient, but aside from taking advantage of shopping while you lounge around in bed, how do you really know if that item is going to fit? How can you tell how tall something really is? There are so many sites, so many products, but how can we tell what really will be worth our money? I recently came across a few sites that offer a "chat with a product specialist" button. I have done some research in this, because the actual title itself intrigued me a bit. What exactly is this? I have learned that these people are just like you and me! They work for one of their favorite companies, and are there to help with any online shopping question, all answered because of their own personal experience! How Handy is that!? There have been some bad reviews on this particular feature, because a lot of people expect them to have information that customer service would have, so when they cannot help with an order, they get angry, and automatically the chat option is useless. I also noticed that there are times where the chat feature follows you around the site, so it leaves you no choice but to click it, even when you do not want to. I get how that can be annoying. I personally have found this feature to be very useful, and I encourage all you on line shoppers to give the chat a go the next time you are online and cannot decide between the medium or the large top, the size 9 or 10 shoe. What color is Cassis anyway? These people are here to help, and with my experience from using that feature, I have some great fitting outfits! What do you think about having this feature? What annoys you about it?
I haven't seen that feature on the sites where I do my shopping. But if whoever is on the other side intends to help [though I believe their job is to convince you to buy whatever product it is you want to buy], then I think I could use their help. Nonetheless if I'm expected to chat with a salesman first before making a purchase then maybe I might not buy anything from that site. I hate sales people.
You know call centers, right? They don't function just on phone calls, but also online helplines as well. I used to work for Sprint in an offshore call center and I provided both phone and online support. The online support pretty much meant people would tell me what they need in a phone and I would recommend X model or Y model. It's just shopping assistant that is online. Don't let the name fool you.
