“Fluffy consultants”: Epicenter chain has launched a virtual counseling service
17 April 11:49
The Epicenter retail chain has introduced a new virtual counseling system based on QR codes, a Telegram bot, and an automated backend in its centers. This is reported on the company’s website, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs.
The service is presented by the team of “Fluffy Consultants”. As explained by the company’s press service, they are pets of the company’s mobilized employees. Meet them.
Richard is an eight-year-old trickster cat. While his owner, Serhiy, is defending Ukraine, Richard decided not to stand aside and joined the team of furry consultants….
Businka is a very energetic dog, without whom it is impossible to do anything! She is always on the move and ready to help. Her owner Yuriy is at the forefront and Busya misses him very much.
Sonya is a little restless explorer. Her owner Yuriy, a salesman and now a soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine, knows well that if you let Sonia out of her cage, it is almost impossible to stop her!
Monty is a ginger furry dog who knows the true value of a hug. His owner, Dmytro, used to work as a security guard and now defends Ukraine. Monty, meanwhile, remained the main furry caretaker in the family….
Sirko is a real hurricane of joy and energy! He is not just a dog, but a master of fun and a loyal friend of his owner, sales specialist Volodymyr. His element is movement.
In addition to their technical function, animal characters also play a communication role, as they help to communicate the reasons for consultants’ absence to customers in a gentle way and reduce the level of dissatisfaction.
As Yuriy Kudlyk, Director of Online Sales and Customer Service, explained, more than 4,000 Epicenter employees have been mobilized since the start of the full-scale invasion.
“The company keeps their jobs and regularly pays their salaries while they are doing their military service. At the same time, the staff shortage has already reached 18%. Of all the complaints in shopping centers, 50% are related to the lack of a consultant,” says Yuriy Kudlyk.
Accordingly, the main goal of the project is to compensate for the shortage of staff in sales areas by introducing fast digital customer service.
How “Fluffy Consultants” work
Epicenter said that the pilot testing of the project took place over 6 months.
Now there are life-size figures of animals in the sales area, each with a personalized QR code. By scanning it, the buyer receives a set of options to solve their issue:
Calling a real consultant.
Request for the delivery of goods from the warehouse.
Ordering a service.
Checking the price of goods through the built-in scanner.
Online ordering.
Interactive navigation in the shopping center.
Requests are instantly sent to the staff’s Telegram bot with an exact indication of the customer’s location in the store and the reason for the request. This reduces the response time and minimizes the “loss” of customers in the store. The system also records the speed of fulfillment of requests and allows you to leave an assessment of the quality of service.
