Inter-device SST Messaging for Staff Multitasking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of Self-Service technology in enterprises, such as banks, can lead to impaired customer loyalty and increased frustration due to reduced staff availability and multitasking, making it difficult for staff to efficiently assist customers using ATMs and handling in-person transactions simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for inter-device Self-Service Terminal interactions, where a request for assistance is communicated between a Self-Service Terminal and a nearby device, enabling near real-time messaging to reassure customers of assistance, allowing staff to manage multiple tasks without distracting from in-person interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If staff assist customers at in-person transactions, then service quality to in-person customers is maintained, but ability to assist ATM customers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a messaging system as an intermediary between staff and ATM customers. When staff are occupied with in-person transactions, they can send messages through the system to assist ATM customers remotely. This mediator enables simultaneous service to both customer types without direct physical interruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the assistance channel into two independent pathways: direct physical assistance for in-person customers and remote message-based assistance for ATM customers. This segmentation allows staff to handle in-person transactions while simultaneously providing support to ATM customers through the messaging system, resolving the contradiction between maintaining service quality and preserving productivity.
2Productivity
If staff multitask between in-person transactions and ATM assistance, then customer throughput increases, but service quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The messaging system serves as an intermediary that enables staff to provide quality assistance to ATM customers without requiring direct physical presence. This allows staff to maintain service quality while simultaneously handling in-person transactions, thereby increasing overall customer throughput without sacrificing service quality.
3Loss of energy
If enterprises reduce staff due to SS technology, then operational costs decrease, but service availability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system enhances self-service capability by enabling ATM customers to receive assistance through automated messaging without requiring immediate physical presence of staff. This allows enterprises to maintain service availability with reduced staff by leveraging the self-service nature of the messaging system, thereby reducing operational costs while preserving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The messaging system acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between reduced staff availability and maintained service quality. It enables asynchronous communication that allows staff to assist multiple customers sequentially without requiring simultaneous physical presence, thereby maintaining service availability with fewer employees.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and a system for inter-device Self-Service Terminal (SST) interactions are provided. A customer causes a request for assistance to be communicated from a SST during a transaction. A device in proximity to the SST accepts the request. A message is selected by a clerk of the device and relayed to the SST for presentation during the transaction. In an embodiment, the device wirelessly receives the request from a second device that is also in proximity to the SST.