Welcome to The New World Of Tolling Customer Service

Gone are the days when human agents were the sole means of communication between businesses and customers. Nowadays, customer service encompasses a wide range of channels, including interactive voice response, AI emails, chatbots, and voice biometrics (using an individual's voice for authentication), among others.

In this evolving landscape, our industry must address some challenges. One example includes very specific customer preferences to determine the most effective ways of introducing new technologies. It is crucial to strike the right balance between customer outreach and staffing when adopting these features. Additionally, this same team must understand the integration of emerging products and applications with back-office systems to ensure a seamless and disruption-free deployment that simplifies customer service.

 A good example includes a customer service engagement Emovis designed for a project in the Borough of Halton, located in northwest England. The Silver Jubilee Bridge, built in 1961, faced chronic congestion issues, environmental problems and other related concerns. As a response, the Borough of Halton built the Mersey Gateway Crossing in 2017. To recapture lost revenue, Halton hired Emovis to understand the community's vision, secure funding, and support the project effectively. Because of the strong planning and communication with the community, Emovis created a tolling solution, specifically an in-house customer care center, that received widespread support and generated the necessary revenue to meet the borough's contractual obligations.  And, according to a Halton driver survey, the vast majority of registered customers expressed satisfaction or great happiness with their new experience. Most Mersey Bridge customers agree that it saves them time compared to the period before the implementation. Moreover, a significant percentage of customers found the payment process easy, because various payment options were available.

The team at Emovis says that there were three crucial objectives to complete this project effectively:

• Provide an exceptional customer experience: In the realm of tolling, focusing solely on the client who bears the financial responsibility is insufficient. Vendors must prioritize satisfying the end customers—the motorists. A top-quality customer service experience should always take precedence over productivity gains, with technology as an enabler rather than a standalone solution.
• Foster strong employee engagement: Human teams form the foundation of robust customer service. As a result, tolling solution providers need to attract and retain the best talent, offering competitive compensation packages, supportive HR policies, personal development opportunities, and other incentives.
• Cultivate close partnerships with clients: Vendors must fully understand their clients' priorities and collaborate closely to establish clear, visible Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) throughout the partnership. In the case of the Mersey Gateway Crossing project, key stakeholders included elected city council members whose re-elections are influenced, in part, by the project's results. Different stakeholders may have varying motivations, depending on whether they operate in the private or public sector.

So, while technology plays a significant role in shaping the tolling industry, it’s essential to acknowledge that human interaction remains at the core. Regardless of how much technology improves and disrupts tolling, trust will always be a constant factor. This principle must be evident to clients, employees, and customers alike.

Bob Williams is a U.S. program manager at Emovis. More about Emovis is available at www.Emovis.com.