January 13, 2016
Imagine a world where you no longer have to call a contact center to resolve an issue. Instead, you can open a new app and text your concern to the company in question to get an immediate response—without having to deal with recorded messages, people who have trouble understanding the language, or excuses like “Our menu has changed.”
If Richard Smullen has his way, that will be your future, and it will be here sooner than you think. Smullen is the mastermind behind Pypestream, a new kind of standalone messaging app that, according to a report in CNN Money, “creates a direct, secure line of communication between businesses and their customers.”
The idea is deceptively simple, Smullen notes. “Most people can’t stand robotic voices,” he told CNN. “They want to be connected to a representative right away. Yet with messaging, they won’t know it’s a robot.”
Texting allows call centers to respond to many customers at once, making them much more efficient, according to CNN. As such, Pypestream will use artificial intelligence combined with machine learning so that businesses can automate more of their customer service. This appears to be a win-win for consumers.
“In Pypestream’s app, consumers can turn on ‘pypes’ for businesses they want to connect with,” the CNN report said. “Pypes allow businesses to send promotional messages to customers, and consumers can respond directly. People can also send their own messages at any time, such as ‘What’s on sale?’ and ‘Why did you charge me $5 extra this month?’”
The company launched last month and has already signed up more than 500 businesses. Among them are MetroPCS, Billboard Magazine, South African Airways, and energy provider Washington Gas. Signing up is free; companies are charged based on the number of users who interact with them.
Smullen believes that messaging will change the industry forever and asked CNN rhetorically, “Are we the ones to do it? We hope so.”