Hexclad, the leader in Hybrid Cookware Technology that Gordon Ramsay himself uses in his own home, prioritizes a best in class customer experience.. In gearing up for Black Friday/Cyber Monday for the 2023 year, HexClad decided to take a unique approach. HexClad completely overhauled their customer experience for any post purchase support inquiries by leveraging Hark’s platform.
It worked… and the results were ‘sizzling’ (sorry, we had to), including a tremendous 79% improvement in average resolution time, a 28% reduction in average reply count, a 53% increase in one-touch resolution (resulting in 92 hours saved for their team), and an impressive 77% decrease in average reopen rate!
Qualitatively, Hark helped provide quicker feedback loops for more complicated inquiries including damages, sticking issues, and more. The extra context fostered more cross departmental collaboration which led to quicker solutions being implemented. This provided their team with context like never before and took their Voice of Customer program to new heights!
Prior to implementing Hark, HexClad used a static form as its main communication channel. Moving to the Hark platform offered multi-modality and a frictionless, and more enjoyable customer experience.
This strategic shift aligned with HexClad's goal of offering efficient yet personalized post-sale support as the customer invited them into their home and shared context they were missing out on with only text based inquiries.
HexClad measures agent efficiency by analyzing Average Time to Resolution, Reply Rate, One-Touch Resolution, Re-Open Rate & overall time saved. Let’s dig into each one…
HexClad experienced a remarkable 79% improvement in average resolution time. With customers sending in-depth video and audio messages that are transcribed, summarized, and organized into an easy to understand format, the HexClad team has the perfect ticket at their fingertips so they can handle higher volume periods with ease.
With Hark's implementation, HexClad witnessed a significant 28% decrease in the average reply count. By reducing the number of interactions typically required to resolve issues when only plain text is sent in, HexClad optimized its support operations while having an even better understanding of the customer voice.
Hark's platform empowered HexClad to achieve a huge 53% increase in one-touch resolution! With customers sending in video and audio messages (or even text based submissions that required multiple photos off the bat) showing details like tiny scratches or hard to clean spots, the HexClad team had everything they needed up front in order to send the customer a detailed solution to the problem they faced.
Because of the increase in one-touch resolution, the HexClad team saved 92 hours during resolution time with Hark. By leveraging Hark's capabilities to deliver all the necessary context upfront and organizing all the data into the perfect ticket, CX agents get time back to give customers a deeper level of personalization during the support process.
HexClad experienced a substantial 77% improvement in the average reopen rate, showcasing the effectiveness of Hark's solutions in resolving issues comprehensively. By addressing customer concerns more effectively on the first interaction, HexClad reduced the need for customers to reopen tickets, leading to improved satisfaction and loyalty.
Before implementing Hark, HexClad's warranty process involved customers navigating a lengthy form, followed by sending photos after multiple touch points (sometimes running into file issues). With Hark, customers were now asked to send a video showing and explaining why they wanted to submit a claim. With this simple change of capturing a video on the first touch, HexClad could better address warranty claims, minimizing back-and-forth communication and expediting resolution times.
We asked Michael Ludwig, Head of Customer Service at HexClad, about his overall experience with Hark:
“If I was to explain Hark to a friend or someone that's potentially interested in it, the way I would explain Hark is that it allows your customers to communicate with you in a way that comes natural to them. And because it comes natural to them, you're getting much richer data at the end of the day to make the experience that much better for your customer because there's less guessing and there is more time allocated to connecting with your customer.”
HexClad customers also praised the new support approach, expressing appreciation on various support forums and Facebook pages for the ease of reaching out with issues and the ability to provide video or audio recordings. Michael reached out to one customer to ask about his experience:
“He {HexClad customer} appreciated the fact that we were providing technologies that aided in his ability to tell us his concern and it took very little effort on his side. He said that because of Hark he was able to submit his concern quicker than he would have if he would have had to type everything out so he appreciated it…he told us he was blown away.”
Unprompted reviews on various social platforms echoed the sentiment that HexClad's customer support through Hark was unparalleled and innovative:
“Our customers proactively talked to other customers about how easy it is to get in touch with the HexClad brand”
HexClad's partnership with Hark has revolutionized its customer support approach, driving significant improvements in resolution time, interaction efficiency, and customer satisfaction. As HexClad continues to prioritize exceptional service, they look forward to further collaboration with Hark to enhance the customer experience and support their ongoing growth and success in the cookware market!
To end this study, here’s what Michael had to say about working with the Hark team:
“The only expectation that we had was for [Hark] to pleasantly surprise us. And they delivered on that. That's really what I love about [the Hark team] is that everything is so authentic and that at the end of the day, they want us to succeed as much as we want to succeed.”
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Real-world impact and outcomes of brands that harnessed the power of Hark for customer support transformation.
