Sonyʼs purpose is to fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology The Japanese word Kando is somewhat difficult to translate directly but is about the enjoyment and emotion of things that make creativity a pleasure. It is core to Sonyʼs Purpose, which is: “to fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technologyˮ In line with that purpose, Sony strives to create Kando not only through innovative products that create Kando by themselves, but also with a strong commitment to an accessibility mindset. Sonyʼs European Contact Center Operations team is fully aligned with this mindset which led to their accessibility initiatives, initially across Europe but now including other regions too. The Challenge & Objective The Challenge The Contact Center Operations team were keen to create Kando for all of their customers, no matter what their abilities, preferences or accommodations might be. They were very aware for example that support through traditional channels was not always ideal for blind or low vision customers. It was clear that a dedicated team, trained in responding to the specific needs of blind or low vision customers, would be needed. It was also identified very early on that any solution implemented must include real-time video streaming at the user end so that the agents could quickly assess the nature of the request or problem. The Objective The desire to address these challenges resulted in Sony identifying some very clear criteria and objectives by which to measure success. They were to: Provide clear and helpful information to all Sony customers in need of visual support Increase satisfaction scores for blind or low vision customers Reduce issue resolution times for their blind or low vision customers Increase Sony accolades globally as a leader in providing access to people with disabilities and enhance its disability inclusive strategy The Solution After an extensive market evaluation, the Sony team chose a solution from Be My Eyes which included Service Connect and Service Directory, part of the Be My Eyesʼ Accessible Customer Service suite of products. The decision was based on several factors including: – A customized solution for blind or low vision users with useful video features for agents – Market leadership and footprint of the Be My Eyes user base – Low implementation costs As part of the solution, Sony is now listed within Service Directory, a directory listing of the service desks of many of the worldʼs leading brands. Sony customers who are blind simply locate the listing and connect directly to a dedicated Sony service team through the Be My Eyes app with their smart device camera, allowing the problem to be viewed in real-time by Sony agents. Seeing the problem first hand allows the agents to arbitrage the request, identify any issues and resolve them more quickly, and more accurately. Results The results have been astounding, with customer satisfaction CSAT scores now running consistently over 95%. So successful was the initial implementation in Europe, that it has now been expanded to run across not only Europe, but also North America contact centers, servicing seven languages and numerous product lines. The implementation has also become a reference for good practice that Sony has promoted at numerous internal and external events such as Sony Entertainment Technology Showcase, Techshare Pro and NAIDEX. “The fact that we’re able to support customers through video is amazing – it makes it so much easier for us to know what is going on and to provide better assistance. But more importantly, customers tell us that these services are helpful to them to show us what they want.ˮ Sony Agent
