Hayden Vink: Life In The Fast Lane

UPDATE - 1/11/09, 9:54pm - I share Diane’s concern about sticking the ePass to my iPhone . .

Last week, at the Dunedin Pak ‘N Save, my wife and I scanned, paid for and bagged our own groceries using a self-serve kiosk. This was the first kiosk of its kind I’ve ever seen or used in a supermarket, and it worked great. We were quickly on our way, and needed no assistance from any of the staff.

Using the self-service kiosk at Pak 'N Save

Today, I received my Air New Zealand ePass, and a letter explaining how I’ll be able to use it to dramatically change my experience at the airport.

An Air NZ ePass alongside a NZ$2 coin

The ePass is a small RFID tag that can be scanned by new self-service kiosks that are being progressively installed at New Zealand airports, starting with Auckland on 3 November.

The kiosks remove the need for a traditional check-in counter. If I have bags, I’ll be able to print my own tags, stick them on, the place the bags on the conveyor belt myself. If I don’t have bags, the ePass replaces the need for a boarding pass - I’ll simply ’scan in’ before I board.

The ePass is just one of a number of initiatives that Air New Zealand launched today - others included changes to the airpoints scheme, and a new online portal. But it is noteworthy because it has raised the self-service bar again: if check-in counters (and staff!) are now redundant, what else could be?

Technology, and our willingness - even preference - to serve ourselves is providing companies like Air New Zealand with golden opportunities to cut costs, improve capacity etc.

Banking is another industry that is being transformed by self-service initiatives; there is almost no need for many people to visit a branch any more, and even when there is things like “Speedy Deposit Box” reduce the need to see a real person.

As with most trends, the more popular and widespread self-service becomes, the easier it will be for organisations to identify opportunities, develop business cases, and launch their own self-service initiatives.

But I believe the more difficult - and perhaps more important - task will be to identify the situations in which in will it be far more beneficial to provide customer service delivered in person, by real people.

I think there are still - and will be for a long time yet - golden opportunities for the industries mentioned above (and many others) to differentiate themselves by the quality of such ‘real’ customer service, delivered in just the right situations.

Still . . I’m looking forward to using my ePass!