In Conversation with Cindy Rodriguez: Transforming Customer Support with AI at Fellow Products
Cindy Rodriguez, Customer Experience Manager at Fellow Products, joined Craig Stoss, VP of Partner Solutions at Kodif, to share insights on revolutionizing customer support through AI implementation. With over a decade of experience in customer service, including roles at Bank of America and Good Eggs, Cindy brings valuable perspective on leveraging AI to enhance customer experience while maintaining the human touch.
Quick Recap
Fellow Products, a premium coffee essentials company, partnered with Kodif to streamline their customer support operations. The implementation focused on automating routine tasks while preserving meaningful customer interactions. This strategic approach led to reduced queue times, improved agent efficiency, and enhanced customer satisfaction.
The Challenge:
Managing High-Volume Support
When Cindy joined Fellow Products, she identified critical challenges:
- Agents spending excessive time on Tier 1 tickets
- Limited self-service options for customers
- Queue congestion from routine inquiries
- Manual processes requiring multiple system interactions
“One of the very first things I identified at Fellow was that agents were taking a very long time with Tier One tickets, such as order cancellations or address updates. They were clogging up our queue, and I saw a huge opportunity to streamline these tickets and automate them.” (Cindy, 208:48)
Solution Implementation
Fellow Products implemented three key Kodif features:
1. Chatbot for self-service order modifications
2. Email automation system
3. Policy automation framework
“We launched our chatbot widget and email automation right before Black Friday. We were able to reduce noise in the queue and eliminate a high volume of order modification tickets, allowing agents to focus on more complex issues.” (Cindy, 387:68)
Maintaining the Human Element
A crucial aspect of the implementation was preserving the human touch in customer service.
“One of our mottos at Kodif is ‘less artificial, more intelligent.’ We aim to look for more intelligent generative responses that feel more human-like.” (Craig, 275:08)
Impact and Results
The implementation delivered significant benefits:
- Reduced queue congestion
- Decreased error rates
- Lower headcount costs
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Decreased return rates
“The responses from our automations are human-like, and we received positive feedback. There was a case where a customer engaged with our AI agent, expressing concern about their pet while on vacation, and the response was empathetic and engaging.” (Cindy, 462:28)
Agent Empowerment
The new system positively impacted agent satisfaction:
“They feel seen, and their feedback matters. They love using Kodif co-pilot; it’s made their work easier and more efficient.” (Cindy, 635:51)
Putting It into Practice- key actions you can implement now:
✅ Analyze support queue to identify automation opportunities for routine tickets
✅ Implement self-service options for common customer inquiries
✅ Focus on human-centric AI solutions that augment rather than replace agents
✅ Establish feedback loops between customers, agents, and automation systems
✅ Track key metrics to measure impact and optimize resource allocation
✅ Integrate systems to streamline agent workflows
✅ Maintain balance between automation and human interaction
✅ Regular review and adjustment of automated responses