It’s late, you’re trying to access a file saved in your online cloud back up, but you’re locked out. You keep entering the password that you’ve always used, but for some reason it’s not working and you need to finish a report for tomorrow morning’s presentation, before you hit the hay. Customer service through the phone is a nightmare.

Chat communication has been on the rise, according to InternetRetailer.com’s Allison Enright. According to an E-tailing group study, sponsored by BoldSoftware, LLC, 58 percent of consumers were turning to live chat communication in 2011, which is a 4 percent increase from the previous year. The report also showed the amount of users who opted to communicate with a representative via chat was almost equivalent to those who used the phone. This finding was exciting to Lauren Freedman, who is president of the E-tailing group, because she thinks it could change the way we regard customer service forever.

Tools for Chat

Many small businesses use Skype to communicate with clients. Co-workers and independent contractors have been known to log onto Pidgin or G-chat, if they have a limited budget and are not as concerned with privacy issues. Larger businesses might be more interested in purchasing live chat software at LivePerson.com, because it offers features that are tailored specifically for businesses that are interested in communication tools that can help to drive conversions.

The Benefits

Jason Steele, of moneycrashers.com, says he loathes phone interactions with customer service as well, but he also noted that the benefits of live chat are even better than communication via email, and fax.

Just the Facts: Steele says that users, who have a chat interaction with a customer service representative, can have their interaction documented and if there are any misunderstandings or discrepancies later on, the user can have written proof of what was said during the chat communication.

Be Understood: Chatting online can be translated into any language and if you have an accent, or your rep does, you can both be understood clearly and completely.

Multi-Task: Many IT professionals find this feature to be great because they can communicate via chat with a tech customer rep, while troubleshooting a client’s hardware over the phone. You can even switch between sending emails, chatting with co-workers and researching, all while you’re issues are addressed by chat.

Repeat No More: Steele points out that chat can reduce frustrations that customers experience from having shoddy reception and dropped calls over the phone, but one other detail that is important to point out is that via phone communication, you could be transferred to several different departments. With chat, you would only need to communicate an issue to one rep once and enter your account number or social security number once.

Keep it Safe: Using chat instead of the phone can also allow a user to communicate with a rep without others, within earshot, knowing. If you’re typing out your communication, you are not distracting your co-workers with communications that are meant for only the rep to hear.

About the Author: Brent Trainer is a tweeting fiend. He loves finding new ways to build on his networking capabilities through apps and new developments in technology.