Organization: Walmart Customer Care
Project Summary
As one of the world’s largest retailers, Walmart experiences some of the highest rates of customer service requests in the industry.
Recognizing this, our team saw an opportunity to tackle challenges faced by customer care associates and the systems they rely on daily.
Diving into these issues, we aim to enhance both the efficiency and effectiveness of the customer service operations, ultimately improving the experience for both customers and employees.
My Responsibilities
Timeline & Team
3 weeks | UX team of 6.
What's The Problem?
Though robust, Walmart’s customer care system can be slow and inefficient and does not offer features customer care associates need to appropriately solve or flag requests.
The Goal
We believe an intuitive customer care system will enable customer care associates to quickly validate users and provide effective solutions, resulting in high user satisfaction, customer retention, and an increase in overall financial profit.
Survey Results
Associates want better tools and integrated systems.
Many asked for more communication between associates and management.
Understaffing was a major concern.
Ethnographic Research
Associates experience high volumes of requests.
The typical return process includes reason for requests, inspection, verification, and receipt.
33% of customers made a return with a receipt, while others used their credit card for validation.
User Interviews
Associates want more intuitive systems that make searching for a customer information easier.
Associates want a quick and easy way to escalate requests or call higher-ups.
Associates want a simpler way to process requests for damaged items.
Who Is the Target User?
JAY, 29
Walmart In-Store Customer Care Associate
Jay has been working as a customer care associate for three years. He is responsible for customer inquiries and providing assistance in-store. Jay is passionate about his job, and is committed to providing excellent customer care.
Needs
Streamlined customer care system that incorporates necessary tools in one platform.
To seamlessly find/retrieve customer information like product tracking.
Goals
Efficiently handle customer requests to enhance customer service experience.
Quickly validate the customer and get all necessary information about the order.
Pain Points
Not having the ability to make case-specific judgment call exceptions to policies.
Limited ability to view and use customer information to provide insights.
Potential Solutions
User-friendly customer care interface that provides necessary assistance all in one place.
Implement a system for tracking and analyzing customer feedback and complaints.
After synthesizing the information from the research phase, a minimum viable product (MVP) was determined. The synthesized insights were used to address the limitations of the current system and discover a MVP that would provide a better experience for associates.
Some Key Features of this MVP include:
The ability to flag customers and call managers.
A customer profile database.
A product catalog.
A company-wide knowledge base for frequently asked questions.
New Streamlined Task Flow
Our streamlined task flow empowers customer care associates to efficiently assist customers returning damaged items. By simplifying the process from validation to refund on the dashboard, we ensure faster transactions, improved customer satisfaction, and increased productivity for associates.
Sketching Out Ideas
Sketching digital screens with the goal to simplify associates' return process for damaged items.
Usability Testing and What To Revise
Changes for mid-fidelity wireframes based on testing results and user insights.
Scanned Receipt Screen
All items listed on receipt after scanned by associate.
Total costs in center column.
Select "Reason" Dropdown
After item is scanned, associates can select the reason for return.
Notes and remove added to menu.
Refund Screen
Associate can select the method of payment the customer wants for return.
Additional Testing and Recommendations
The screens here were used during additional usability tests, which eventually led to revisions to the design.
Issue:Users expected to see receipt totals in the bottom right corner.
Recommendation:Realign all content in receipt screen to match industry standards.
Issue:Users wanted the option to adjust quantities with minimal steps.
Recommendation:Add quantity drop down so users can adjust and remove.
The resulting mock-ups from a combo of Walmart’s existing design system, our assets, and usability testing results. Changes for mid-fidelity wireframes based on testing results and user insights.
Also seen here is the Customer Care mobile companion we designed with associates in mind. In this case, it functions as a convenient way for managers to track, approve, or deny any transaction requests from their colleagues without having to be physically present at a kiosk.
I created a simple and joyful loading screen to show system status for the associate when completing a return approval request. The animation is consistent with Walmart’s brand identity, created to replicate a loading screen on the Walmart website. The colors are Walmart brand colors, using their “rainbow” palette.
My Loading Animation
Why did we do the things we did? Design rationale enables concise explanation and intention for design decisions made.
The system was important to keep the dashboard consistent and easy to pass off to others. This also meant ensuring the designs passed accessibility tests and stayed within Walmart guidelines. Below are samples from the final design system.
The final result can be seen in this interactive prototype that guides users through the new system, including the steps managers may take on their mobile companion app.
Desktop Prototype
For the last bit of the project, I created a live page using HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap to display the design and rationale.
What Did I Do?
The overall project involved, but not limited to, the following:
Takeaways
A highlight of this project was definitely the ethnographic research which physically brought us to numerous retail stores to speak with their associates. It broaden the scope of empathy and opened our eyes to the real issues, which in turn, defined the solution.
Based on two rounds of usability testing with very positive feedback, we believe our solution was successful. Throughout our design process, we made sure to prioritize features that would address the pain points of real customer case associates we found during the research phase.
Some of our priorities included:
Easy way to associates to flag customers.
Feature allowing associates to digitally ping managers.
Simple returns interface allowing associates to report damaged items, and other complex transactions.
Scalable designs that allow for adding content and features.
Accessible visual design that caters to all users.
