Azione Unlimited conference goers got a sneak peek into OneVision Resources' new Amazon Alexa skill yesterday as OneVision founder and CEO Joseph Kolchinsky made a two-minute teaser presentation.
Little did we know that CE Pro readers also received a clue last week, when Kolchinsky published a column warning integrators in a race to provide managed services through tech support that Amazon Echo could get there before they do.
Turns out Kolchinsky wasn't musing on some far-off notion of the marriage of voice control and customer service. He was days away from announcing his own.
A new Amazon Alexa “Tech Support” skill will allow homeowners to request technology support by simply asking Alexa to reach out for help.
“Alexa, tell tech support to give me a call.”
Within minutes of receiving the request, a OneVision Technology Specialist calls the homeowner to provide friendly and effective support.
“When we launched our services in 2016, we revolutionized the smart-home experience by providing instant, high-quality 24/7 support at no extra cost to the client,” says Kolchinsky. “By adding the Alexa Tech Support skill to our platform, we are delivering more meaningful and effective tech support that’s incredibly easy for consumers to access. Tech support is a critical component of today’s connected home and streamlining it is the first step in creating a lifelong relationship with clients.”
OneVision says setting up the Alexa skill can be done by homeowners without needing to schedule an appointment. Clients are provided with a code that they enter to link their Alexa with their OneVision Technology Manager.
The client registers their home address, email and phone number, enabling OneVision Technology Specialists to identify the client and reach out for support when a request is made through Alexa.
“We set up and tested the Alexa skill with the Amazon Echo in our showroom,” says Barney Miller, CEO of Lexington, Ky.-based integrator Barney Miller’s. “I said ‘Alexa, tell tech support to give me a call’ and in about five minutes a OneVision Technology Specialist called our store to ask if we needed help. Our clients are going to love this method of getting help from our 24/7 technology support team. It could not be easier.”
OneVision is even integrating Remote Systems Management (RSM) tools into the process. Before reaching out to the client who asked for support, OneVision is able to use RSM tools to remotely identify potential problems by looking at recent system activity, creating an environment in which problems can be solved with minimal disturbance to the homeowner.
