How to chat with online shoppers
Last updated
Last updated
You’re in control of when you receive incoming chat requests from online shoppers.
From the Store App home, you can set yourself as “Available” by tapping the button shown in the image above. It’s important to only go available in the Store App when you’re able to give Virtual Shopping your full attention. That way, online shoppers will always receive a response and won’t be left either waiting or without assistance.
If you’re currently not available, simply tap again to go unavailable, and you’ll no longer receive incoming chat requests, for example, when things are especially busy on the shop floor.
When you’re available, you’ll receive notifications whenever a customer begins a chat. In the Store App, you’ll see a countdown screen, which gives you a limited amount of time to Claim the chat. This screen will also let you know if you’ve spoken with this particular shopper previously.
A – When you open the Store App, you’ll see the countdown screen. If you don’t claim the time before the timer runs out, the request will move on to other colleagues.
B – Tap the “Claim” button to start the chat with the shopper.
C – If you’re now busy, choose “Decline” in the top left corner. Remember – if you’re not able to accept chats currently, it’s best to set yourself as unavailable from the Store App home screen.
When you decline a chat, you’ll have two options:
Decline chat: This will just decline the current chat, which will be sent to other available people in your team. If you decline three requests in a row, you’ll automatically be made unavailable.
Decline and go unavailable: This will decline the current chat and make you unavailable, e.g. if you’re now busy in-store and can no longer accept chats.
Multiple available people in your team will receive the same incoming chat request at the same time. This increases the chance that it’ll be quickly claimed and the shopper won’t be kept waiting. So, occasionally, a colleague may accept a chat before you have the chance to claim it.
If no one who sees a chat request claims it in time, it will become a “Missed chat”. The shopper will be able to leave a message. Ideally, we want to avoid “missed chats”, as it keeps shoppers waiting, which is why it’s important to go unavailable if you’re no longer able to accept incoming chat requests.
