Like a great many of you, as soon as we had some sunny weather recently, I was all set to break out the barbecue. But my plans were soon scuppered when I realised I needed a new can of Calor gas. Undeterred, I checked for local stockists on Calor's website and got on the phone to check who had some available. On each occasion, no-one answered the phone.
So, after multiple failed attempts, I just got in the car and drove to every petrol station in the area until I found someone with Calor in stock. So, our barbecue did happen in the end, but my little adventure actually demonstrates a wider challenge that the retail and hospitality sectors (and others) are facing at the moment.
With retail and hospitality environments, most things have moved online (e.g. bookings, opening hours, or to check stock if click-and-collect is available), but there are still lots of scenarios where people still call up. For example:
"Sorry, I'm running 10 minutes late, but I want to keep my reservation."
"Are you dog friendly?"
"Are you open this bank holiday?"
The challenge here is that many businesses in retail and hospitality (pubs and restaurants, for example) are unlikely to be running dedicated call centres, and their staff are going to be on their feet all day, attending to guests rather waiting by the phone. If a customer can't find the information they're looking for online and isn't able to speak to a member of staff, then their options are to risk it and make a booking or order regardless, continue to wait on hold, or simply take their business elsewhere. None of these options make for a great customer experience.
So, how do we strike the right balance between operational efficiency and that all-important human touch? While it may seem contradictory at first glance, agentic AI potentially holds the answer.
AI agents have improved to the point where their voices are convincing enough to serve as the first point of contact over the phone, just as is now the case on many websites. This way, a caller is greeted straight away by a friendly voice rather than an automated menu or the dreaded on-hold music - an immediate improvement in the overall customer journey. But this is the clever part... Voice recognition and sentiment analysis enable AI agents to make the decision as to whether a call would be best handled by a human agent and, if so, direct the caller to the right person.
So, let's say a restaurant gets a call from someone who wants to make a reservation... The AI agent can automatically check which tables are available, set out the options, and make the booking without a human member of staff needing to get involved. On the other end of the spectrum, if a customer calls with a question that requires a specialist's input or wants to book a party for 100-plus people, these will be directed straight to the appropriate member of staff.
So, when it's applied strategically, with the ideal customer journey in mind, agentic AI offers rich opportunities to optimise customer
contact over the phone in the same way as many organisations are already doing across other channels, not only in terms of making sure someone is there to answer the phone, but also making sure their desired result is achieved as seamlessly as possible.
When AI agents manage customer interactions in the way describe above, they're not only capable of intelligently routing the conversation, but also transcribing it, pruning anything irrelevant (small talk, for example), and uploading the whole thing to the CRM system - something that would not be practical to do manually, even for dedicated contact centre teams. This can be combined with interactions across other channels to build deep customer profiles that can support personalised marketing, as well as practical things like automated reminders about reservations, or when a requested item has come back in stock.
This also opens up new ways to measure agent performance and wellbeing, ensuring everyone is delivering the expected quality of service, and customer satisfaction targets are consistently met. By analysing the data gathered throughout customer interactions across all channels, trends can be identified, successes built upon, and measures put in place to remedy any recurring problems, such as providing additional training or support where necessary.
There's understandably a lot of hype around AI platforms right now, but customer contact is one of the areas where it is most definitely proving truly transformative, ensuring that customers are always able to make contact through whichever channel they prefer, and enjoy seamless, stress-free resolutions. When we step back and take an objective look at the different points of contact with customers, we will get a clearer understanding of where agentic AI can add the greatest value, adapting to the technology to suit our customer service goals rather than the other way around.
Finally, some food for thought... Someone recently created an AI chatbot to call every pub in Ireland and enquire about the cost of a pint of Guiness, using this data to generate a price map of the whole country. How many of those interactions already involved bots talking to bots, and how likely is this to become a standard part of business' customer interactions? Interesting times for the entire sector for sure.
If you're interested in exploring potential opportunities to implement agentic AI, or any other aspect of your customer contact systems and processes, just get in touch (even by phone, if you prefer!).
Exponential-e & Retail
Our Retail brochure offers a comprehensive overview of how we draw on a deep understanding of the sector's singular challenges, an evolving technology ecosystem, and a highly consultative approach to offer bespoke solutions that help staff deliver their best for every customer - both online and in person.
1028 Hits
In the space of just a few short years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gone from being a somewhat niche field, to front and centre in the public consciousness. With the rise of ChatGPT and similar platforms, there is much speculation about where this technology is heading, and what its impact will be on our personal and professional lives. Indeed, organisations across numerous sectors are already exploring the different ways it can be utilised to reduce costs, optimise efficiency, and improve service quality.
4105 Hits
We've probably all encountered what we consider to be poor customer service through a contact centre, whether it's calling your utilities provider, banking, mortgages, or just everyday online shopping.
There have been many excuses for poor service through the pandemic due to ill-prepared home working solutions. Those should be behind us now, although that's likely the topic of a further blog, as many companies are still leaning on this excuse!
3981 Hits
Here's why that's a good thing…
"In the new contact centre, we're no longer reliant on hunt groups, and can onboard new services and new desks very easily, which has allowed for a much higher level of agility in terms of how we connect and collaborate with our colleagues and partners. We've also got a much higher level of control, so we don't need to go through our IT teams to make changes or updates when we need to, and can constantly refine our call flows."
Stacey Whyte, NHS Digital
5364 Hits
"Not-for-profit organisations have provided a trusted and valued source of independent advice for people throughout England for many years. They are a vital part of our national support infrastructure and somewhere to turn to in times of crisis."
Nick Hurd, MP
4622 Hits
The digital launchpad for life-changing training and apprenticeships
About JTL
Operating across England and Wales, JTL offers world-class training and apprenticeships in the fields of electrics, plumbing, and heating, providing aspiring tradespeople with the launchpad for successful, long-lasting careers.
Solution
Exponential-e's self-owned, enterprise-class network is the foundation of JTL's IT infrastructure, and - in turn - much of the training they deliver. Scalability is a critical factor here, ensuring new training sites can be opened and closed down as seamlessly as possible. New sites are typically deployed every 2-3 months, with sixteen sites in operation around England and Wales at the time of writing, and four more currently in the works.
This is highly scalable, highly available connectivity is complemented by a Cloud-based, AI-powered Contact Centre platform, ensuring trainees are always able to make contact with the right person throughout every stage of their programme, across an evolving range of channels. All trainee information is fully centralised throughout each stage of their programme, ensuring agents are able to resolve any queries as quickly as possible, with minimal points of contact required.
Exponential-e also provide additional support is also provided around the provisioning and management of key software licences, ensuring all staff and trainees are equipped with the tools they require, for the best possible rates.
JTL's account team at Exponential-e continue to work closely with their own IT team and other teams from across the company, identifying and acting on new opportunities for improvement and innovation. In this way, JTL's IT infrastructure can continue evolving in response to the needs of trainers, trainees, and apprentices, freeing them to focus on the learning experience
"The key thing about our partnership with Exponential-e is the reliability. Our connections rarely ever go down, and we're never in any doubt as to who to talk to for anything, whether that's launching a new site, or further consolidating and optimising our IT ecosystem. In this way, technology remains a powerful driver for the quality of training we are able to deliver."
Parth Parmar, Head of Technology, JTL
Challenges
JTL's training programmes depend on seamless communication between trainees, trainers, and administrative staff, all of which demands a highly resilient, scalable, and secure IT infrastructure. The deployment of new training sites, wherever and whenever they are needed, is also a critical priority, requiring close collaboration between JTL's own IT team and various third parties, including key technology partners.
Solution benefits
- World-class IT infrastructure in place for new training sites as soon as they open their doors
- highly scalable, highly available connectivity,
deployed at more than sixteen sites across England and Wales
- An omnichannel contact centre platform ensures a
smooth, stress-free experience for every trainee and apprentice, before,
during, and after their programmes
- Key Microsoft licences delivered as a fully
managed service, resulting in new cost savings and efficiencies
- Hands-on support from a dedicated account team around the opening of new training sites and ongoing service optimisations
892 Hits
© 2026 Exponential-e Ltd. Reg. No. 04499567, Reg. Address:100 Leman Street, London E1 8EU