In September 2013, Amazon launched its Mayday system for the Kindle Fire HDX. By pressing a single button, users can connect live with a tech support agent over voice and video chat in less than ten seconds.
The new support system was brought about in order to provide better customer service while also reducing unnecessary phone calls.
"When we set out to invent the Mayday button, we wanted to revolutionize tech support-and we're happy to report it's working!" said director of customer service Scott Brown in a statement. "75% of customer contacts for Fire HDX now come via the Mayday button. Even as the Mayday button has grown to become the most popular way for customers to ask questions, the team's been able to beat the response time goal of 15 seconds or less-our average is just 9.75 seconds."
In addition to the live video feed, tech support agents can draw lines and shapes on the user's screen in order to provide visual instruction, telling the user which buttons to press or which menu to open. Agents can even control the tablet directly if the owner has enabled the feature.
The service is online 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with live representative available at any time. Although Amazon did not reveal the volume of requests they receive, the 9.75 second average response time seems impressive by any measure.
Although originally intended to assist with problems related to the Kindle Fire HDX, representatives have received a wide variety of unusual requests over the last eight months of service, One owner used the Mayday button to ask for help with a particularly difficult level of Angry Birds he had been stuck on for a week. Fortunately, the tech support agent was familiar with the game and helped the customer beat the level. One representative sang happy birthday as the tablet was presented as a gift, and a group of friends asked how to create the ideal peanut butter and jelly sandwich to prove which of them had the best method. Tech advisors have assisted owners traveling around the world in countries such as Bolivia, Australia, and Kenya. They have even been asked to draw pictures of rainbows, dragons, and aliens, among other things.
Responses to the service have been almost unanimously positive from users and reviewers alike. The feature may even be enough to draw some potential customers away from more popular tablet brands such as Apple and Samsung.
