About 20 years ago, when mobile phones were becoming the new big thing, the call box was still very much part of everyday life.

If you didn’t own a mobile phone, finding a call box was often the next best option. You would walk to it, pick up the receiver, dial the number and hope the person on the other end answered.

Sometimes, however, instead of hearing the voice you were hoping for, you got the familiar:

“Mteja wa nambari hapatikani kwa sasa.”

The customer you were trying to reach was unavailable.

A Call Box, a Birthday and an Unavailable Customer

I remember one particular situation that makes me laugh whenever I think about how much communication — and customer care — has changed.

A friend of mine was married to a police officer. She was organising a birthday celebration for her daughter, but there was a small problem: her husband was away, she needed money for the birthday preparations, and at that time he had a mobile phone but she didn’t.

So, like many people without mobile phones at the time, my friend went to a call box.

She dialled her husband’s number.

Then came the voice:

“Mteja wa nambari hapatikani kwa sasa.”

She tried again.

Same message.

Still unavailable.

Eventually, frustration got the better of her. She banged the receiver back down and asked, almost as if the person on the other end could hear her:

“Atapatikana saa ngapi sasa?”

😂

Of course, the automated voice wasn’t going to answer her.

Yet that little incident captures something interesting about how far communication has come.

Today, if your husband, customer, supplier or business partner doesn’t answer your call, you don’t necessarily have to walk to a call box. Instead, you can send a WhatsApp message, check whether it has been seen and follow up almost immediately.

If nobody responds, you may even start wondering whether something is wrong with the number.

That is part of the evolution of customer care.

The Evolution of Customer Care Started With Human Contact

There was a time when customer care was almost entirely about human interaction.

You walked into an office, took a ticket number and sat down to wait.

Number 047.

Then 048.

Then 049.

Finally:

“Number 050, counter three.”

You stood up and went to the counter.

Someone served you. They listened to your problem, checked your documents and gave you an answer.

Back then, customer care was largely about the person standing in front of you.

Their tone mattered.

Their patience mattered.

Their ability to explain things mattered.

Most importantly, their willingness to help mattered.

If they smiled, you noticed.

If they were rude, you definitely noticed.

The employee was the face of the organisation.

However, the telephone was about to change that relationship.

From Ticket Numbers to Telephone Customer Care

You didn’t always have to walk into an office anymore.

Instead, you could call.

This was a significant change because the customer-service employee now had to serve someone they couldn’t see.

They had to listen carefully and speak clearly. At the same time, they needed to remain patient even when the customer was frustrated.

Perhaps most importantly, they had to answer the phone.

Think about how much customer care depended on that simple action.

A customer called because they needed something.

Someone picked up.

“Good morning, how may I help you?”

And the conversation began.

If nobody answered, the customer waited and called again. Sometimes they tried another number instead.

The telephone introduced a new customer expectation:

Accessibility.

Customers began expecting businesses to be reachable without physically visiting them.

But technology wasn’t finished changing customer care.

The Evolution of Customer Care Moved Into Our Phones

Mobile phones changed everything.

Suddenly, you didn’t have to find a call box or wait until you reached a landline. Communication was now sitting in your pocket.

Businesses could call customers, while customers could call businesses.

Then came SMS.

After that came email, websites and social media.

Eventually, WhatsApp became one of the easiest ways for customers to reach businesses.

Today, you might search for a school, hotel, hospital, shop or service provider on Google. You visit the website, see a WhatsApp button and think:

“Bingo! I don’t have to make another phone call.”

You send your question.

Then you wait.

This is exactly the experience I wrote about in Customer Expectations on WhatsApp.

The interesting thing is that the customer’s expectation has changed.

They don’t simply expect a business to have a WhatsApp number.

They expect someone to use it.

Businesses can also use dedicated tools to manage conversations with customers through WhatsApp. As a result, having a WhatsApp number today can be more than simply displaying a phone number on a website. WhatsApp Business

Customer Care Became Multi-Channel

The customer journey has become more complicated — and, in many ways, more convenient.

For example, a customer might search Google, visit your website, look at your Facebook page, watch your Reel and read your reviews. From there, they may send a WhatsApp message, call you, visit your physical location and make a payment through a digital platform.

Sometimes they will speak to a human being only once during the entire process.

To the business, these may be different departments and platforms.

To the customer?

It’s one experience.

That is why social media has also become part of customer care.

A customer may not send you a formal complaint. Instead, they may simply comment under your post:

“How much?”

Or:

“Where are you located?”

Or:

“Do you deliver?”

That comment is now part of the customer-service experience.

I explored this further in How Social Media Customer Service Builds Trust.

The customer doesn’t care whether the person responding is from marketing or customer service.

They simply want an answer.

Then Came the Robots

And now we have entered another stage of the evolution of customer care:

Automation.

You call a company and a recorded voice answers:

“Welcome. For English, press one.”

You press one.

“For customer service, press two.”

You press two.

Another option appears, so you make another selection. After a while, you may start wondering:

“Will I ever speak to a human being?”

😂

Alternatively, you don’t call at all.

You open a website and a chat box appears:

“Hi! How can I help you today?”

You type your question.

A chatbot responds.

Sometimes it gives you exactly what you need. Other times, it gives you an answer that makes you wonder whether the robot understood the question.

Eventually, your next message becomes:

“I want to speak to a human.”

😂

Chatbots are now widely used to provide automated responses and support, particularly for routine questions and customer-service interactions. IBM: What is a chatbot?

Technology has certainly made customer care more convenient.

However, it has also created a completely new expectation.

Customer Care Is Now About Making the System Work

This is where I think the evolution of customer care becomes particularly interesting.

Imagine walking into a shop. The cashier is polite, they smile, they know the products and they are ready to serve you.

But the payment machine isn’t working.

The employee tells you:

“Sorry, the system is down.”

They try again, but nothing happens.

You have the money.

The cashier is ready.

Unfortunately, the system cannot complete the transaction.

From the customer’s point of view, the service has failed.

It doesn’t matter that the employee was excellent.

The system didn’t work.

And this means customer care has entered another stage.

The New Customer Care: Are Your Systems Working?

Customer care is no longer only about how employees treat customers.

Increasingly, it is also about whether the systems supporting those employees — and the customers themselves — actually work.

Think about:

• Mobile networks
• Payment systems
• Websites
• Mobile applications
• ATMs
• Point-of-sale machines
• Online booking systems
• Customer databases
• Chatbots
• WhatsApp
• Delivery tracking
• Automated notifications

When these systems work, customers may not even think about them.

However, when they fail?

Suddenly, it becomes customer care.

A network problem can stop a payment.

A failed server can stop an online booking.

A malfunctioning ATM can prevent a customer from accessing money.

A broken website can prevent a customer from making an enquiry.

A WhatsApp number that nobody checks can make a customer think the business doesn’t care.

The technology may be behind the scenes.

Nevertheless, the customer experiences the result.

Network Problems Are Now Customer-Care Problems

Think about how dependent modern businesses are on connectivity.

A customer wants to make a payment, but the network is down.

Someone needs to receive an OTP, yet the network is unstable.

Another customer wants to contact your business through WhatsApp, but the internet connection isn’t working.

Elsewhere, someone is trying to access your application while the server is unavailable.

The customer may not know exactly what has failed.

And frankly, they may not care.

They simply know:

“I can’t complete what I came here to do.”

That is a customer-care problem.

Because of this, customer care today must involve more than the front desk.

It must also involve the people making sure the technology behind the customer journey is reliable.

The Evolution of Customer Care Has Changed the Question

In the past, businesses could ask:

“How did our employee treat the customer?”

Today, they also need to ask:

“Did our system allow the customer to accomplish what they came to do?”

That is a completely different question.

A business can have the friendliest employees in the world and still provide a poor customer experience if:

• The website keeps crashing.
• The payment system doesn’t work.
• The network keeps dropping.
• The chatbot gives incorrect information.
• The WhatsApp number is not monitored.
• Customers don’t receive confirmation messages.
• The booking system fails.
• The mobile application keeps freezing.

As a result, customer care has expanded.

It is now human care plus system care.

The Customer Does Not See Your Organisational Chart

Inside a business, you may have:

IT.

Finance.

Operations.

Marketing.

Customer Service.

Sales.

Network Support.

Administration.

Each department has its own responsibility.

However, the customer doesn’t experience your departments separately.

The customer experiences your business.

If the cashier says:

“The system is down.”

The customer doesn’t care that IT is in another office.

Likewise, if WhatsApp isn’t monitored, the customer doesn’t care that the social-media manager is busy creating today’s content.

If the payment platform fails, the customer doesn’t care who manages the software.

They experience one thing:

The service isn’t working.

And therefore, customer care has become everyone’s responsibility.

What Does Good Customer Care Look Like Now?

Maybe it is no longer enough to ask whether your staff are polite.

We should also ask:

Can customers reach us?

Can they get information easily?

Does the website work?

Does the payment system work?

Does WhatsApp get monitored?

Does the chatbot provide useful information?

Can a customer move from a robot to a human when necessary?

Do we communicate when something goes wrong?

Do we fix problems before customers have to complain?

These are now customer-care questions.

Moreover, they are becoming just as important as the traditional:

“How did you handle that customer?”

The Future of Customer Care May Be Invisible

There is something fascinating about good modern customer care.

Sometimes, you don’t notice it.

You make a payment and it works.

The confirmation arrives.

You order something and can track it.

You send a WhatsApp message and receive an acknowledgement.

You ask a question and get an answer.

You open an application and it loads.

You don’t have to call five times.

You don’t have to visit the office.

You don’t have to complain.

You don’t even have to think about customer service.

Everything simply works.

Perhaps that is where customer care is heading.

Not necessarily towards more people answering more phones, but towards businesses designing systems that make it easier for customers to get what they need.

From the Call Box to the Smart System

When I think back to my friend’s experience at the call box, it is almost funny.

She needed money.

Her husband was away.

She didn’t have a mobile phone.

So she went to the call box.

She dialled.

“Mteja wa nambari hapatikani kwa sasa.”

She tried again.

Same answer.

Eventually came the question:

“Atapatikana saa ngapi?”

😂

Today, she would probably have several options.

Call.

SMS.

WhatsApp.

Facebook Messenger.

Email.

Perhaps even a video call.

If the person still doesn’t respond, she might simply send:

“Hello? Have you seen my message?”

😂

The technology has changed.

Nevertheless, the underlying customer expectation hasn’t changed as much as we think.

People still want to be heard.

They still want answers.

They still want convenience.

They still want someone — or something — to help them accomplish what they need.

The difference is that today, the “someone” may be a person, a chatbot, an application, a payment machine, a network or an entire digital system.

Customer Care Has Not Disappeared — It Has Graduated

I think this is the most important lesson from the evolution of customer care.

Customer care has not become less important because of technology.

Instead, it has become bigger.

We moved from:

“Take a ticket and wait.”

To:

“Please call our customer-care line.”

Then:

“Send us an email.”

Later:

“Chat with us on WhatsApp.”

Now:

“Our chatbot can help you.”

And increasingly:

“Our systems should work well enough that you don’t need to contact us at all.”

That is quite a journey.

From the person behind the counter…

To the person answering the telephone…

To the person replying to your WhatsApp…

To the robot answering your question…

And now to the people working behind the scenes to ensure the robot, network, application, payment system and website actually work.

The evolution of customer care is really the evolution of how businesses remove friction from the customer’s journey.

Customer care is no longer simply about answering the customer.

It is about enabling the customer.

Sometimes that means answering a phone call.

Sometimes it means responding to WhatsApp.

Sometimes it means solving a network problem.

Sometimes it means fixing a payment machine.

Sometimes it means improving a chatbot.

And sometimes the best customer care is simply making sure everything works.

Because behind every machine is still a customer trying to accomplish something.

When that machine fails?

Customer care has a job to do.

So, the next time your business talks about customer care, don’t only ask:

“Are our employees treating customers well?”

Also ask:

“Are the systems we have given them — and our customers — actually working?”

Because customer care has evolved.

And businesses have to evolve with it.