Micromobility Support

Since 2010 the number of shared micromobility trips has increased by more than 42000% in the US alone. McKinsey estimates by 2030 micromobility market will be worth somewhere between $300 and $500 billion. The market is growing and developing. It has entered our cities and taken a place within the MaaS system.  

What are its perks, difficulties, and how can customer support deal with them? 

What Is Personal and Shared Micromobility?

Micromobility is an umbrella term, embracing small and lightweight vehicles with an average speed below 25 km/hour and driven by the users themselves.

Micromobility vehicles include: 

• Bicycles;
• E-bikes;
• Electric scooters and skateboards; 
• Self-balancing scooters.
• Electric unicycles.

Shared micromobility includes rented bicycles, e-scooters booked and rented through mobile apps, and so on. It enables users to rent any micromobility transport, which promotes accessibility and efficient transportation systems in the cities.

Perks of Micromobility

Cheaper, More Accessible Alternative to a Car

Maintaining an e-scooter may cost about $0 to $1000 a year. For a car, the amount grows to $6000-$10000. 

None of micromobility transportation units have to go through obligatory check-ups or need to be gassed-up. Customers can charge them in their home or even office. Shared micromobility vehicles are usually maintained by a service provider, which rids users from thinking about any maintenance. 

🛴 None of the micromobility units require a special license, so anyone, brave and tall enough to ride them, can do so. 

Enables Social Distancing

Some cities saw up to 30% drop in the demand for public transport services. At the same time, the demand for e-scooters and other shared micromobility vehicles grew exponentially. Along with providing more freedom and more flexibility during the trips around the cities, shared micromobility enables users to abide by social distancing regulations. 

Private and shared micromobility has become a safe haven. It allows them to reach even the most remote places in their cities, be mindful of their carbon footprint, save money on cab rides, and feel safe in post-COVID times. 

Difficulties of Shared Micromobility 

Despite the ease of use and an undeniable convenience, there are a lot of difficulties shared micromobility faces in modern cities. Vendors, not dealing with them, risk seeing customer satisfaction decline.

Rapidly Changing Consumer Behavior

Consumers want better service after every iteration with a brand. It is especially true for customers who have left feedback on what they expect to see improved. 

It is the same with a shared micromobility. Customers want to see bicycles in a better state and e-scooters to be more powerful and hold more charge. They want better service and they want it now. They expect to be able to travel to different destinations and have vehicles available any time. Customers’ behavior is changing, which means satisfying their needs becomes harder. 

Rapidly Changing Mobility Patterns

23% of responders say the length of their trips have decreased significantly over the last year. Their need for cars and other means of long-distance transportation has also decreased. This is a momentum for personal and shared micromobility industry. More people use e-scooters, bikes, and other micromobility vehicles to get around their hometowns, which prompts mobility patterns and habits to change. 

An increased demand and ever-changing mobility patterns are sure to create difficulties in maintaining the network of shared micromobility vehicles. 

Lack of Regulations

Despite its popularity and an increasing demand, the infrastructure still lacks regulations. There are separate examples of regulatory measures for the industry: 

• Some countries have mandated shared micromobility providers to decrease the speed of their vehicles to 25 km/hour.
• E-scooters’ GPS trackers give providers more control over the riders’ behavior on the road. 
• Some cities have banned or limited the use of e-scooters entirely. 

Lack of regulations and rapidly changing conditions might lead to users’ confusion and create additional never-seen-before difficulties. Professional Support as a Service provider can deal with the challenges that might arise while using the service. 

Micromobility and SupportYourApp

The team of SupportYourApp has already gained experience in providing customer support for shared micromobility providers. While working with one of the top service providers in the world, we have spotted several intricacies of the service.

1. There is no target audience, so the support consultants have to be prepared for anything

Unlike B2B businesses, crypto exchanges, or cybersecurity software, anyone can use a shared micromobility service and there are no patterns of customer communication. This causes a very high level of stress and fast burnouts within the support team. Customers are often distressed or angry. They may start screaming or blaming the support consultants for failures in e-scooters’ work. 

⭐️ SupportYourApp solution: our Account Managers and Team Leads are conducting frequent seminars on dealing with angry customers for both, existing and newest members of the team. We have maintained an open communication between our support and management teams, as well as the client. Special attention is paid to the team’s coach and QA specialist. This allows us to maintain a high quality of customer communication, no matter how angry the customers are. 

2. The more KPIs, the better

When it comes to customers from at least a dozen countries around the world, setting various KPIs ensures everyone is satisfied with customer communication, no matter their initial issue. 

⭐️ SupportYourApp solution: Among others, our shared micromobility team has three prominent KPIs: customer satisfaction, ticket handling time, and the number of tickets. We have raised ticket handling time and the number of tickets per support consultant by implementing conversation templates for emails, phone calls, and in-app messages. They allow us to answer even the most unusual questions and requests quickly. 

A proper level of customer satisfaction was achieved with the help of Root Cause Analysis. If the KPI decreases, our QA manager analyzes the fall and processes miscommunication to ensure they never take place again. This results in an elevated level of customer service and provides additional training for the support team. 

3. Teamwork makes perfect

The amount of incoming customer communication is immense, especially when in a booming industry. Shared micromobility vehicles are very much in-demand, and the amount of customer communication goes off the charts. This prompts frequent and severe burnouts in the teams where communication is not streamlined.

⭐️ SupportYourApp solution: Communication is one of SupportYourApp values. Making sure the team is free to communicate within itself and with its Team Lead, Project or Delivery Manager helps us deal even with the toughest communication flows. Our support consultants always lend a hand to  the teammates in need, and our management provides everything necessary to create a supportive and comfortable environment for everyone. 

Shared micromobility is a new industry with its perks and challenges. It requires professional customer support to make sure every user enjoys every ride.

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