Online availability round the clock is increasingly becoming the norm. That is why, in September 2018, the Switzerland Tourism ST marketing organisation introduced a new chat platform with longer service times. The new service, provided by a start-up company, replaces the previous live chat platform offered by the Switzerland Travel Centre (STC). Chat queries on MySwitzerland.com are now answered exclusively by “guurus” available online from 6 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to midnight at weekends.

Available for longer – and highly credible

The Swiss start-up Guuru is a company offering innovative solutions for customer service and advice. The way it works is simple: the guurus, who are customers themselves – and therefore highly credible – answer queries from other customers based on their product knowledge, earning money as they do so. The guurus include ST employees and others working in the tourism sector who answer queries outside office hours. All guurus are tested on their knowledge before they are accepted. In the event of complex queries or complaints, STC specialists are still available to step in.

Between the start of the test phase and the end of 2018, a total of 74 “guurus” held 1,490 chats, with an average satisfaction rate of 4.7 (94%). This type of customer advice meets the current demand for highly available and highly reliable online recommendations, as customers have now come to expect from social media. As an early adopter, ST has remained faithful to this service. The organisation adopts the latest technologies early on to provide guests with the most positive all-round experience possible, from planning to departure.