In 2015, Michał Figas joined Kinguin’s customer service team and since then, they have gone from strength to strength in terms of innovation and motivation. Now as the Vice President of Customer Service & Fraud Risk Management, he has clearly defined a customer service strategy which puts the Kinguin customer front and centre. 

We sat down with Michał so we could learn more about his top priorities when it comes to customer satisfaction, his thoughts on the integration of top tech and his passion for team development.

Many people may look at my job title and think my responsibilities are opposing, but they are actually more similar than not. In fact, building a structure where fraud risk management sits beside customer service has delivered increased customer satisfaction and safety – the holy grail for any customer service team!

Customer satisfaction  

A key part of our success has come from the fact that we have cemented a simple ethos towards customer service – treat them how you would like to be treated. At the end of the day, we have all been customers, so we all have expectations. Ultimately, our goal is to go the extra mile for every Kinguin customer and make them feel valued and listened to. 

For this to work, we have set in stone some key non-negotiables. In 2017, the golden standard for responding to customers was between 24 and 48 hours, but times have changed, and customers are constantly expecting more. There is now a small window before they turn to social media so, with this in mind, we aim to reply to all cases in less than 24 hours. But whilst prioritising waiting times is very important to our customers, we have also put a lot of emphasis on personalising messages. 

Giving our customers a choice is also important, so we offer multiple routes to resolving their issues. We have extensive FAQs that can be easily accessed through our website but, if after reading them, a customer still cannot find the answer to their question they can contact us through our chatbot. Each month we accommodate around 7,000 chats and over 50% of these are resolved then and there.

Tech innovation 

Using advanced technology is a priority because it does improve the customer experience. In late 2020, for example, we introduced Zendesk –  a complete customer service software solution. This adds value to our customer relationships by helping us personalise interactions. Another bonus is that it is integrated with our own software and this means we can adapt much more quickly to our customer’s needs. 

We also continuously review our internal process – particularly as we have, in the past, come under fire for not authenticating gaming keys properly. With an increasing number of people shopping online there has been a dramatic rise in fraud and scam complaints and we need to make sure we are protecting our customers. With tech investment we have reduced our fraud rate to 0.42%, but we want to take it one step further and introduce Shufti Pro, an API based identity Verification solution. This will help us increase conversions, reduce chargebacks and deter fraudulent attempts. 

And finally, look out for our natural language processing – this will give our chatbots the ability to understand human language as it is spoken and written.

The team

None of this growth or innovation would however be possible if it was not for my team who are the face of Kinguin, and visible at every touchpoint. This is why I am passionate about investing in the right people, including hiring students straight from University because they are often motivated to grow. And what I love most about my team (and what I am looking for in every potential new recruit) is humility. Also, as long as people have the heart for the work they do, they will always convey this passion to our customers, and that is what will lead to them having a positive interaction with Kinguin. Then via thorough training and support, from the more experienced Kinguiners, we will be able to strengthen the team even further.

That said, we are not resting on our laurels – the world of ecommerce is competitive. So, we actively encourage our customers to leave honest feedback on Trustpilot. We believe this helps us work out where we are going wrong so we can put in place plans to counteract issues and improve. I believe we have the best group of customer specialists and I am determined to ensure that continues.