What is Self-Service?

Self-Service is that form of industrial automation where consumers are  served without direct involvement of a paid customer service representative (CSR) like a cashier, teller, clerk, guard, operator, etc. Examples of Self-Service are everincreasing and visible in every day life. Web purchases, printing airline boarding cards, filling gas in your car, vending machines, building access control... , these are all forms of self-service automation.

Self-Service Kiosks are industrial robots designed to be aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate by consumers. Kiosks began as information booths and Postal Boxes over a century ago - today they are a complex combination of computers and devices that Emulate and Virtualize a Cashier, Teller, Clerk, Guard and Operator

Self-Service, when done correctly, offers dramatic convenience to both the service provider and the consumer. For the provider there are significant cost savings if they can automate service delivery because now they can serve their customers round the clock, consistently and uniformly. For the consumer the benefit is shorter service lines, lower fees and a self-managed user experience.

Many types of services have already made way to these modern kiosks. The most interesting remain the ones that let deployers make lots of money when a kiosk is used. Like a slot machine in a casino!! Though no other kiosk comes close to a slot machine in generating income there are some profitable options available to the deployers - like delivering financial services on to Self- Service Kiosks - that is exactly what the ATM embarked to do in the 70's but then lost its way in the 90's and became commoditized.

Financial Services Kiosks are super-sets of the ATM with the big difference that they Multi-Task and emulate more than a "cash-drawer" in a bank (an ATM is primarily a dispenser). These kiosks are able to enroll, engage, guide and serve consumers - they are the next frontier of Self-Service Automation.

This book is an educational journey into that future that is being created with Infonox invented software and systems...