​​L.L.Bean Axes Call Center Staff and Hours

L.L.Bean is laying off some of its customer service reps and reducing call center hours by four hours each day in response to fewer customer calls as more orders are being placed online.

Beginning July 15, call center hours will shrink to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from the current hours of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The outdoor retailer said in a statement attained by USA Today that more than 90% of customer calls come in from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“As more of our customers choose self-service and shop through our digital and retail channels, customer contacts have declined over the last four years,” the retailer said. “Simply put, L.L.Bean customers shop differently today than in the past and we must adapt.”

L.L.Bean added that “these changes are not a reaction to current business conditions or part of a larger workforce reduction, but rather a strategic response to long-term customer trends.”

The number of call center workers to be laid off was not disclosed, as the retailer is offering voluntarily retirement packages to some employees before final cuts are made. L.L.Bean has more than 500 call center employees, most working remotely.

The layoffs follow the 2021 shutdown of its call center in Lewiston and its 2020 job cuts, which impacted its customer service team and eliminated 200 jobs.

In other industries, American Airlines and Verizon recently announced massive call center layoffs in a continued shift of the function to lower-cost foreign agents. In general, the customer service rep function has received a lot of attention over the last year. The role regularly lands on lists of jobs threatened by artificial intelligence as technologies like ChatGPT elevate chatbot interactions and capabilities.

Speaking recently to the Financial Times, K Krithivasan, head of Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services, said AI will result in a “minimal” need for call centers. He stated, “We are in a situation where the technology should be able to predict a call coming and then proactively address the customer’s pain point.”

Best Buy is among retailers planning a blended AI and human approach to customer service.

On April 9, the consumer electronics chain announced plans to introduce a GenAI-powered virtual assistant to help customers troubleshoot product issues, make online order changes, and manage subscriptions. At the same time, a new suite of GenAI-enabled tools will help service agents “assess customer conversations in real-time, providing them with in-the-moment, relevant and human-focused recommendations.”

In February, Best Buy announced a restructuring involving layoffs of Geek Squad field agents and phone support personnel in part to better capitalize on AI investments.