Target Technology Miscommunication

Technology Miscommunication at Target

Introduction

The service industry has been improved by and reshaped by technology in many various ways in the past few years. There is no doubt that business is conducted a completely different way now days due to the fact that technology has simply taken over. Whether we are using technology at the touch of a palm with our cell phones, sitting on our laptops, or using the self-checkout line at the local grocery store, we are using technology more and more each day. Even though technology tends to make many things easier and more efficient for businesses around the world, problems tend to come with it as well. When that technology fails for a company or is not used to its full capabilities, it can lead

These scanning devices that Target gives to their customers in order to try to make registering easier are referred to as intelligent agents. Intelligent agents are software agents to perform tasks previously performed by service representatives (Fisk, Grove, John, 2014, p. 40). Although using these intelligent agent technologies can save time for the employees, it can cause them to waste time in the future when there are technology failures. Service organizations that keep adding more and more technology to their businesses can face challenges arising from the weak links (Fisk, Grove, John, 2014, p. 42). Another term used to describe such a device as this one is the term referred to as automated idiocy. Automated idiocy is referred to as the rush to eliminate service functions in order to make it easier for the employees (Fisk, Grove, John, 2014 p.

If this technology works to its best potential and does exactly what it is created to do, then this is a great tool in order to provide the best experience for the customer. On the other hand, if the technology does not do what it is supposed to do, it can cause customers to be weary of doing business with that company again. The situation that was explained above was the result of a business that was trying to rely too heavily on a technology that didn’t work to its full potential. One way of making sure technology stays customer-focused is to design the scanning system so that it is as easy as possible for customers to use (Fisk, Grove, John, 2014, p. 44). The first type of technology that could be of use to Target concerning the scanning systems would be a computer. They could use a computer in a variety of ways to resolve the type of situation explained above. The best way I believe to use a computer in this situation would be for the Target employees or Target management to check right after a customer is done registering and to make sure that it matches up with their site online. Target also recently announced that they will be ramping up their technology by nearly 2 billion dollars starting this year (Wahba, 2016). With this information, I think that spending some of this money on