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“No Robots Here – A Real Person Always Answers Us”
Published: May 20, 2025, 15:22
Many companies are replacing personal contact with chatbots.
They did the opposite – which made customers happier and thus increased profitability.
“Many assume they will be talking to a robot, but with us, it is always a real person,” says Maria Sandehult, leader of the customer support team at the leasing company Autolease.
AI, email, chat – but no phone number. More and more companies only offer digital customer service. At the same time, surveys show that most people prefer to talk to a real person.
“We see in our own statistics that customers demand a personal approach, they want to talk to a real person,” says Maria Sandehult, and colleague Filip Glansberg adds:
“It’s not just about answering a question, even a robot can do that. For us, it’s about offering a personal approach, conveying a feeling, and going the extra mile.”
For Autolease, one of the Nordic region’s largest leasing companies with 400,000 vehicles, investing in personal customer service is a way to stand out from the competition:
“Since we are not the only ones offering leasing and administration of cars, we need to distinguish ourselves in other ways. Every customer should feel seen and heard, and it should be easy to get help,” says Maria Sandehult.
When Autolease conducted customer surveys last year and, at the same time, changed its case management system, it became clear that personal customer service is something that is both in demand – and can be improved:
“It has really given us better conditions to provide good service, we saw that many customers were not satisfied with the response times, and we have therefore placed great emphasis on living up to our customers’ expectations,” says Maria Sandehult and continues proudly:
“Can I mention that we peaked in customer satisfaction last week?”
Filip Glansberg works as Risk & Remarketing support but is also an internal service ambassador at DNB, which means that he has a responsibility to create a welcoming atmosphere at work.
“We work a lot with the conversation climate and the culture in the workplace. It’s the simple things like greeting colleagues, a smile and laughter are contagious. If you bring that feeling into a phone call with a customer, it shows,” he says.
And the improved customer service also makes an impact financially, according to both Maria Sandehult and Filip Glansberg:
“Above all, it contributes to customers choosing to stay because they have built a personal relationship with Autolease. This in turn has ripple effects because we work a lot with referral sales, the customers themselves pitch us to new customers,” says Filip Glansberg and states:
“Working year after year with the same customer is profitable, losing customers is expensive.”
Maria Sandehult emphasizes that personal contact via telephone is the most important component in the customer meeting, but of course it should also be easy to reach the company via email and chat:
“We are constantly working to develop the digital parts, and the goal is that the customer should easily get answers to their questions without having to contact us. For example, we are working to anticipate many questions by continuously sending out information that can facilitate, for example, how to fix damage. This simplifies both for the customer and for us.”
Maria, what do you as a leader of a customer service consider most important in order to offer a strong customer service?
“Being able to put yourself in the customer’s situation and show that you understand their problems and needs is crucial, it creates trust and loyalty. It is also important that I as a leader create conditions for everyone to succeed by offering continuous training, support and resources. By promoting a culture of collaboration and open communication, we can ensure that each employee feels valued and motivated to deliver the best possible service.”
About Autolease
Autolease is part of Norwegian DNB Bank, the Nordic region’s second largest banking group, which owns a total of over 400,000 vehicles. In Scandinavia, Autolease manages and leases out more than 50,000 cars and buys over 12,000 new cars every year. Autolease offers passenger cars and light trucks and can deliver all car brands and models.
The article is produced by Brand Studio in collaboration with Autolease DNB and not an article.
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