In 1979, Zinus founder Youn Jae Lee began his business in the great outdoors, crafting tents from his home base of South Korea. In 2003, Zinus migrated into the home, and has since provided mattresses and furniture for more than 25 million happy customers across more than 15 countries around the world. Today, Zinus is the world’s most loved online mattress and furniture brand, with 1 million+ global reviews. They manufacture products that are easy to understand, assemble, and enjoy, designing “tiny reminders that life is good.”

With ticket volume averaging 5k tickets per month, ranging from issues related to warranty claims, product queries and order status, the Zinus customer service team was overwhelmed. When the pandemic hit, some customers were waiting for 30-40 minutes, sometimes even days, for a response.

“The pandemic really showed us that we needed a contingency [plan],” said Reuben Magbanua, Director of Customer Care at Zinus.

As demand continued to rise and the company planned to scale internationally, Zinus looked to leverage AI to deflect many of the future contacts and maintain high customer satisfaction.

In 2020, Zinus launched AI over chat and email. Zinus set a goal of achieving 25% deflection based on the complexity of its customers’ questions. In short order, Netomi met and exceeded their goal by reaching 40% deflection.

Many customers, satisfied with the superior experience received via chat, grew to favor this channel over telephone, and email has since taken over as the preferred channel for an AI-powered experience.

On a mission to “deliver the world’s finest sleep products for everyone’s lifestyle,” the Zinus team is envisioning a bright future, with Zuri by their side. With support delivered via chat and email having been put to bed, the incorporation of voice capabilities as well as SMS to increase deflection even further is next on the list.