Reimagining the Get Help Journey

Imagine you’re a customer who just noticed an unfamiliar charge on your account. You’re anxious, trying to resolve the issue, but navigating the support system feels frustrating and opaque.

This was the reality for many Tangerine customers—feeling lost and unsupported in moments when they needed help the most.

Meanwhile, support teams handling complex, high-stakes cases were overwhelmed, struggling to provide the level of care these situations required. This wasn’t just a customer problem—it was a business problem too.

Before kicking off this initiative, we needed executive buy-in. I worked closely with the Chief Client Officer (CCO) to frame the problem using anchoring metrics.

• NPS Scores: Indicated significant customer frustration.

• Call Volume Data: Showed that these pain points dominated the Top 10 Pain Points in the ongoing Voice of the Customer program.

Through executive forums and alignment workshops, we built consensus that research was needed to diagnose the root causes and drive meaningful change.

With buy-in secured, we formed the Get Help Journey team, a 10-person cross-functional group spanning:

• Product, Design, Research

• Technology, Operations, and Channel Enablement

As the Design Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement Lead, I guided the team through a strategic research process:

• Problem Scoping and Discovery

• Vision Co-Creation

• Value Validation

We synthesized insights from multiple sources:

🔹 Voice of the Customer feedback → Identified emotional pain points

🔹 Call Volume & Web Analytics → Highlighted where customers got stuck

🔹 Subject Matter Expert Interviews → Exposed systemic barriers

A key moment in our research came from customer feedback in the Voice of the Customer program:

"I just needed reassurance that my money was safe. 

The lack of communication made me feel ignored."

We facilitated cross-functional ideation workshops to co-create a future vision. Ideas ranged from quick wins to long-term strategic improvements.

We then distilled these into a North Star vision, where:

✅ Customers receive timely updates and have a clearer path to resolution.

✅ Self-service options feel trustworthy and intuitive.

✅ High-stakes cases are prioritized for human support without long delays.

We ran concept testing using the Kano Model to assess which solutions resonated most with customers.

Key insight:

💡 Customers loved the ability to report suspicious transactions and dispute charges directly in the mobile app.

⚠️ But they distrusted email/SMS notifications due to phishing concerns.

From our Value Matrix prioritization sessions, we built a multi-phase roadmap, balancing:

• Desirability to clients (based on Kano study insights)

• Viability for the business

• Feasibility for implementation

Early implementations included:

✔ Message Center Status Updates → Customers could check inquiry statuses without calling.

✔ Fraud & Dispute Callback Feature → Reduced wait times and transfers.

✔ Direct Fraud Resolution Hotline → High-risk cases received prioritized human support.

Lessons Learned

🗺️ Journey-focused research drives systemic change.

Focusing on holistic end-to-end experiences (not just isolated touch points) helps teams identify underlying patterns and systemic barriers.

🙌🏽 Embedding stakeholders fosters alignment.

Bringing product, operations, and technology teams into research early ensures findings translate into action.

📣 Ongoing storytelling builds momentum.

Regularly sharing research insights at all levels of the organization sustained buy-in and led to broader journey transformation initiatives.

Final Thought

This initiative was about more than just reducing calls—it was about restoring trust and confidence in moments that matter most.