Executive Summary
For many retail businesses, phone customer service stops when the store closes. Customer needs, however, continue.
Homepraktika chose to bridge this gap with a Voice Logica AI Voice Agent that serves customers over the phone in real time, even when no staff are available.
In the first weeks of full operation, the AI Voice Agent handled 1,825 phone calls, with 46% taking place outside Homepraktika’s core business hours.
The Challenge
A store has fixed opening hours. Customer needs do not.
Homepraktika operates Monday to Friday, 09:00–16:00, and Saturday, 09:00–15:00. However, a significant proportion of customers call after work, in the evening or over the weekend.
Before the AI Voice Agent was implemented, after-hours phone customer service could not be provided, resulting in missed service opportunities and potentially lost sales.
At the same time, the complexity of the product catalog required immediate access to information about:
- Product availability
- Technical specifications
- Alternative options
- Payment methods
- Shipping carriers
- Billing details
- Specific business rules for certain product categories
A basic answering machine could not meet these needs.
The Solution
Voice Logica implemented a customized AI Voice Agent for Homepraktika, named Alexandros, to serve customers over the phone around the clock.
The Agent is connected to the company’s information systems and accesses the data needed to complete the conversation in real time.
In day-to-day operation, it can:
- Identify the purpose of the call
- Search for products by code or natural-language description
- Provide information about availability, prices and specifications
- Take telephone orders from start to completion
- Collect shipping and billing details
- Record the payment method and shipping carrier
- Automatically enter the new order into the business systems
It also follows predefined business rules. Requests involving returns, cancellations, order changes or billing issues are forwarded to a human representative.
The Key Finding: 46% of Calls Take Place After Hours
Beyond automating phone customer service, Homepraktika gained a clearer understanding of when its customers actually call.
Call analysis showed that 46% of total call activity takes place outside core business hours.
The busiest time for calls was 19:00, approximately three hours after the store closed.
This finding revealed a customer service need that the existing team had previously been unable to cover.
The Customer Experience
One of the main concerns before implementation was how customers would respond to speaking with an AI Voice Agent.
The experience in live operation was positive.
“A customer called us just to tell us how impressed she was with our digital assistant. Her exact words were, ‘What a lovely young man.’ Apart from that, it’s going very well. I haven’t had any issues.”
This feedback shows that an AI Voice Agent can fit naturally into the phone experience when the dialogue and business rules are properly designed.
Business Impact
1,825 Phone Calls
Handled by the AI Voice Agent in the first weeks of full operation.
44% Fully Automated
Of the conversations analyzed, 44% were completed entirely by the AI Voice Agent.
46% Outside Core Business Hours
Almost half of all calls took place when the human team was unavailable.
120-second Average Conversation Duration
Calls involved actual information retrieval and the completion of actions.
256 Calls on the Busiest Day
The solution supported increased call volumes without requiring a corresponding expansion of the team.
24/7 Availability
Phone customer service continues beyond Homepraktika’s physical opening hours.
Note: The full automation rate refers to conversations for which complete content analysis was available. By design, the AI Voice Agent forwards requests involving returns, cancellations, order changes and billing issues to a human representative.
What Customers Ask About During Calls
Conversation analysis identified the main customer needs handled by the AI Voice Agent:
- 31% Product information
- 15% New telephone orders
- 11% Order status
- 4% Returns / Replacements
- 3% Installation or usage instructions
- 3% Cancellations / Changes / Billing
- 33% General information or a direct request for a representative
These findings give Homepraktika a clearer picture of its customers’ actual telephone needs and can support continuous improvements to customer service and the e-commerce journey.
Conclusion
Implementing the AI Voice Agent enabled Homepraktika to extend phone customer service beyond business hours.
With 46% of calls taking place outside core business hours, the Agent serves as a 24/7 customer service channel for product searches, information and telephone orders, while giving the business a clearer understanding of actual call demand.