One commenter suggested that the Australian public just hadn't shown enough demand for it. He thought web chat tools were too inconvenient. I would have said that about America a couple years ago, before widespread broadband service. It really was more trouble than it was worth to log into a chat system if you didn't use chat tools in your personal life. But these days, with always-on, high-speed Internet connections, chat is much more viable in North America. I'd like to see statistics on how many households have high-speed connections in both North America and Autralia, and then compare that to the stats for call centers using web tools.

Another commenter thought handling phone interactions was just quicker:

"In the real world, where dollars and unit volumes multiplied by time per interaction govern staffing and overall performance levels, an agent answering a phone call can resolve a call at least 50% faster than someone typing away on an electronic reply. First call resolution is no longer a valid measurement as most electronic customer interactions continue past the first reply. I'd even go so far as to say that the US based call centre has chosen this path due to less expensive Telco and staffing costs. They are behind us now when it comes to true customer interactions and service."

Or maybe it's just that the technology came of age earlier in America, wrote an anonymous contributor. Another commenter agreed.

Commenter P. Cohen wrote that if we wanted to see true web channel adoption in call centers, look to Scandinavia. Cohen thinks Australia's disinterest in web channels is cultural: "Scandinavia has large geographic areas with small populations, a bit like Oz, and has traditionally been at the forefront using technology to bridge the distances."