Global Assistance

Global Assistance provides 24/7 roadside assistance to drivers in the Czech Republic and supports customers who experience incidents while travelling abroad. In these moments, callers are often under stress, exposed to risk, and unsure what to do next. What matters most is simple: someone answers, understands the situation, and takes the right action - immediately.

As demand grew and peak volumes became more pronounced, Global Assistance faced a challenge common to roadside assistance providers: ensuring that calls were promptly and reliably answered during surges, without compromising safety, consistency, or operational control. Missed calls were no longer just a capacity issue; they posed a direct risk to customer trust and safety.

When volume and language collide, intake becomes fragile

Historically, Global Assistance relied on a traditional coordinator-centric intake model. Coordinator answered incoming calls, assessed urgency, gathered incident details, applied safety and legal checks, and coordinated next steps.

This approach worked well under normal conditions. Under peak load, its fragility was apparent.

Weather events, traffic incidents, and seasonal travel caused sudden spikes in call volume. At the same time, callers stranded abroad often contacted Global Assistance in languages different from those spoken by the coordinator team. Detailed intake extended call handling times just as queues grew, while language barriers added further friction at the moment of first contact.

Global Assistance needed a way to guarantee first response regardless of volume or language, without scaling coordinator headcount linearly.

Why Global Assistance chose Elba

Global Assistance did not set out to automate customer service. What they needed was an operating model that would remain predictable under pressure.

“We were amazed by how flexible Elba is and the extent to which she can provide advice comparable to a trained agent. The entire Kolsetu team implemented any required changes immediately, without hesitation or unnecessary delay. It was clear that they first sought to understand our priorities, and all work was then carried out based on those.” - Vesela Havelkova, Assistance Centre Manager

Elba was chosen because she could take responsibility for the execution-heavy part of first contact - without replacing coordinators or forcing callers into rigid, scripted interactions. From the first moment, Elba engages callers conversationally, identifies the nature of the incident, and applies consistent safety and escalation logic.

By immediately speaking the caller’s preferred language, Elba removes a major source of friction common in roadside assistance intake. Travellers calling from abroad are understood right away, without delays caused by language routing, clarification loops, or handoffs. This not only improves the caller experience, but also saves coordinators time by ensuring that information is captured accurately and in a consistent, structured format from the outset.

Unlike traditional voice automation, Elba’s model avoids the misunderstandings and user frustration that often arise from scripted or inflexible systems. She can recognise when a caller is confused or displeased and adapt the interaction accordingly, while smoothly preparing a handoff to a human dispatcher when needed.

By removing both volume pressure and language variability from the intake process, Elba stabilises the point where roadside assistance operations are most vulnerable.

What changed in practice

With Elba deployed as the first point of contact, the dynamics of incoming calls shifted.

Calls are now acknowledged immediately, even during peak demand. Intake quality no longer depends on coordinator availability, queue length, or language alignment. Safety checks and legal guidance are applied consistently, independent of time of day or call volume.

When it’s right for coordinators to engage, they do so with a clear, structured understanding of the situation. This allows them to focus on coordinating assistance, working with partners, and reassuring customers - rather than reconstructing basic information under time pressure.

The result is a more resilient operating model. Global Assistance can absorb volatility without increasing their workforce, while human effort is concentrated where judgment and coordination add the most value.

„Our main goal is to ensure that customers feel their call and request are being handled, and that the only thing they need to focus on is their safety. This reassurance begins the moment someone tells them, ‘We will take care of you.’ Before Elba was implemented, callers often had to wait in a queue during peak times until a coordinator became available. After Elba’s implementation, continuous support ensures that calls are always being handled, all important information is still collected, and coordinator capacity is focused exactly where it is most needed.“ - Vesela Havelkova, Assistance Centre Manager

Why this matters

Roadside assistance is defined by moments of urgency. In those moments, the difference between a missed call and a controlled first response is crucial.

“Calls did not go unanswered before but even short waits can be an issue: when someone needs recovery, every moment matters. With Elba, callers are handled immediately, in a calm and reassuring way.” - Vesela Havelkova, Assistance Centre Manager

By stabilising first contact across both volume and language, Global Assistance ensured that every case starts fully contextualised, consistent, and actionable. Elba makes roadside assistance faster without cutting corners. She makes it more reliable under pressure, so that human expertise is applied where it matters most.

How this was achieved

The following section further explains how the deployment works at an architectural and operational level, without turning into an implementation manual.

Execution-first intake architecture

Elba operates as a first-contact execution layer in front of Global Assistance’s dispatch environment. Her role is to ensure that each incoming call results in a well-formed, dispatch-ready case before any human coordination begins.

This architecture protects coordinators from volatility. Elba absorbs spikes in volume and variation in caller language, while coordinators remain responsible for decision-making, partner coordination, and exceptions.

Safety and escalation logic

From the beginning of each interaction, Elba prioritises safety. If a risk to human life is indicated, she verifies whether emergency services have already been contacted. If not, she offers immediate escalation to the emergency services.

Where callers report damage to public property, Elba advises them to contact the police in accordance with local legal requirements. These checks are applied consistently, removing variability caused by time pressure or individual interpretation.

Controlled handoff and operational boundaries

Elba is explicitly designed with clear boundaries. If a caller requests a human coordinator, refuses automated handling, or falls outside defined operational responsibility, the call is transferred intelligently and pleasantly, improving customer satisfaction and avoiding frustration.

This ensures automation reduces operational load without becoming brittle, and that responsibility for edge cases is deliberately retained by experts.

Integration and evolution

Today, Elba stabilises intake and prepares cases for assistance coordination. With deeper system integration and higher-quality operational data on the customer side, further automation becomes feasible - such as reducing callback loops and accelerating partner coordination.

This evolution is intentionally data-dependent. The objective is not automation for its own sake, but shortening the path from first contact to action while maintaining safety, control, and accountability, enabling faster service and greater operational capacity without increasing headcount.

Use cases validated in this deployment

• Claims and Incident Intake
• Incident and Dispatch Handling
• Forms, Questionnaires and Data Collection
• Customer Support and Case Handling
• Outbound Communication and Follow-Ups
• Multilingual Customer Interaction