Why Threadheads Chose Dedicated AI Over Help Desk Solutions for Their Complex Business

For ThreadHeads, a print-on-demand e-commerce business with intricate fulfillment processes, finding the right AI solution to enhance customer service involved more than basic automation. Their journey from experimenting with help desk native AI to implementing Siena's dedicated solution offers valuable insights for companies navigating the complex AI landscape.

This case study explores not just ThreadHeads' implementation success, but also presents a framework for understanding when different AI approaches make sense for different business needs.

The Challenge: Print-on-Demand Complexity

ThreadHeads operates a print-on-demand e-commerce business that creates unique challenges for customer service:

"We are not just a pick-and-pack e-commerce, we are printing on demand," explains Mitch Ance, who led customer experience at ThreadHeads. "This means we hold blanks in stock. You can buy a t-shirt with a picture of your dog or you can buy one of the many designs that we sell, and then as soon as you place the order, it gets printed in various locations all managed by us."

This business model created several customer service challenges:

• Global time zone coverage: With customer service teams primarily in Australia and the Philippines, ThreadHeads struggled to support US and UK customers during their peak shopping hours
• Complex inquiry handling: Questions like "Can I modify my order if it's already being printed?" required nuanced understanding of their unique fulfillment process
• Maintaining exceptional service standards: Despite an impressively low return rate of 1% (compared to the industry average of 12%), ThreadHeads needed to ensure excellent service to protect brand reputation

The Discovery Process: Finding Their AI Match

ThreadHeads initially explored their help desk's native AI solution during peak season in late 2024. This exploration helped them identify what they truly needed in an AI solution for their complex business.

After evaluating multiple options and testing the water with Gorgias AI, ThreadHeads selected Siena for several key differentiators:

Platform Sophistication

"The wow starts with the platform," Mitch explains. "The granularity of the platform is amazing, it's phenomenal."

ThreadHeads valued Siena's advanced capabilities, including detailed conversation analysis, playground environment for testing, and a split-screen interface for efficient automation setup.

Thoughtful Response Approach

ThreadHeads was focused on providing genuine, human-like interactions rather than just quick responses:

"We were one of those merchants that wanted AI to act as a human agent more than having it signing as AI," Mitch notes. "For example, we called our persona in Siena 'Sarah.'"

They appreciated Siena's deliberate approach to responses that prioritized quality over speed: "I don't care if you don't tell me, 'Hey, yeah, thank you for reaching out. We're going to hand it over to the team and someone's going to get back to you.' We still want to be a human business."

Collaborative Implementation

ThreadHeads valued Siena's partnership approach, including Slack integration for real-time collaboration and guidance during implementation.

Results and Priorities: Measuring What Matters

ThreadHeads structured their success metrics to reflect their customer-first philosophy:

Customer Experience Performance: The North Star

Customer Experience Performance (CXP) was ThreadHeads' primary metric, with a target of maintaining it consistently above 90%. This comprehensive measure captures the quality of the entire customer journey from first contact to resolution.

"CXP, keeping that as high as possible above 90%, that's the number," emphasizes Mitch.

Quality Over Quantity

ThreadHeads deliberately prioritized metrics in this order:

1. CXP: Maintaining above 90%
2. Routing rate: Minimizing unnecessary human handoffs
3. Automation rate: Targeted at 60-70% within a few months

"I'm fine with having a 10% automation rate with a 0% routing rate rather than having a 60-70% automation rate with a very high routing percentage," explains Mitch.

This prioritization demonstrates ThreadHeads' understanding that AI value comes from handling the right conversations effectively, not just from automation percentages.

Team Transformation: AI as Enhancement

A critical aspect of ThreadHeads' implementation was the involvement of their customer service team from the beginning:

"Our customer service team is actually part of the team, part of the brain, upskilling them to become the ones to orchestrate Siena," says Mitch. "The goal is not to make them redundant—it's about avoiding the need to expand the CX team while still providing excellent service."

This approach transformed potential job security concerns into opportunities for skill development and career growth.

A Framework for AI Solution Selection

ThreadHeads' journey offers valuable insights for companies evaluating AI solutions. Their experience suggests that the right solution depends on specific business needs and goals:

Business Goals and Philosophy

Native AI solutions typically work best for businesses focused on:

• Immediate acknowledgment and quick first response times
• Basic FAQ handling and simple ticket routing
• Entry-level automation with minimal setup time
• Companies where speed of first response is the primary success metric

Dedicated AI solutions like Siena typically excel for businesses aiming to:

• Replicate the capabilities of top-performing customer service agents
• Deliver thoughtful, complete resolutions rather than just acknowledgments
• Create genuinely human-feeling customer relationships
• Handle complex, multi-step service scenarios
• Continuously learn from and adapt based on best practices

Business Model Complexity

The complexity of your operations plays a significant role in determining the right solution:

"Between dedicated and native AI, I think one important choice will be the complexity of the internal business processes," notes Mitch. "If you have many, very complex processes and you need the ability for the AI agent to trigger endpoints via API with specific systems, then I would say go with Siena."

Businesses with straightforward operations often find help desk native AI sufficient, while those with complex operational models benefit from dedicated solutions.

Financial Evaluation

ThreadHeads took a comprehensive approach to financial evaluation by comparing not just between AI solutions, but against human staffing costs.

They calculated the cost per ticket for a top-performing human agent and found that Siena was at least 50% more cost-effective, making the investment worthwhile despite potentially higher upfront costs compared to native AI solutions.

Partner Focus

The specialization of your AI provider can be a crucial factor:

"What I can expect from an AI agent from a company like Siena is that it's your only focus. You have a company at Siena where the focus and the mission is improving customer experience via AI."

For businesses with complex needs, working with a partner specialized exclusively in customer experience AI often provides access to deeper capabilities.

Conclusion: The Right Tool for Your Needs

ThreadHeads' experience illustrates that there's no one-size-fits-all solution for AI in customer experience. Different business needs call for different approaches.

For businesses with straightforward operations and standard inquiries, help desk native AI often provides an excellent entry point with seamless integration and manageable learning curves.

For businesses with complex operational models like ThreadHeads, dedicated AI solutions offer the depth, customization, and specialized capabilities needed to navigate unique business complexities.

The key is understanding your business's unique needs, priorities, and complexities to select the solution that will best help you deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Are you looking to enhance your customer experience? Contact Siena today to discuss whether a dedicated AI solution might be the right fit for your business needs.