Coinbase is implementing a major overhaul of its customer support operations following weeks of user anger and a significant data breach that exposed sensitive details of 69,461 customers. The breach, which occurred through a TaskUs employee working for Coinbase, involved the theft and sale of customer records, with up to 200 files per day being photographed and offered for sale. The compromised data included names, phone numbers, emails, and government ID images, though Coinbase stressed that no passwords, private keys, or funds were accessed.
In response, Senior Director Wes Griffith announced a comprehensive four-pillar strategy to repair the relationship with users. The first pillar focuses on proactively identifying and fixing product issues before they require customer support. The second emphasizes enhanced automation through improved APIs, a better knowledge base, and AI-powered tools to enable self-service resolutions. The third pillar aims to make it easier for users to reach human support by removing chatbot barriers and reducing wait times. The fourth focuses on improving live support quality through better training and tools for staff.
Early results show promise, with customer satisfaction scores improving by 20% in August compared to previous months, and the rate of contact transfers between agents dropping to about 10%. Coinbase has terminated its relationship with TaskUs and is establishing a new U.S.-based customer service hub to reduce reliance on external vendors. The company acknowledges that regulatory investigations are ongoing and that users remain skeptical about whether these changes will be sustained long-term.