When I worked for the cell phone company, people complained they couldn't "just talk to someone" when they called our store location. All you had to do was listen. It was press one for english, and then the third option was "to speak directly to a store representative, press 3". Can't tell you how many people swore up and down there was NO way of talking to us. So either they're lying and didn't even try and want me to bend over for them because i'm supposed to believe they're pissed off, they're too lazy to listen to the options (which is THEIR fault, not the company's), or just plain stupid. I think a vast majority were lazy and stupid.
But for everyone who complained, i called right there in front of them and played the options for them.
Many of the options in the automated systems are to weed out the people who DON'T NEED to talk to someone. There are many, many things that can more easily and quickly be done without having to talk to someone, and many people just don't know the option exists. If I call to do x, and find out I can do it myself without having to talk to someone, i'm all over that- it saves my time, and the company money (which is only important because if enough people weren't so lazy and ignorant, the cost savings would be substantial).
I don't know why everyone feels that they HAVE to "talk to a person". If it can be done without human interaction, then it SHOULD be done that way. It only makes sense. In my opinion, good "customer service" is giving a person options which make things easier- and automation of everyday tasks qualifies as "easier". This is why I do my bill payments online- and receive online bills rather than paper bills when possible. There's no waste of paper or money, or chance of loss like with mailing it, and it's a much faster way of doing things.
They bury the "operator" button because people are lazy, and EVERYONE will press the operator button if you give them the chance. This is neither cost effective, nor efficient. You know part of the reason that the call centers for US companies are outside the US? It's incredibly expensive to staff here in the US for the volume of calls companies get- because people demand to "talk to a real person". When the call centers are smaller, because more people can automate their everyday tasks, the cost-benefit is not quite so different, and they keep the jobs in America.
Bottom line is, if you get all flustered and pissed-off because you can't navigate a phone menu- is it really because the mean old menu is so difficult, or because your patience is for shit and don't want to be bothered? I've done the meny thing as much as anyone, and i've never had the phone system rape my mind like so many whine about.
Last edited by analog; 01-23-2006 at 05:00 PM..
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