I dont have a problem with menus as long as they give you the option of bypassing them but I don’t want to hear 500 options when I know I need to talk to a person because my question is “why are you charging me 40 cents a minute when your tariff says 13 cents a minute to Inner Molduria?”. Or “WTF did you slam my line?”
I realize lower rates mean automating some chores but there is no excuse for slamming or for misleading advertising of rates etc. And if they didn’t do these things they would save many calls from irate customers. What gets me is not so much the money but the aggravation of having to waste so much time getting these things straightened out (and now, changing to another long distance carrier).
Ezstrete-- I didn’t mean to imply that the systems were too difficult for anyone to handle. I do realize, of course, that there’s plenty of folks who’d rather not handle it, anyway. Like I said, I’m a nerd, so I don’t mind talking to a machine, but my mom, for instance, hates it. Also, there are a great number of situations that can’t reasonably be handled by a computer, as sailor mentions. On the other hand, the machine can at least connect him to the right person, i.e., someone in the billing department. Yes, it’d really suck if there were no way to contact an actual person, but I’ve never yet encountered a phone system where there wasn’t a way.
Of course! This isn’t personal, I just get a kick out of this kind of stuff.
Very, very true. During that time, if you lived in NY, you called a NY number and got a NY operator. But people don’t want that anymore, especially in the wireless phone division. If someone lives in NY, but travel to Houston and Seattle, they want one number to call no matter where they are. If you’re visiting Houston and have a service issue, you need someone who can work with the system in Houston and NY (that would be me). If you’re in Seattle, you can call the same number and still get me.
I think it’s a matter of perception. It would take just as long (or longer) for a person to listen to your problem, determine who would best be able to help, and then transfer you. But people from the pre-genX group are too used to talking to a person. It’s probably the same group that rails against using debit cards, because they “don’t trust them newfangled things” (actual quote from my grandma). Never mind that it takes me 5 seconds to pay for my groceries, after waiting 5 minutes behind the little old lady that’s counting out exact change. Us younger folks are willing to give up some personal interaction for efficiency’s sake. I actually prefer to get information (credit card balances, etc.) from an automated response or off a website.
I’m reminded of the movie Demolition Man (starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesly Snipes and Sandra Bullock) which is set in an utopian future. When people called the police station, a live operator (Rob Schneider) answered and said something like, “If you’d like the option of an automated response, please press 1 now.”