by guest blogger Nancy J. CohenHow often have you tried to reach customer service on the telephone only to be transported through multiple levels of automated replies? Not only does this take up your time, but it raises your aggravation factor tenfold.
“Just give me a person,” you shout into the phone to no avail.
When that doesn’t work, you punch the “O” on your keypad. Instead of bringing up the operator, you get a message that says, “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize that response.” And the litany of automated choices begins again.
A while ago, I came across a post online that mentioned a website called http://gethuman.com. This useful site lists companies with instructions on how to bypass their telephone tree.
A miracle!
Of course, every time I want to call someone, I’m not going to look up this website, scroll down to the company, and read the instructions. Too much rigmarole. But the site does give some general tips that may be useful. For example, repeatedly say “Customer Service” or “Representative”, and you might get connected to a live person. Or push the zero key. As mentioned above, though, this may not get you the operator, in which case the automated choices are read to you again.
It’s just so annoying when we have to talk to a machine these days instead of a person. Trying to get hold of someone in your doctor’s office is probably the worst. You end up leaving a message, and if you’re lucky, you might get a call back by dinner time. The cable company? Forget it. We’d finally reached tech service and scheduled an appointment. The night before, we received an automated phone call that said the problem in the area had been fixed and our appointment was canceled. What problem in the area? I had to call up all over again and reschedule, then wait for two more automated confirmation phone calls.
Give me back the old days when real people answered the telephone.
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Nancy J. Cohen is an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her popular Bad Hair Day series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Here latest entry in the series is Shear Murder: Who knew weddings could be murder? Hairstylist Marla Shore is weeks away from becoming a bride herself when she walks down the aisle as a bridesmaid at her friend Jill’s ceremony. Things take a turn for the worse when the matron of honor ends up dead, the cake knife in her chest. Now what will they use to cut the cake? BUY NOW!Follow Nancy on her Social Networks: Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads
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and just think of all the PEOPLE who could do that job!!! Why I'll bet unemployment would drop a lot if they would use people instead of thos annoying non-people.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to exchange email with a human being. I have a question for one company that has an "either-or" response. They keep sending me email telling me they do both, but I want to know which one for my application. Then they have the gall to send me yet another "rate our service" questionnaire. When I tell them it stinks, they send me another email that doesn't answer my question. Whew. Got that off my chest. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt's so much better when a person answers the phone. Sue, I agree that customer service depts could benefit by hiring more humans!
ReplyDeletePat, emails as company contacts can be just as annoying. You hope for a personal response when you enter a complaint or problem in an email form.
You hit upon one of the biggest! What bothers me worse is getting someone in another country who doesn't speak English well and really can't do what you need done!
ReplyDeleteThe even sadder thing is getting a "person" who either doesn't speak or understand the language and is located in another country! You wait all that time and sill can't get the help you need.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in the contest to win a copy of the new book, and thank you for a chance to follow you on your blog tour!
Yes, Mary and Maureen, that can be frustrating. It's hard to understand foreign techs with heavy accents. You have a computer problem, for example, call for help, and get connected with someone across the world whom you can barely understand. And this is after going through the telephone tree to reach that person!
ReplyDeleteI agree that out-of-country support can be frustrating. Besides the language barriers, many of the staff are not properly trained. When I worked as a computer security administrator I had a question about our anti-virus system. I could hear the person looking through her manual and could tell she was reading directly from it. At one point, I told her where to find something she was lookfing for, as I had ALREADY checked it out. I really felt sorry for her, as she didn't know how to answer anything that didn't fit into her limited training. Eventually, after about 30 minutes, I was transferred back to a local tech.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on speaking with a human. The other day I went through three customer service reps because I was not able to understand them clearly and finally got a manager who I understood. I asked her why did I have to go through that? She had no reply.
ReplyDeleteEnter me in the contest.
My pet peeve is people that leave a mess in public restrooms whether at a gym,resturant,store or even at church. When washing hands we all are guilty of excess water splatter. If paper towels are available wipe the counter! Worst of all...unflushed toilets. Enough said.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in this month's contest.
Lynda, that must have been horribly frustrating. Dru, thanks for sharing that. Next time I get a rep with a heavy accent, I'll ask for someone else. Joanne, I agree completely!
ReplyDelete