Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
I HATE Customer Service Phone Trees
Okay, I should add a qualifier: I hate customer service phone trees with no option to talk to a real person.
I spent about half-an-hour online (none of the options fit), then on the phone, with FedEx trying to get some information on a recent problem. The problem? For the last four FedEx deliveries, the driver left our package on the ground by our mailbox instead of bringing it up to our house. Our mailbox (as well as our neighbors’) are on the common driveway right off the main road. It’s also a quarter-mile from the house and not visible. In other words, packages left by our mailboxes are easy targets for thieves. FedEx used to bring them to the house, and UPS always has.
I was about to explode when I thought I should look for a local number. I found one, called the number, and there was the option—press 9 to speak to a representative! Halleluiah! The young lady said she couldn’t help me with the problem, but she transferred me to the FedEx mother ship and a real person answered the phone. This lady listened to my complaint, took down some information, then said they’ll get back to me. Okay, maybe they won’t, but at least I managed to break though their shield (a shield worthy of a Star Trek battle cruiser).
Just for giggles, I typed “I hate phone tree customer service” into DuckDuckGo and found a ton of info out there about how much people hate phone trees, some humorous such as this.
Okay, that’s my rant, and “Have a nice day!”
Published in Business
The goal should be to get me to a human so I Can get my problem solved. I am calling. If it could be fixed without a person, I’d have done it on their webpage using their usually useless FAQ
If I wanted to try a canned fix, I’d do it online. If I am calling, the canned fixed did not work or did not exist. I call because I need a human being to help me. I never call to talk to a computer.
There is no phone tree on the face of this Earth that will help me. I don’t need menus. I need a person. The whole “press 3” for this person does not usually help. Just get me to a person who can use their brain to sort me. Spend those millions of dollars on salaries of people, who can speak English well, to help me.
I had one of those times today. Called a cable company about a service change, waited on hold only a few minutes and got a very polite fellow who did what I needed in less than 3 minutes. Then got an email with our new bill in 5 minutes. Amazing!
You must have a provider other than Verizon.
Yeah, it was Spectrum; put our condo’s TV/internet service on a seasonal hold for a few months to save some bucks.
I called yesterday, but the recording said wait times were “between 27 and 40 minutes.” Called this AM and it said 15, but he picked up in three.
Obviously we need customer service robots in addition to sex robots. Or would that be redundant? :-)
The problem I had living in Phoenix was that Amazon stuff was usually delivered by someone other than the usual mail carrier for the area, so they didn’t have the keys to access the group mailboxes. Which meant they’d leave stuff at my front door, in the open, and not even knock.
I counter with this:
Pearls Before Swine
Many of us are good about that, but the reality is that companies get calls all day long from people who don’t even look at the instructions, etc.
It should be obvious in the first 5 min that I know what I am talking about.
I’m the same way, and I often find that I already know more about whatever it is, than the person I’m talking to, so I have to ask to be directed to a supervisor, or “escalated” to “tier 2” support or whatever they call it. But they don’t find that out until they talk to us. Meanwhile all those people who don’t even bother to read the instructions etc, think they should be able to talk to a person immediately too.
Companies should have more people to answer the phone.
Not enough people available, there’s a big demand for social workers solving crimes.
Would be if they paid more.
That would cut into company profits though. They don’t do it because they don’t have too because so many of these places are monopolies
That’s certainly true in some cases. When I lived in Phoenix, US West/Qwest/Century Link was fined by the state utilities commission for deliberately setting up their “customer service” system to make people go away.
So that’s where my Magnificat is.