Tom Feltenstein

Recently I had to call and make a payment over the phone. What should have been a quick, simple phone call required fifteen minutes. I had to press 1 for English, 3 to pay my bill, 8 for a person…and heaven forbid if I forgot to press #.  By the time the call ended I was ready to don a straight jacket and suck Jell-O through a straw. How can any company expect to retain customers when it is annoying them so much? I thought it can’t just be me; surely there are more people out there who despise automated calling systems. Apparently I’m not alone; check out this hilarious spoof on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUM0KYQrmKM&feature=related

As I sat in the Emergency Room due to the carpal tunnel injury I suffered from pressing #,*, and every other combination of numbers, it again confirmed to me how important personal contact and quality customer service truly is. To quote Barbara Streisand, “People need people.” Bring back the human touch, please!

Most automated call systems originated out of the company’s need to cut costs.  However, it has grown into a convenient excuse for some companies not to offer actual service that is easy and efficient for customers. The frustration consumers experience as a result of automated menus reflects a broad and unsettling shift in the service industry mindset.  The core focus has shifted from being customer-centered – that is, striving to offer an extraordinary customer experience – to being self-centered.  In this new reality, the company chooses to save costs rather than explore more efficient methods of operating and delivering customer needs, and as a result the customer experience is marginalized.

Where does your company fit in this new paradigm?  When you make choices, do you think of the impact upon your customers first?  We all know that without customers our phones don’t ring.  One encounter with a frustrating phone menu reminds us that we need to be constantly vigilant in serving our customers to engage customer loyalty.

I’d like to learn from you.  What are some of your most frustrating or most memorable encounters with automated call systems?