Hook Me Up With A Human
By Harry Hoover
Oh, what has happened to the carbon-based organizational interface? Many organizations have digitized humans aka carbon-based units - out of existence in their customer service operations.
Now, I love digital technology as much as anyone, but it is time to bring the people back into their appropriate customer service roles, don't you think?
Have you ever tried to reach a human at Amazon.com? When I
last checked you couldn't even find a telephone number on
the website. Just to annoy them, here is their toll free
number: 800-201-7575.
Many organizations don't even have a live person answering
phones. They dump you directly into voicemail. If this
happens to you, punch "0" immediately. Some systems are
programmed to ignore the first three "0s" so keep punching.
This almost always gets you to a sentient being. OK,
sentient may be a little strong. At least they are
breathing. Sometimes if you hit the * key, you'll be sent to
the company directory.
The Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business
reports that in a recent survey of 1,000 people about
customer service "can't find a human" was at the top of the
list of things participants disliked. The study further
showed that calling a toll free number was still the
preferred method of reaching a company, but more people are
turning to the web because no one appears to be home at the
phone.
The society has published an online directory containing a
lot of contact information for many top companies. Here is
the link: http://www.consumeraction.gov/corpormain.shtml.
Use it frequently.
Here are a few other tips for hunting down a human. Try
using the Whois directory at http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/index.jhtml.
However, truly cunning companies have removed their contact
information from there, too.
Companies which continue to shirk their responsibility to
their customers eventually will pay. Customer retention
rates will spiral downward and new business will dry up. At
least, I keep telling myself this will happen to these bad
PR poster children.
If you call me, unless I'm on fire or talking with a client,
I'll answer my phone. And, if I somehow miss your call, it
won't take me 24 hours to get back to you. It's bad PR - and
inhuman - to do anything less..
About The Author
Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR. He has
26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom
line messages that ensure success for serious businesses
like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Levolor, New World
Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, Ty Boyd Executive Learning
Systems, VELUX and Verbatim. More info:
http://www.hoover-ink.com.