Tired of talking to a machine when you need help?

[Skorixor]

http://paulenglish.com/ivr/

the Integrated Voice Recording Cheat Sheet

Here's the fastest way to talk to a human, for over 250 US companies...

bypass all those fucking menus!

[Krusshyk]

Until they modify their menu's because their call center reps are getting too much volume.

Nice for now, but how long will it last? I think the reason companies use automated menus is because it's far more cost efficient for them then having to answer every shit brained question they get that could have been answered without the help of a live person.

[Isleh]

Until they modify their menu's because their call center reps are getting too much volume.

Nice for now, but how long will it last? I think the reason companies use automated menus is because it's far more cost efficient for them then having to answer every shit brained question they get that could have been answered without the help of a live person.

Not all of them

http://paulenglish.com/ivr/kudos.html

[Krusshyk]

Bottom line is, if the corporations didn't think it was more profitable to use the automated menus, then they wouldn't. Maybe Nordstrom's and Lands End are desperatly clinging to the dying ideal that customer service makes or breaks your bottom line. And personally, I think the generation of people that have the undying need to actually talk to a living person is getting old and dying.

I see it with my boss all the time...the dude is almost 90 years old, and he complains to beat the band that he can never get a hold of a customer service rep when he has a problem with something. But it's never anything that needs to be answered by a living human. It's usually something mundane.

So there are some companies that use live people to answer the phones, ok. But they aren't effected by a publicized list of how to circumvent the runaround...there isn't any to begin with. But the companies that use the auto menus...they use them because they are more efficient for them(efficient = money saving) than paying people to be human switchboards.

If the list gets enough publicity, I am fairly certain they will just change the menus. What are they gonna do? Throw their hands up and say, "Aw, you got me! From here on out I will waste money talking to you because you figured out my system?"

[Krusshyk]

And I don't understand why companies like T-mobile (who have arguably the best customer service in their industry) are on the cheat sheet list, even though their customer service line takes you direct to a person.

[X'an Shin]

...I think the reason companies use automated menus is because it's far more cost efficient for them then having to answer every shit brained question they get that could have been answered without the help of a live person.

Regardless of how dumb the customer is, they are (nearly) always right. Companies that forget this rule are ones that put in these craptastical phone systems, and eventually lose customers because of it.

I've seen at least one company this past month that has decided to go back to using people answering the phones because their customers have become so disatisfied with their "customer service" lines.

[Shensen]

I don't mind automated menus. In most cases I can get what I need - it's only those times where none of the menu options apply to what I'm looking for and I spend more time pushing buttons then getting answers.

[Krusshyk]

...I think the reason companies use automated menus is because it's far more cost efficient for them then having to answer every shit brained question they get that could have been answered without the help of a live person.

Regardless of how dumb the customer is, they are (nearly) always right. Companies that forget this rule are ones that put in these craptastical phone systems, and eventually lose customers because of it.

I've seen at least one company this past month that has decided to go back to using people answering the phones because their customers have become so disatisfied with their "customer service" lines.

Maybe they had the most unintuitive system imagined. But I can't believe that every company that uses an auto menu is commiting corporate suicide. I am tellin' ya...with kids these days, it's about autonomy. Online FAQ's, internet based customer support...when they get older, they aren't going to care if Tanya answers the phone politely or not, they just want their shit to work.

[Shensen]

...I think the reason companies use automated menus is because it's far more cost efficient for them then having to answer every shit brained question they get that could have been answered without the help of a live person.

Regardless of how dumb the customer is, they are (nearly) always right. Companies that forget this rule are ones that put in these craptastical phone systems, and eventually lose customers because of it.

I've seen at least one company this past month that has decided to go back to using people answering the phones because their customers have become so disatisfied with their "customer service" lines.

Maybe they had the most unintuitive system imagined. But I can't believe that every company that uses an auto menu is commiting corporate suicide. I am tellin' ya...with kids these days, it's about autonomy. Online FAQ's, internet based customer support...when they get older, they aren't going to care if Tanya answers the phone politely or not, they just want their shit to work.

You mean Habib using the name John With the help desk I helped train in India it never ceased to crack me up how many of them were told to pick American names. It was supposed to save time because the American consumers wouldn't have to keep asking what their name was over and over...instead we just spend most of the conversation saying "What?" over and over. I'd much prefer the computerized voice - it's funny sounding but at least I know when it is telling me to fuck off lol.

[X'an Shin]

...when they get older, they aren't going to care if Tanya answers the phone politely or not, they just want their shit to work.

I would actually argue that you're just not old enough yet.

Because when their shit DOESN'T work? They don't want to talk to a machine about it. They want answers. You're obviously not busy enough yet. Work two jobs and then come home to a messy house, a wife that wants your time and a child (or more) who wants your attention, and then jump in the phone maze to attempt to correct an error that the phone company made and now you have to take a moment of your time to fix it. I guarantee you you're going to be frustrated.

Chew on this for a second: The most successful CEOs out there are beginning to mandate days where employees aren't even allowed to use email.

Automation may in some cases be a cost effective solution, but when it impairs effective communication, it's a detriment to the bottom line, which is profit, and profit's bottom line is generated cashflow. You don't generate cash if unsatisfied customers leave in droves.

Just food for thought.

[Isleh]

Bottom line is, if the corporations didn't think it was more profitable to use the automated menus, then they wouldn't. Maybe Nordstrom's and Lands End are desperatly clinging to the dying ideal that customer service makes or breaks your bottom line. And personally, I think the generation of people that have the undying need to actually talk to a living person is getting old and dying.

I see it with my boss all the time...the dude is almost 90 years old, and he complains to beat the band that he can never get a hold of a customer service rep when he has a problem with something. But it's never anything that needs to be answered by a living human. It's usually something mundane.

So there are some companies that use live people to answer the phones, ok. But they aren't effected by a publicized list of how to circumvent the runaround...there isn't any to begin with. But the companies that use the auto menus...they use them because they are more efficient for them(efficient = money saving) than paying people to be human switchboards.

If the list gets enough publicity, I am fairly certain they will just change the menus. What are they gonna do? Throw their hands up and say, "Aw, you got me! From here on out I will waste money talking to you because you figured out my system?"

You forget, those people who the phone maze was designed to filter out, have to use that interwebby thingie to get to the list.

[Isleh]

Southwest Air 4th-Qtr Profit Rises on More Travelers - January 18, 2006 08:24 EST

They are on the Kudos list that do not use a phone maze.

[Isleh]

Maybe they had the most unintuitive system imagined. But I can't believe that every company that uses an auto menu is commiting corporate suicide. I am tellin' ya...with kids these days, it's about autonomy. Online FAQ's, internet based customer support...when they get older, they aren't going to care if Tanya answers the phone politely or not, they just want their shit to work.

And that makes people impatient

A phone maze can make a non-hostile customer a hostile customer. If the customer is already hostile.....

A hostile customer can chew up a service rep's time like crazy and pull in managers and higher personel with their demands.

Dealing with hostile customers all day is not plesent and can increase the turnover rate for your service rep positions. Increasing the cost because of training an retraining of personal.

Of course, then your service staff is undertrained and unable to efficently handle customer requests. More requests get bumped up to managers.

Generating a negative experience for the customer.

Who may be a hostile customer next time they call because of that negative experience.