I listened to a podcast a while back that said, “Automation is here. Get used to it.” Not automation is here to help you. The speaker blatantly and unapologetically said “Get Used to it.”
Wow.
My Millenial-age daughter is in IT. She is a godsend when I’m desperate, something I try not to abuse as I’m fully aware she’ll choose my nursing home. My luck, my retirement home will be filled with automation. I can picture it now. When it comes time to take my nitroglycerin pill, I’ll get an automated recording that says, “We’re sorry, that option for your heart condition isn’t available right now. Perhaps you should try Option two. It’s an enema.”
All right, I’m grouchy. Automation has made our lives safer and easier, I admit that. But it should not replace and/or eradicate customer satisfaction that isn’t dealing with life and death matters. For days now I’ve tried to get in touch with my mother’s cable company. – Not for entertainment, mind you. My eighty-eight-year-old mother’s landline has been on the fritz. It’s hit or miss whether she can call out, or we can call in.
I called said company. Logged into the account, looked through the designated options, and decided on Chat. Automated robot came on asked me for the umpteenth time for identification, etc. etc. then when I completed that rigmarole, I asked for an Agent. “Please wait,” came the automated recording. I did so, and waited and waited. Finally, I typed in cancel Chat. “If you cancel,” said the automated response, “you’ll lose your place in line.”
No telling how long that was, so I scrounged around for the telephone
number. The automated voice on the telephone number – get this—told me to go back to the website and try Chat. Then, the final insult was, if you can’t get through here, you can find us on Social Media.
God help anyone who doesn’t have a Twitter or Facebook account. I’m sure my elderly mother doesn’t as she doesn’t own a computer.
Interesting when you call a business you get the standard, “Your call is important to us.” “Please listen closely as our options have changed.” How ironic that every single company in this world is out changing their options!!
Back to my cable nightmare, there’s the three-minute announcement about COVID, and “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re committed to serving you and protecting our employees.” Sounds reasonable until you hear it over and over again (and they ask if they should repeat.)
Somewhere out there there’s a salesperson selling automation software who’s earning big bucks to sell these recordings to companies. The part of the conglomerate that’s selling automated satisfaction surveys, automated opinion polls (that really don’t want your opinion because the questions are so skewed and so vague) or the one you receive every time you call your doctor’s office, that says, “If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 9-1-1.” This orchestrated attempt to not have to deal with the human race (or employ humans) offends me.
Back to the company that took me days to deal with due to automation, when I finally got through to a human, she told me how to circumvent the automation. I won’t say how in case Big Brother is watching. But thank you, human being!
The truth is I do not believe that our calls are important to the upper echelons of these companies. But our dollars sure are.
Get used to it, indeed. George Orwell didn’t even come close to the tip of the iceberg.
This is perfect, Donnell. I dread the calls to any customer service rep. I was stunned the other day when I call a number and got a human being on the second ring. I answered his greeting with “Seriously?” Not meaning insult just surprise. I hope you mom’s phone gets fixed soon.
Thanks, Candy. When you can’t get passed the automation, it’s sooo frustrating. 🙁 Wow, I’d like to do business with the company where the human answered on the second ring! Well done.
Totally agree. Frustration supreme. But, you know, in spite of all the hoo-hah, don’t think technological advances have actually raised our standards of living.
Vonnie, that would be an interesting exploration. IT people are in demand. What I think it does is keeps company from hiring front-line staff. My guess is it’s bettered the higher ups standard of living immensely. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
The cable company (notice I didn’t name them) repair man came to my mother’s house today. There were cracks in the cable outside her home. It’s so wet in Colorado that it was causing a disruption in her phone service. The human who did the repair was wonderful. It was the four frustrating days (including one that said the service was scheduled == but wasn’t) that was infuriating. Automation has its place, until it doesn’t.