Tired of waiting on hold?

[Scott Shepherd]

I've been using this site for some time and thought I would share it. It's saved me many hours. It's not perfect by any means, but if you follow the directions, it can help out. Every once in a while the companies will try and counter it by changing up how their menu systems work, but they normally update it to show the new work arounds.

It's a site that shows how to get around automated phone menus and get to a human as quickly as possible.

www.gethuman.com

[Eric DeSilva]

A lot of times the simple answer is not to hit any buttons... if nothing is hit, a lot of systems then route you to a human.

[Jim Becker]

Well, if more companies would implement the technology (which I and other SMC members sell, BTW) to it's current potential, it would be a lot easier to navigate to where you want to get to. But that would require change...and resistance is often high to any form of change, even when you can prove a very quick return on investment. Go figure...

[Jason Roehl]

The one that gets me is when you go through a telephone menu that has you input all sorts of info relevant to the problem at hand, only to get to an operator/CSR that doesn't bother to pull all that up on their computer--asking you all the same questions again. I think I'd rather just listen to elevator music.

[jeremy levine]

The one that gets me is when you go through a telephone menu that has you input all sorts of info relevant to the problem at hand, only to get to an operator/CSR that doesn't bother to pull all that up on their computer--asking you all the same questions again. I think I'd rather just listen to elevator music.

Having written a ton of these systems over the years I am so pissed when that happens. In the late 80's it was practice not re-ask the questions because some "experts" found that it unerved people thinking the computers knew to much about them, I think we're past that.

I tend to press the * and # keys a lot, most systems figure the person on the other end is an idiot and just drop you to an agent.

[Matt Meiser]

I tend to press the * and # keys a lot, most systems figure the person on the other end is an idiot and just drop you to an agent.

What really makes me mad is the ones that, after you doing this, say "Sorry you're having a problem. Good bye!" DTE Energy's system used to do that to me. On top of it, their computer had my phone number associated to the wrong address and made me verify that I typed the number right 3 times before it would put me into a menu that allowed me to press several more buttons to get to an agent. Any missteps, intentional or otherwise would get that response. I think it took me something like 40 keypresses to get to an agent.

[Chris Padilla]

I tend to press the * and # keys a lot, most systems figure the person on the other end is an idiot and just drop you to an agent.

I used to just hit the zero button a zillion times but lately that doesn't seem to work so I'll try the * and # keys now. :)

However, the idea of not punching anything makes sense...especially for those that still have *gasp* rotary phones!

I have to applaud United Airlines Auto Reservation services! Several months ago, I made reservations on the phone (all automated), using miles, for the Padilla family (3 separate members), to secure tickets to Maui. It worked very well and gave me options over what I could find online through UAL's site. I was quite impressed and it really didn't take long at all.

[Brian Elfert]

I suspect large companies have probably done testing to determine how far they can go to keep customers away from customer service agents before they become ex-customers. Further, companies have probably determined that a certain number of ex-customers are less expensive than spending money on more customer service agents.

With call centers overseas you would think it would be cheap to hire more agents, but I suppose a call center that costs $10 an hour versus $30 an hour (just guesses) is still too expensive for a CEO earning millions.

[Jim Becker]

Brian, it's called "segmentation" in the contact center space. (a big part of my world...) When it's done right, it really works well to insure that the best customers get personalized service and new or "less valuable" customers still get served on a timely basis. When it's not done right or a company is using applications that are just not capable of doing it right, well...you tend to get what this thread is about. "Self service" is a big part of things at this point in time for cost factors and again, how well it's implemented (with capable technology) will affect the customer experience big-time. Chris's example above is what it's supposed to be like...easy to use, intelligent and satisfying.

[Jim O'Dell]

The one that gets me is when you go through a telephone menu that has you input all sorts of info relevant to the problem at hand, only to get to an operator/CSR that doesn't bother to pull all that up on their computer--asking you all the same questions again. I think I'd rather just listen to elevator music.

Jason, that sounds like every extended warranty company I deal with. :eek: Jim.

[Eric Franklin]

I hate the one's that you have to speak to. They never seem to understand what you are saying.

[Matt Meiser]

I hate the one's that you have to speak to. They never seem to understand what you are saying.

And yet their name always seems to be Steve? :confused:

[Jim Becker]

I hate the one's that you have to speak to. They never seem to understand what you are saying.

The good ones do. But when a company implements poor speech recognition software...it can be darn frustrating!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Or those foreign thickly accented people who try to make you think they are right next door - like location matters.

"Hallooo dis is Chip Vindaloo" Then a question about the Huskers.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Or you need your billing straightened out (here in the USA) and you get someone from India that just wants to keep trying to sell you another feature.... I get mad enough and I track down a number in the USA, even if I have to pay for the call. They have 'rotating' names, one week it'll be 'Mary' and 'John', the next week it's 'Joe' and 'Malinda'. I guess they prefer "J" and "M" names? When I blow up and tell them I don't want to speak to someone in India they say, with a strongly accented voice, "I am in the United States of America". Like an American would say it like that?!? uh huh....

And I have used the gethuman site. Often it'll get you a human... unfortunately they're often in India :(

[Kyle Kraft]

Speaking of rotary phones, my kids didn't even know how to use the one in my garage until I gathered all of 'em up for a tutorial.

[Mark Kosmowski]

I think it would be helpful for a company to have, say 10 800 numbers reserved for direct line to a person customer service and to reandomly rotate through them, where the current number is given on their website - maybe require 5 or 10 minutes navigating the site before having this option appear in the contact window.

The only time I call for things is when I am not able to find the information I need online, which generally means the automated system will not be helpful either.

That whole "enter 5 numbers into the autmomated system and then get asked for them again after 2 hours (exageration, slight) when you finally get a person" business is very, very irritating.