I had occasion today to call my credit card company and complain about an item on my recent bill. And I found the experience akin to visiting the dentist and having a tooth removed without novocaine. In other words, painful.
Oh, we got the dispute handled. That wasn’t the difficult part. What was difficult was connecting with a human being with whom to communicate.
I’m an intelligent person. I read a bill pretty well. I can find my minimum payment and the date it’s due. I can also tell from my online banking when my previous check to the same company was cashed. So I never call a credit card or a utility or a department store to get information I can ferret for myself. But a lot of people must do that, because when I called Visa I was immediately presented with a vocal menu that was prefaced with “Please listen to all the prompts, as our menu has recently changed.”
I’ve heard this recorded message before, and it makes me wonder if the real message is, “Please listen and choose the appropriate button to push because we are tired of routing calls to the wrong place.” Then the automated voice told me where to go to learn your balance, your minimum payment, and its due date. I, however, was calling to dispute a charge; and, of course, this was not an option on the menu.
I’ve found over the years that pressing “O” for about ten to fifteen seconds frustrates the automated system and almost guarantees that you get a human fairly quickly. But not before hearing the disclaimer that “This conversation may be recorded for quality or training purposes.”
I was under the impression that conversations could not be recorded unless both parties agreed to it, but I’ve learned that as long as both parties are “aware” of the recording, it appears to be all right. But it’s not all right with me. So once I actually reach a human, I usually say, “I know this is out of your control, but I object to being recorded. And I know that my objection is also being recorded.”
It doesn’t change anything, but it makes me feel better.
In this case, I finally reached a human who was pleasant and knowledgeable, rather than one who was surly and eager to transfer me to another department. That person handled my dispute in markedly less time that it took to reach her in the first place.
This was a pleasant surprise, and it made me wonder why telephone operators have gone the way of dinosaurs. I mean they were often the first contact someone had with a company; and, for the most part, they beat the automated menu hands down.
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