What is it about electronic communications that makes it OK to ignore or be rude to people? I left a message over two weeks ago regarding a refund for a class I wanted to cancel. No response. I finally called again today, and was able to talk to the person to whom I sent the email. “Oh,” she said, “I cancelled the class and processed your refund.” When I asked when it was processed, she came back to say that they hadn’t processed the refund since they were waiting for a response from me. What??? How could I respond when no one ever responded to my first email?
Yesterday I tried to call the Social Security office with a question. Disembodied electronic voices led me through a maze of question and answer sequences. I finally reached what I thought was the doorway to a real human being, when I was told that there were no customer service agents available and I could call back later. Then they hung up on me!
One of the hallmarks of a professional in business was returning phone calls in a timely manner. A survey I conducted with over 500 business professionals for an earlier article listed “not returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner” as the number one thing that drove co-workers crazy. The put off (maddening multi-levels of automated messages and multiple choice questions) or the hang up (sorry, no one is here) has taken over from the rude response. I once called a government agency that informed me that everyone was out at a teambuilding meeting and wouldn’t be back until the next day. Everyone??? Who is in charge of scheduling? What for-profit, private business would shut down and ignore business and customers for an entire day? Not one that wants to stay in business very long.
Company websites have taken the place of the friendly customer service rep. Aside from the fact that not everyone has their own computer with Internet access at their disposal, it is difficult to find contact information or to navigate the options or directions in order to contact someone anywhere. Years ago, all you needed was a phone book. Now, I have gone to websites only to find that the “help desk” directs you to send a written request to their P.O. Box. I tried to find the customer service number on a credit card bill and took at least 10 minutes trying to find a number. What I did find was a website address, and then spent another five minutes looking for a number there.
All this makes me suspicious that some companies really don’t want to hear from customers. They have websites and blogs and Facebook pages. They can be found on Twitter. But try leaving a message or sending an email, and you are most likely to get an automated voicemail or an email response sent from “no reply.” Fine, I won’t reply. Furthermore, as a customer, I won’t be back.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a workplace consultant, blogger, motivational speaker and freelance writer for communicationsjobs.com. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training & Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News. When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing Alto II with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and creating original gift items available on http://www.etsy.spoolhardy.com/. You can read more of her blogs at communicationsjobsblog.com and view additional job postings on Nexxt.
Yesterday I tried to call the Social Security office with a question. Disembodied electronic voices led me through a maze of question and answer sequences. I finally reached what I thought was the doorway to a real human being, when I was told that there were no customer service agents available and I could call back later. Then they hung up on me!
One of the hallmarks of a professional in business was returning phone calls in a timely manner. A survey I conducted with over 500 business professionals for an earlier article listed “not returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner” as the number one thing that drove co-workers crazy. The put off (maddening multi-levels of automated messages and multiple choice questions) or the hang up (sorry, no one is here) has taken over from the rude response. I once called a government agency that informed me that everyone was out at a teambuilding meeting and wouldn’t be back until the next day. Everyone??? Who is in charge of scheduling? What for-profit, private business would shut down and ignore business and customers for an entire day? Not one that wants to stay in business very long.
Company websites have taken the place of the friendly customer service rep. Aside from the fact that not everyone has their own computer with Internet access at their disposal, it is difficult to find contact information or to navigate the options or directions in order to contact someone anywhere. Years ago, all you needed was a phone book. Now, I have gone to websites only to find that the “help desk” directs you to send a written request to their P.O. Box. I tried to find the customer service number on a credit card bill and took at least 10 minutes trying to find a number. What I did find was a website address, and then spent another five minutes looking for a number there.
All this makes me suspicious that some companies really don’t want to hear from customers. They have websites and blogs and Facebook pages. They can be found on Twitter. But try leaving a message or sending an email, and you are most likely to get an automated voicemail or an email response sent from “no reply.” Fine, I won’t reply. Furthermore, as a customer, I won’t be back.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a workplace consultant, blogger, motivational speaker and freelance writer for communicationsjobs.com. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training & Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News. When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing Alto II with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and creating original gift items available on http://www.etsy.spoolhardy.com/. You can read more of her blogs at communicationsjobsblog.com and view additional job postings on Nexxt.
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