Hook Me Up With A Human

Oh, what has happened to the carbon-based organizational interface? Many organizations have digitized humans - aka carbon-based units - out of existence in their customer service operations. Now, I love digital technology as much as anyone, but it is time to bring the people back into their appropriate customer service roles, don't you think?

Have you ever tried to reach a human at Amazon.com? When I last checked you couldn't even find a telephone number on the website. Just to annoy them, here is their toll free number: 800-201-7575.

Many organizations don't even have a live person answering phones. They dump you directly into voicemail. If this happens to you, punch "0" immediately. Some systems are programmed to ignore the first three "0s" so keep punching. This almost always gets you to a sentient being. OK, sentient may be a little strong. At least they are breathing. Sometimes if you hit the * key, you'll be sent to the company directory.

The Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business reports that in a recent survey of 1,000 people about customer service "can't find a human" was at the top of the list of things participants disliked. The study further showed that calling a toll free number was still the preferred method of reaching a company, but more people are turning to the web because no one appears to be home at the phone.

The society has published an online directory containing a lot of contact information for many top companies. Here is the link: http://www.consumeraction.gov/corpormain.shtml. Use it frequently.

Here are a few other tips for hunting down a human. Try using the Whois directory at http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/index.jhtml. However, truly cunning companies have removed their contact information from there, too.

Companies which continue to shirk their responsibility to their customers eventually will pay. Customer retention rates will spiral downward and new business will dry up. At least, I keep telling myself this will happen to these bad PR poster children.

If you call me, unless I'm on fire or talking with a client, I'll answer my phone. And, if I somehow miss your call, it won't take me 24 hours to get back to you. It's bad PR - and inhuman - to do anything less.

Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR, http://www.hoover-ink.com. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Levolor, New World Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX and Verbatim.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Customer Service Information:

Related Articles

Customers - What They Really Want - 6 Secrets of Customer Service
What customers really want can be divided into two areas.Firstly - they want the core service of your business tomeet their needs.
Saying Thank You to Your Clients
"Thanking your customers" - Why you should do it and how..
Create a Positive, Upbeat, Can-Do Workforce and Dazzle the Customer with Your Caring!
Given the choice of dealing with a positive, upbeat employee with a "can-do" attitude or dealing with a disgruntled, distracted, uninterested one, which would you choose? No contest. Customers always want the best experience possible; they want it to be easy and pleasant to do business with your company.
Customer Service - A Sweet Essence
First let us specifically define customer service. It is the performance of a duty or responsibility due to a customer as a result of selling them a product or service.
Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly?
Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most valuable uses for a commercial World Wide Web site. Your Web site is available on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis.
Is Your Food Establishment Clean?
Is your restaurant, bar or hotel clean? I mean really clean. I don't mean"do you stick to all the rules and regulations?".
Customer Service: Stop Sabotaging Your Customer Relationships
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions.
Become a Customer Enthusiasm-Guru!
One thing all successful small business owners have in common is the knowledge that their business is based on enthusiastic customers. Despite their multi-tasking titles of bookkeeper, service provider and sales-manager, their most important title is Customer-Enthusiasm Guru.
How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service
Having been in business a number of years, I'm amazed at the number of people who don't have the slightest idea of what customer service is. Customer service is not a way of doing things - it's an attitude.
Customer Neglect
What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably not much, if you are like most businesses.I know that hunting new business is more of an adrenaline rush than working the business you already have, but it is not as crucial to your long-term success.
Customer Service, Italian Style
Nowadays, we complain nearly all of the time about how few businesses remember how to provide quality service to their customers. But a recent trip to Italy not only reminded me that the art of service is not dead, but that providing outstanding service is the key to almost any successful business.
It's Customer Service Stupid: Delivering Customer Service Training That Sticks
"Society is always taken by surprise at any new example of common sense."This Ralph Waldo Emerson quote opens one of the most impressive works on customer service: Michael LeBoeuf's book How To Win Customers and Keep Them For Life.
Your Number One Asset
Customers put you in business, keep you in business, and they can put you out of business. Therefore, your overriding feelings at all times should be: customer love, customer satisfaction, and customer convenience.
Turning Customer Mistakes Into Raving Fans
When you make a mistake with a customer, should you write them off as lost -- never to return again?Nope. There have been numerous studies which show that a customer who has had a problem and gotten it resolved in a timely manner and to their satisfaction is a more loyal customer than one who has never had a problem.
Customer Conversion Mistakes That Will Cost You
The following are common mistakes that Sales Managers and Owners make in the sales process which could be costing you thousands or even hundreds of thousands in lost revenue.- No system to capture and log prospect information/contact data on incoming ad calls.
RETAIL GREETERS: Sales Builders or Customer Turnoff?
Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That is the perplexing question many retail organizations are struggling with today. Often touted in the press as the perennial example of the benefits to employing greeters,Walmart has hung on to its practice faithfully.
How to Transform Your Voicemail into an Effective Medium of Communication
"Hi this is Randy. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Courting Customers - From First Date to Marriage
Landing a new client is like courting a potential spouse. The first date is usually a make or break situation and if the door is still open, the work has just begun.
Creating the Right 'Viral Reputation'
Unless you are brand new to business, or have been under a rock for quite some time - one key marketing technique (which isn't new) - is called 'Viral'.Based on the word 'virus' - viral marketing or viral business simply means it 'spreads' like a virus.
Call Center Services - An Ever Increasing Demand
Are your company's call center services all that they could be? Even centers that were state of the art a decade or so ago might be out of date and inadequate today. As technology expands, so do clients' expectations regarding communication.