I’ve recently run into a series of technology and customer service snafus that have me longing for the days of paper, pencil, and people.  Obviously, this reminiscence is just that and ignores the many problems that existed in the “pre-tech world”, but just the same I indulged the thought.  I didn’t grow up in the days of smartphones, mobile apps, or for that matter PCs and Macs, but I’ve been using computers the better part of my adult life—office applications and many custom applications for robots and other control systems.  I mention this because I don’t want to give the impression tech, in general, is an alien concept.

What I find frustrating is the almost complete reliance on tech in the world of today and in most cases, it is used as a substitute for human contact.  Certainly, there have been many marvelous advances that have made life easier, but as several philosophers have eluded,” everything man creates to make life easier will in some way make life more complicated.”

For example, I was informed just days ago that some of my data may have been compromised by a piece of third-party software used to transfer data between institutions.  I was told I could register with another company (hired by the company that was breached) who would monitor the situation, and God forbid I was the victim of fraud, this monitoring company would step in and assign a case worker to guide me through the recovery process.  That sounded reassuring.  Unfortunately, the feeling of having a trusted protector quickly derailed.  I started the registration process (online) by providing the typical data: name, address, etc.  Stage two of the registration process aimed to prove my identity.  This would require specific financial information about my loans, accounts, and so on.  I don’t generally give out this data, but I can understand why they might need it.  Just the same I decided to give my new guardian a call.  I wanted to know more about what they were asking for before starting phase two as once I commenced, I was on a timer and if I failed consecutively, I would be locked out and would need to contact their helpdesk.

I am sure we have all had calls that went like the following:

First multiple layers of automated questions

Second being put in queue with, “longer than normal wait times”.

Third, after listening to their catchy “on hold” music for forty-five minutes I was able to speak to a person.  From the beginning of our conversation, it didn’t go smoothly as she was breathing heavily and seemed exasperated (perhaps she was having a bad day).  She asked me to repeat my question three times.  I elevated my voice slightly and slowed my cadence when repeating for the third time as I considered she might be struggling with her ear buds.  She put me on hold for a few more minutes and when she got back on the line, she told me I needed to calm down.  I was taken aback at this point and explained I wasn’t upset, but simply needed the answer to my question.  She then asked me to repeat my question.  At this point I asked if I could speak to her manager.  In turn she requested I supply her with my contact information, and I complied.  When I asked again if I could speak to her manager.  She said someone from the team would call me and disconnected the call.  To date no one has contacted me.  Of course, I will give it another go; however, I feel I must prepare as if I will be required to run the gauntlet.

Sadly, the experience I describe isn’t unique.  My friend had an issue with the provider of his cell service and wanted to discuss a somewhat complicated situation with a customer service representative.  He was unable to do so and was instructed to text his questions to a specific number.  He spent the next forty minutes texting when the issue could have been cleared up in five minutes if he could have talked to a rep.

As further evidence of our evolving tech saturated world I describe another example.  I live in a small townhome and recently the property management company stated that it was thrilled to announce a groundbreaking addition to their team, a Virtual AI assistant named Stan.  Their claim was that this cutting-edge technology was for the betterment of the community.  I’ve yet to interact with Stan, but a few of my neighbors were not impressed with “him”.  I suspect that employing Stan was really for the betterment of the management company.

I realize I am “flogging a dead horse”, to use that old brutal analogy, because we are in the dawn of AI and automated customer service experiences will become more and more prevalent.  Still, there is hope that an innovative company will see opportunity in offering truly great customer service which would raise the bar for others.  To that end, I saw an ad in a small newspaper (yes, a hard copy) recently for a financial institution which promised when called that a local person would answer and not an automated system—refreshing.