Monday, February 27, 2006

"Your call should be important to us, but it's not"

That’s the title of a New York Times story on the weakness of customer service via telephone.  The piece links to Get Human, a website which sets out principles for the right ways for companies to interact with customers, encourages visitors to rate their experiences (the site is to issue a monthly best-and-worst list), and publishes many more secret codes unearthed by members of the movement. As of last week, the ever-expanding cheat sheet offered cut-through-the-automation tips for nearly 400 companies.

As the article says of the often maddening, unproductive telephone systems:

It would be funny if it weren’t so depressing — and such bad business. Countless chief executives pledge to improve their company’s products and services by listening to the “voice of the customer.” Memo to the corner office: Answer the phone! How can companies listen to their customers if those customers have such a hard time reaching a human being when they call?