Weekend Assignment: Running the Gauntlet
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Monday, July 27, 2009
We've all become used to automated phone routers ("To continue in English, press 1"), long waits at government offices and other bureaucratic obstacles to getting something done. Have you any particular horror stories along these lines, or have you had mostly good experiences with government agencies?
I haven't had to deal with government agencies much lately over the phone. Chris has his own tale to tell about getting his class schedule together for college this year, and it seems to be a tale that might make Douglas Adams turn a time or two in his grave. I don't have all the details (I just write the checks), so it's not mine to tell.
Most of my dealings with the city and county have been via their web sites, which, amazingly, work fairly well. I can pay my water bill, renew my car registration (except I forgot, so I'll be standing in line later this week), get hold of city and county departments, and so on. It's not perfect, but it beats sitting on hold.
Now corporate entities are another issue. I get so tired of sitting on hold for ages being told that my call is important. They certainly have a funny way of showing how much they value my business.
Extra Credit: Does this problem seem to be getting better or worse?
It certainly seems so - especially as companies and government agencies are slashing budgets. Web-based customer service works when it's implemented well, but we ran into a couple of frustrating situations over the last week and had to resort to the telephone to get things taken care of. One was a credit card activation. I hate those. One wrong digit and you have to hang up and call again. I finally got it done, but it was like pulling teeth. And of course, while they activate my card (which probably took all of three seconds) I had to sit through a 30-second commercial for some product I'd never use.
Sigh.
Tags: Weekend Assignment
Filed under: Weekend Assignment
Comments are closed
lisa said:
I always get annoyed when I call and they ask me to punch in my credit card number or insurance ID, then when I reach a rep, they ask me for the info all over again. When I ask them why they have me enter all the info just to be asked for it again, they have no idea that the automated voice even asked for it. GAH
Date: 7/27/2009 11:51:18 AM
Date: 7/27/2009 11:51:18 AM
Karen Funk Blocher said:
Now I've forgotten what I was going to say....
The Web, when it works, is a great help for government services. If it's set up right, the public can do most of what they need with little or no further work by a government employee, a;though I'm sure there is accounting ro be done based on the data generated.
And yeah, the corporate phone stuff can be annoying. Most of the calls at my house now are the following:
1. Requests to help the Democrats in one way or another
2. Requests from charities
3. Wells Fargo wants to sell me some service or other
4. polls and surveys
Date: 8/1/2009 3:10:59 PM
Date: 8/1/2009 3:10:59 PM
lisa said:
I always get annoyed when I call and they ask me to punch in my credit card number or insurance ID, then when I reach a rep, they ask me for the info all over again. When I ask them why they have me enter all the info just to be asked for it again, they have no idea that the automated voice even asked for it. GAH
Date: 7/27/2009 11:51:18 AM
Date: 7/27/2009 11:51:18 AM
Karen Funk Blocher said:
Now I've forgotten what I was going to say....
The Web, when it works, is a great help for government services. If it's set up right, the public can do most of what they need with little or no further work by a government employee, a;though I'm sure there is accounting ro be done based on the data generated.
And yeah, the corporate phone stuff can be annoying. Most of the calls at my house now are the following:
1. Requests to help the Democrats in one way or another
2. Requests from charities
3. Wells Fargo wants to sell me some service or other
4. polls and surveys
Date: 8/1/2009 3:10:59 PM
Date: 8/1/2009 3:10:59 PM
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