Service in the Technology Age

Service in the technology age ( Answer the phone ...hole)

If you are like me, you have found yourself enunciating every forbidden word you ever learned at a machine. I wonder if someone records this?  What ever happened to person to person communication? I'm quite sure businesses would gain a competitive advantage if they just picked up the phone. Instead you are referred to a web site with a list of common questions, or a chat service, or email. A simple two minute conversation is turned into an all day event. 

I just got a drone for my birthday, a gift for someone who really doesn't need anything. Anyway, I decided to try it out.  Instructions were limited. I couldn't find the on/off switch, or figure out what any of the symbols on the phone app meant, and none of this was discussed in the instructions.  I couldn't get the drone to take a photo, although I pushed and pushed the "camera" icon.

Frustrated, I went online to solve the problem, as you couldn't just call anybody and ask a couple of questions.  The first YouTube I viewed was by a very sincere 20 something and it was somewhat helpful, but I could still not take a picture or turn the device on or off.  Finally, I saw a You Tube video produced by a 7 year old (in front of a Christmas tree that was still standing) that answered more of my questions.  I'm still searching for the 4 year old for the final answers.

Representatives of a weight loss app would not talk to me to tell me how to transfer my stored food library from my iphone  to my ipad. "We are unable to talk over the phone"  they informed me after my 5th email telling them their instructions made no sense to me, and imploring them to talk to me. Finally, on the second day I found out that "sync data to your device" was the same as "upload to the web" so that it could be downloaded to the ipad, "sync device to ....com".

How many times have you tried to communicate with a cable service or phone service with the same frustrations? Most of the time the menu I listen to doesn't address the problem I am having. IT professionals need to test their algorithms on me before they unleash them on the public. ( I would charge a reasonable fee.)

I think there must be a business in here somewhere, between the customer and the company,  that restores old fashion communication.  The automated phone system should at least understand "representative please" , even if said in a an agitated voice associated with a few invectives. Answer the phone ...hole!