Have you noticed how recently over the past few years the prevalence of artificial intelligence is being used by various companies when you call in to get information? I have, and it's getting pretty frustrating!
Why? Well, for one, as a senior citizen who grew up in a era of calling and getting a human being with a brain it was the only way of getting assistance with a business that you needed to contact by phone. Usually within the first few rings, someone polite would answer and direct you through their switchboard to the company department which applied to your particular need for your call because you could tell them why you wanted to talk to someone. It took maybe a few minutes to get another person who could actually deal with your need.
Not today! I've begun encountering more and more companies who are utilizing automated programs which are specifically designed to force you into choosing from a menu of items which generally fit the majority of reasons a customer is calling. However, if you are calling for a reason which is not provided as a choice and you ask for an "agent" - the usual term which will get the automated system to send you to a person with the ability to comprehend the uniqueness of your call - the A.I. program requests a further explanation for why you need an agent and gives a set of canned options to choose from; giving the false impression that your being provided the opportunity to choose.
If it doesn't list options which apply to your need, and you insist on requesting an agent, or even pressing "0" on your keypad, it starts over at giving you options you don't want or need. Finally, if you manage to figure out which option will get you on hold to speak to an agent, inevitably you'll get the message from the A.I. system that the wait is at least 15 minutes, which then gives you the choice of staying on hold, or being called back when an agent is available.
I can't help but wonder why this situation exists as it does. After all, employment is at a level never seen before in our country's history. On top of that, there are millions of jobs unfilled! What could be the reason for such huge wait times after fighting to speak to a real person at the company one is trying to get help from? I understand that companies are trying cut expenses of having to pay employees wages and benefits, but at what expense to the impression such an impersonal experience as dealing with an A.I./automated system that clearly communicates it doesn't really care if you have an issue that doesn't fit its prepared choices for customers?
Is this the kind of "brave new world" our children are headed into? They may not know, or have ever experienced anything else to understand the difference, I get that. But, what does that say about where businesses in general are going with technology and their customer relations? When the automated system repeatedly tells you while on hold that they apologize about the wait you're experiencing getting help from them after 20 or 30 minutes time having passed, one's perception of their sincerity degrades considerably when it happens month after month, year after year it gets worse.
I grew up with the adage which said, "Actions speak louder than words." There's a lot of truth in that simple statement, and it's sad to see how it's being lost as we "progress" lockstep into our technological world of digital choices while being depersonalized more and more and true customer service fades with the past.
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