Monday, April 17, 2006

Agent. Operator! RECEPTIONIST!!

I was complaining to the Virtual Tourist about my attempts to reach a human being quickly when confronted with a corporate automated telephone answering (IVR) system. I'm not just being impatient, I have special needs. Recently I wanted to report a lost credit card I found on the sidewalk. The customer service number on the card asked me for MY credit card number; MY social security number; info I'm darned if I'll give out just because I found someone else's card. As I pressed zero I also said "Agent. Operator! RECEPTIONIST!!" because a voice recognition system is usually set up to respond to some word, but you've got to guess which one.

"There's a whole web site devoted to this," responded the Virtual Tourist. And so there is. A website intended to make it easier for us to reach a human, and to rate customer service as well. They have lots of good tips and specific info. Try them before you next call a faceless bureaucracy.

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