Two separate customer service issues today… both drove me a little nuts.
Rant #1: Endless voice prompts. Called PayPal in regards to a transaction. After entering my account info, I get dumped into the voice prompting system — “you can say, ‘payments,’ ‘account issues,’ or ‘refunds.'”
Aha… I’ve been in this trap before, and I know to say, “agent.” But the automated voice is ready for me: “Ok. Before I transfer you, I need to know a little more about your request. You can say, ‘payments,’ ‘account issues,’ or ‘refunds.'”
You should have heard me, shouting “agent agent agent” into the phone. Then when I get connected, the agent says, “can you please verify your account info?”
You mean the account info I entered already, at the beginning of the phone call? I already entered it. Why are you asking for it again?
Dear PayPal agents (and all other call center agents): I’m sorry I sound angry when I’m calling. It’s not you. It’s your voice prompt system. It is not helpful. Bad start to a customer service contact.
Rant #2: Live Chat (Not Really). I had a quick question for Bluehost, my preferred Web hosting provider. So instead of calling, I thought I’d try the big LIVE CHAT button they have on their Home Page. It looks friendly, and I’ve used it before.
So I click on it and a window pops up, asking for the nature of my request. Of course none of the choices match my (really rather simple) question, and there’s no other option, so I choose the closest choice: Support, then the subcategory “Scripting Questions.” The box dynamically changes to request my name and question. So far, so good.
So I compose my question. It’s a simple one — basically a yes or no question about whether I can self-install something in the hosting account. So I figure I’ll just write it out and send, then get a short answer and be on my way.
Really? You let me write out the question, then refuse to answer it? If you’re dynamically updating the chat window, you could have hit me with this as soon as I chose the Scripting subcategory. I’d be less annoyed.
I actually had to call to get the answer. Five minutes on hold, 30 seconds with an agent.
Dear BlueHost agents (and all other call center agents): I’m sorry I sound angry when I’m calling. It’s not you. It’s your so-called live chat system. It is not helpful. Bad start to a customer service contact.
