Pushing Digital Messaging over the edge
In today’s business environment, literally everything seems to be about technology. Five years ago, it seemed nothing was as buzzy and mysterious as ‘Search Engine Optimisation’. Today, ‘Content Marketing’ has taken over as the reigning buzz phrase in marketing circles. Then there is ‘Micro-blogging’ (which tempts me to text-message: “Thumbs are killing me”). The transformation of the mobile phone, which has gone from serving single-task purposes to creating an engaging or dis-engaging and interactive experience, is another life-changing development.
The mobile phone including the smartphone or cell phone - is no longer a device used exclusively for phone conversations and sending brief text messages. The mobile phone is now a playground for social media users, consumers and creative types. From email to Facebook and buying movie tickets, the mobile phone today can now be used to accomplish an array of business and personal-related matters. Soon we can expect smartphone technology to enable us live a healthier lifestyle through the use of mobile chips that can test urine samples. All this of course will come at a price…it would imprison us to our phones like a never before. No wonder, that it is called a cell phone.
Admittedly, whilst there is a whole lot of good, there are also the bad and certainly the ugly in all of this! Some companies have become over-systematized, as I call it, to the extent that everything and I mean everything, is left to automation. Consumer expectations for customer service have gotten so low that a company scores some points, and perhaps is even viewed as having superior customer service, simply by the fact that living breathing customer service reps answer phones. Why?
Do you know that the average hold time for a customer dealing with an automated system is 1 minute, 51 seconds? First, you are asked to “Listen closely to our list of options”, then the recording lists the options and instruct the caller to press buttons, “Press 1 to continue in English, press 2 to continue in Sinhala” and so on, often purposefully steering customers in every direction except the one that leads to a human being. On the other hand, customers calling a company that employs live agents to answer the phones are on hold for an average of just 51 seconds.
All of us have encountered that “Your call is important to us, all our agents are busy; please be on line until your call is answered”. If my call is important as claimed, why cannot they instead say, “We are sorry, but we don’t have any operators to talk to you at the moment: if you are unable to be on line please press # and we will call you back within xx minutes.” Hello there… Are you nuts? Don’t you know that we have introduced massive phone menu systems and scripted customer service reps to tell you only one; one truth, “Nothing is more important to us than profits.”
Ilzaf Keefahs is a freelance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry
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