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My recent experience with a credit card customer support agent might as well have been me conversing with a bot. It was actually more frustrating for both me an

My recent experience with a credit card customer support agent might as well have been me conversing with a bot. It was actually more frustrating for both me and the agent, that they were so strictly bound to a script, with no room for their creative human brain to actually adapt their response to the unique context of my issue. When customer service is nothing more then an agent choosing from various scripted responses, what is the point? Escalating my issue up through 2 senior agents, i finally reached a human who was allowed by their employer to actively apply context to their support tasks. The use of programmed constraints on a system and how that system is sold to customers, this is a wicked problem of our times.

amelius 7y ago
I guess the point is that they still save on average. Most calls can probably be handled using a simple script.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  They may save on average, but that's just shifting the expense to the customer in terms of wasted time. If there is anything I've learned over 30 years of running businesses that being disrespectful towards your customers' time it is that you will end up losing those customers.
  - headsoup 7y ago
    The saving grace for these online services seems to basically just be that the potential customer base is so ridiculously huge that it still pays vs effort required. Same for the big social giants etc. No matter how many people know better, there are plenty more that don't.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  Another way they save is by discouraging their use. Since people who've called with real issues have had to waste a whole lot of their time, they're more reluctant to do so the next time they have a problem.
notafrog 7y ago
A few months ago, I contacted Microsoft support regarding an old Hotmail account of mine. I couldn't get access due to my own fault in the end, as I had set it up as a kid and 10 years later I could barely remember any details. However, the conversation with the support agent was by far the best. It felt natural, without the "copy/paste" ready-to-use responses they usually have.

amelius 7y ago

I guess the point is that they still save on average. Most calls can probably be handled using a simple script.

jacquesm 7y ago
They may save on average, but that's just shifting the expense to the customer in terms of wasted time. If there is anything I've learned over 30 years of running businesses that being disrespectful towards your customers' time it is that you will end up losing those customers.
- headsoup 7y ago
  The saving grace for these online services seems to basically just be that the potential customer base is so ridiculously huge that it still pays vs effort required. Same for the big social giants etc. No matter how many people know better, there are plenty more that don't.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
Another way they save is by discouraging their use. Since people who've called with real issues have had to waste a whole lot of their time, they're more reluctant to do so the next time they have a problem.

notafrog 7y ago

A few months ago, I contacted Microsoft support regarding an old Hotmail account of mine. I couldn't get access due to my own fault in the end, as I had set it up as a kid and 10 years later I could barely remember any details. However, the conversation with the support agent was by far the best. It felt natural, without the "copy/paste" ready-to-use responses they usually have.