Do you avoid
ringing your power supplier, broadband service provider, or other organisation
because you can’t cope with yet another call system? Is this familiar to you?
“Welcome to
(insert business name). To enable us to direct you to the department best suited
to deal with your query, please listen to, and choose from the following
options: Sales, Press 1. Accounts Press 2. Spare Parts, Press 3. For all other
queries press 0.”
Yes. Then you
have been the possibly unwilling user of an automated attendant system, used by
numerous businesses and services to streamline their operations-basically,
ensuring you, the customer, don’t take your business elsewhere because you’re
fed up of a constant engaged signal.
In 2004 MORI
carried out research for Citizens Advice on attitudes to call centres: 51% were
critical of being held on the line for long periods of time, before they spoke
to someone; while 38% were unhappy with automated options and “complicated
response systems.”
Their solution
is often a problem in itself.
Apart from my
own experiences, I asked a number of friends for their gripes on these systems,
here are some responses.
“Don’t get me
started on NTL. At least it’s free when you call from an NTL line, that’s about
the only good thing. Long waits, bad music, annoyingly long list of ‘press X
number for Y query’, and usually they still haven’t got an option for the thing
that you actually want to ask them about.”- Jill.
[In April
2004 the CEO of ntl Incorporated, Simon Duffy said “ntl has made good progress
in improving its customer services, but we still have some way to go.” Their
plans are clearly going to take longer to achieve total customer satisfaction.]
“Whenever I
have to navigate menus, I always say the same thing when I’m finally connected:
‘Thank God!! A real person!!”- Evaine.
“Being strung
up on hold for 20 minutes and forced to endure irritating muzak and a smug
little man saying ‘ we value your call’ but STILL not bothering to answer is the
pits!”- LP.
“There is only
so much Van Morrison you can appreciate with a phone glued to your ear for so
long.”- Tessa.
Then there are
the calls to Government departments, which often result in a message stating ‘we
are experiencing a high volume of calls to this number, please try again later.’
A guaranteed day of trying, trying, and you eventually get through when they’ve
all gone home. But I must admit that when I had to ring one department recently,
it only took about three hours to get through to speak to a human being.
For a
proportion of the population who may have hearing and/or vision impairment,
these systems can be frustrating. Senga, a friend with both limited sight and
hearing complained these processes were, “terrible, not good quality. Not
articulated very well,” and that the choices were often “too quick, and I need
to play them two or three times.” She has a telephone with large number keypads
to deal with automated systems, but it doesn’t solve the other problems she
highlighted.
There are
adapted telephones with amplified ringers, large buttons, and those compatible
with hearing aids; while other products can be used alongside an existing
telephone.( Information on appropriate products can be obtained from SENSE;
and the RNID (Royal National Institute for the Blind) who also produce a
factsheet about telephones, including information on suppliers.)
Information
does need to be made available to elderly consumers who may be experiencing
reduced vision due to natural degeneration, or a medical condition such as
cataracts.
Then we have
the cost, and 08 numbers vary. 0870 AND 0871 can be expensive, especially if
you’re on hold for any length of time. The average cost for a 0870 number is 7.5
pence per minute, while 0871 calls can be up to 10 pence per minute (using a BT
landline. This can treble if you use a mobile phone).
When businesses
benefit from the cost of calls, you wouldn’t be foolish in wondering whether the
fact you’re kept on hold for so long really is because they’re busy, or merely
to earn them more of your cash.
In early 2008,
0871 numbers will begin to be policed by ICSTIS, the premium rate phone line
regulator. Ofcom has been working in association with ICSTIS for this
change-over, and the deadline, for comments on the proposals has just closed.
ICSTIS has always been keen to ensure that consumers are treated fairly by firms
using premium rate numbers, and there is no reason to believe this attitude will
change in the ever expanding telecoms market.
Unfortunately,
we the consumer, will have to continue paying that extra few pence each minute
until the system changes or the businesses involved realise that it doesn’t
encourage customer loyalty.
So, the next
time you have a query with your store card or utilities supplier what can you
do? How do you avoid holding on the phone for ages?
Here are some
tips gathered from various sources.
Check for an
alternate number on the Say No to 0870 website. This can be trial and error, but
if the calls are cheaper and you have the time, why not?
When the menu
choices are given, don’t select any. You may get straight through to speak to
someone.
At each
possible menu choice, state ‘agent’. If the phone system is able to use voice
recognition, you may find yourself put through swiftly.
When you’ve
finally got through to the call centre and dealt with an individual who may
actually be taking your call from somewhere in Europe or the Indian sub-
continent, you will hopefully have got your query dealt with, but don’t forget
to check how much that phone call cost you.
Textphone users
-for deaf or hard of hearing only: 020 7981 3043.
ICSTIS (Independent Committee of
Standards of Telephone Information Services)SENSE: Sense's head office is
based at:
11-13 Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3SR Tel:
0845 127 0060 Text:
0845 127 0062 Fax:
0845 127 0061
RNIB:
Main address
Royal National Institute of the Blind
105 Judd Street
London
WC1H 9NE
Text:
0845 127 0062
Fax:
0845 127 0061
