At the same time corporate marketing departments are making significant investments in complex and expensive Customer Relationship Management systems and talking about customer centricity, there is a simultaneous trend toward the deployment of decidedly customer-unfriendly technologies. ((“Where Have You Gone, Customer Centricity?” DIRECT Newsline, March 25).
My personal favorite is automated-switchboard answering systems, a dehumanization of customer communications at one of the most important customer touch points. I hate to be the one to break the news, but a commitment to customer relationships and a bewildering maze of cryptic messages at the other end of a telephone line just don’t go together.
In some situations, an actual human answering the phone just makes more sense. Consider this actual script from a phone call to my doctor. Read it slowly, the way it’s delivered in the recording, to get a sense of the timing:
“Thank you for calling (name of practice), LLC, in Pottstown. If you know the extension number of the person you would like to speak to, you may dial it now.
*Please choose one of the following menu options that will best address your needs, or remain on the line and a staff person will be happy to assist you.
“Thank you for calling (name of practice).
“If this is a life-threatening emergency, please press 1…..”
Richard N. Tooker
Senior Vice President, Database/Interactive Marketing
DMW–A Direct Marketing Agency
Wayne, PA
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