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Hiding Behind a Phone Tree

April 10, 2006 By Joe Rawlinson

Think about the last time you had to call a customer service phone number and tried to talk to an actual human being. Were you successful? Odds are you had to navigate a convoluted menu system by punching numbers on your phone. If you were lucky, you got to “speak” to the computer and tell them what you wanted. It always seems the computer doesn’t understand what I’m saying…

Press 0

There has been lots of backlash against companies that are hiding behind these unfriendly phone trees. Citi’s Simplicity credit card commercials poke fun at phone trees and offer their customers a simple way to talk to a person: press 0.

Shortcuts

I discovered a wonderful listing of phone tree shortcuts at gethuman.com a while back. I have used it multiple times to successfully get through to a real person on the phone.

If your company is in the gethuman.com database and it doesn’t say “Direct to human” or “Press 0,” you may need to rethink your commitment to customer service.

Realize that customers are helping others defeat your obstructive systems to make contact. Wouldn’t it just be better to open the door and let customers easily reach you?

Worth the Cost

You may have to hire a few more call center employees but the focus on customer-friendly communication will be a strong selling point for your products and services.

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