Due to the storms here in Melbourne last Wednesday, many people have been without power and telephone lines for a number of days now. My parents have been one of those with no phone access for nearly 72 hours. They are with Optus and so I have been ringing Optus for them for updates on how the reconnection is going. Each time I have rung I have been confronted with the automated voice activated programme, requiring me to speak a word or short sentence in response to questions. Nine times out of ten I am not understood, despite my deliberate enunciation of words. It got to the point where I just ended up saying 'Blah, blah, blah', as I knew that that would get me speaking to a real person much sooner!
Apart from the first time I rang, when I was in the presence of my mother, it has been a most relevant opportunity for cursing as a release of frustration (apropos of a recent blog entry). I would far rather press numbers on the keypad than speak to a machine. Why do they feel a need to anthropomorphise (my computer's not underlined this to tell me it's not a word!!) machinery? Do they have evidence to show that this is more efficient than other methods of getting to speak to a real person?
Maybe I'm just getting old!!
4 comments:
Hi Campbell,
Your frustration with Optus is certainly understandable. I experienced the same annoyance in January when I was without electricity for over 48-hours. Whenever I telephoned for current information on the situation, I was connected to a computer generated message that had nothing relevant to impart. My bank has begun anthropomorphizing in an effort to replace human contact with the personal touch of a computer. I’ve discovered that if I punch the “star” button, I’m connected to a real person almost immediately, thus circumventing all the voicemail.
I don’t think your aggravation has anything to do with age. It’s the dissociation from an interactive conversation with someone who could offer assistance that rankles.
I hope your parents get their phone service restored soon.
I to have done the blah blah blah Campbell...its not only optus...Ive called the 24hr number for Big Pond and after the run around have been given the message to call in office hours...the machine then automatically hangs up
Agree, I would much prefer to push the buttons than speak. It says something for Telstra that I knew the numbers to push off by heart and did not have to listen to the instruction.
Yeah, I hate ringing up Telstra Directory assistance and getting the VRU - awful things!
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