CUSTOMER SERVICE

Mickey Skidmore, AMHSW, ACSW

Like many of us, I have harboured thoughts on this issue for some time. This month the time has come to put some of these thoughts in writing about the dismal state of customer service in this day and age.

One might be familiar with the concept of an oxymoron: the seemingly opposing, contradictory  or implausible meanings of words within a statement. Some examples include: “old news”; “deafening silence”; “organised chaos” or my favourite “military intelligence.”  From my perspective the state of customer service has deteriorated to the point that it may be time think of this phrase as being the next oxymoron.

I cannot be the only one who feels that by and large when customers reach out for clarification, concerns or inquiries, increasingly it seem that the onus is placed back on the customer. First of all, it seem increasingly less likely to actually speak with a human being any more. But even if you do it goes something like this:

“You can find the answer for that inquiry on our website.” “But I’m speak with you now … are you not able to confirm or provide this information?”

And even if you are fortunate enough to speak with an actual person, there is no guarantee that your experience with be useful, or even polite. Too often customer service reps are rude; condescending; abrasive or otherwise unhelpful. Too often they are poor listeners; and may not be adequately trained to attend to even the most straight forward issue(s). 

Recently there was a flurry of newspaper articles about the increasing number of banks closing. CBA suggested that this is due to customers expressing a clear preference for ATM’s. (Interestingly enough, despite this there was no attempt to offer any explanation for the decreasing number of ATM machines). Often when I attend a branch in person, I am subjected to an inquisition of why I don’t use the ATM rather wait for a teller. (Perhaps if their ATM’s were not limited in offering currency in denominations of only 50 dollar bills; or if I hadn’t been a victim of identify theft; I might be more inclined). The culmination of these experiences have led me to the conclusion that CBA seems to go out of its way to avoid or limiting its customers access to human beings whenever possible. This is less about customers expressing a preference for ATM’s, and more about CBA shaping the behaviours of their customers toward their preferred method of interaction. While I think ATM’s are a crucial option that many find convenient, the gold standard for customer service is human interaction — not machines.

Telstra is another corporate player that seems averse to granting their customers access to human beings. They seem unapologetic in directing (forcing?) the majority of consumer interaction through their app. They even promote the resolution of your inquiry is resolved quicker through the app and note that otherwise the wait to speak with a representative on the phone could be upwards of an hour or more. They are unconcerned that the binary or limited options provided in the drop down menus of their app may not address your particular inquiry. Moreover, they insist that you can “talk” with someone on the app, when in fact at best you can actually do is text your inquiry on their app. Regardless of how many times they state otherwise — this is not the same as talking with someone.

If you are a fast food lover, get used to the idea of less and less human interaction at your next trip to McDonald’s and restaurants in general. Increasingly if you want to place an order you have to do so via a computer screen, as they too are doing away with direct customer service with a person taking your order.

Yes, I am sounding the alarm. In my view, these are all warning signs of the slippery slope we are heading down with emerging concerns around AI in the background. Human beings propensity towards greed, laziness and corruption do not pave the way for a positive outcome — which some have speculated could be major threat to the human race itself. So, one one hand we see “customer service” being added to the list of oxymorons. On the other hand, there are foreboding warning signs that this trend towards machines over people will conclude with the perils of AI threatening the existence of humanity.