By Leigh Currey Merrifield
Let me ask you – how many times have you called a business with a question and had a human answer your call? I will guess that it seldom happens! WHY? Because automated answering services featuring pre-arranged menus have taken the helm in filtering our calls to (supposedly) the right department. The ‘auto attendant’ instructs you to use your keypad to press 1 for this, press 2 for that, press 3 for something else, and the numbers just keep coming! By the time they run out of numerical options and still have not found one that pertains to your question, you’re probably frustrated, right?
I have discovered that when none of those options meet my needs, I am fed up and voice my anger into my phone … and somehow the ‘auto attendant’ (who apparently heard my expletives!) ONLY THEN offers to connect me to a live person! I guess this “service” is cost-effective for the business and eliminates having a paid employee to handle these calls; but it is certainly irritating for the customer. Customer satisfaction, it seems, has been replaced by customer annoyance. I went through this the other day and pressed a number to connect me to someone who could explain a billing question I had. I was told that waiting times to speak to that individual were lengthy, and that was it! After about 15 minutes, there had been no further communication … no apology that it was taking so long nor that someone would be with me as soon as possible, and they did not ask for my number so someone could call me back when they were free. As time passed with no further instructions, (not even music!), I thought perhaps I had been cut off in error. So I disconnected and tried again, going through that entire irritating scenario once again. This second time around, I waited 2 hours and 10+ minutes on hold before my patience reached its limit and I threw in the towel! When customers are angered like that, is it really worth the business’s savings? Technology, while it may have a few pluses, is not always advantageous. And to say the least, it is a very impersonal way to do business.
Question #2 – While Google can be useful at times, have you ever asked about let’s say an air fryer for example? If so, then you may have also noticed after doing that, you begin to get hundreds of ads about air fryers and where to buy them. That is occurring because Google sees what you’re interested in and sells that information to the companies that carry that product. After a while, that too becomes an annoyance! Plus, who gave them permission to track me???
Just one more tech vent … I am NOT a big fan of Artificial Intelligence – or AI – as it is called. First of all, did I invite AI to keep an eye on what I’m doing or with whom I communicate? NO, I did not! What gives them the right to invade my e-mails, read them, and prepare a reply for me? Recently, I received an e-mail from someone providing me with some information I had requested.
When I opened that e-mail, I noticed that AI had summarized my conversation with this person, restating what I had asked for and what they had sent me.; THEN, AI proceeded to offer what I should say in response! I did not need that summary of our conversation, and I am quite qualified to personally write my own replies. I resent AI’s unwelcomed interference and telling me what to do and how to say it. My next move is to find out how I can completely dispose of AI’s intrusions!
Allow me to add that I was at one time an English teacher, and if students today are making use of AI to compose their writing assignments, that too needs to stop. While the computer may highlight incorrect punctuation or underline a misspelled word that might be a typo, that might be permissible, BUT the content of the assignments should demonstrate the students’ abilities, NOT AI’s!
Let’s develop our own skills and not become overly dependent on technology! And be cautious using it; consider risks involved!
Quote of the week: ”If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom and prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” – Omar Bradley