by Laura Strickler
COMMENTARY STRICKLER
APRIL 29, 2004
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Last year I called my bank to ask them about a charge on my statement. While on hold, another item caught my eye. It was a phone charge for $2.50. I asked the operator, "What's this phone charge?"
She said, "That's because after you hung up with the agent last month, we determined that you could have figured out the answer to your question by using the automated attendant."
What?!! You're charging me for talking to a human being?
According to the Customer Care Institute in Atlanta, the customer service experts, when we press zero to get out of touchtone hell and speak to someone with a pulse, it costs the company fifty times as much to answer our questions. So I was really happy to find a new employee at Amtrak who seemed happy to hear from me and it was FREE!
AX JULIE
Hi this is Amtrak, I'm Julie.
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Julie sounds chipper. We've never met but I figure she's got blonde hair, she probably likes sweater sets. She's consistent, hard working and patient.
POST Julie talking
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But after a while uhhh, I realized she's a bit slow
AX
What city are you departing from? New York....pause....And what
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Here that lag time? And she's not all that accurate.
AX
Getting phone number wrong.
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Finally, I had to switch to another agent and in no time at all I had the information I needed.
you were a lot faster than the automated attendant.
does anyone ever tell you that?
yeah I hear that a lot.
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Julie took four times longer. She might answer the phone quicker, but she's slower once you get her on the line. I called Amtrak and spoke to Dan Stessel. Turns out despite how slow she is, Amtrak has replaced 600 call center employees with Julie. You can see why, Julie's always on the job, she doesn't need a vacation. She doesn't even need health care.
AX
Uhm yeah, Julie has really taken on a life of her own and a personality of her own. Her personality is often described as bubbly...Julie will say things like got it. GOT IT which is one of her most popular phrases.
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Stessel says the more personality has, the less likely we are to press zero
AX
it's gotta be light and conversational. and have a little bit of uniqueness to it to reign in people's interest.
JULIE
Ok i've found a few trains...
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But with all this talk of personality I realized Julie doesn't have one. Companies are searching for more ways to avoid face to face and voice to voice interaction. Automation is sucking the personality out of everyday life. Whether it's at the grocery store at automated checkout, in the subway with the voices, the airport kiosks or the telephone. How's the next generation going to relate to their community when it's filled with touch screens, beeps and clicks instead of eye contact, hello and thank you?
while julie is yammering on...I'd rather just talk to a human being.
AX LIVE AGENT
longer sound you're welcome ma'am, have a great holiday, bye bye.
Laura Strickler, Columbia Radio News