AUTOMATION CAN FRUSTRATE CUSTOMERS

"You have reached 555-2355. If you know the extension of your party, you may dial it now. For account information, press one; to verify information on a statement, press two; to change account information, press three; to speak with a customer representative, press four."

Beep!

"I'm sorry, all our representatives are currently busy. Please stay on the line and your call will be handled in the order it was received."

Frustrated? Of course you are, but what are you supposed to do?

More and more businesses are opting for some form of automated answering. Because most systems operate 24 hours a day, the customer has the opportunity to obtain service when it is convenient for him. That is, as long as he doesn't want to speak to a real person.

Companies benefit from automated systems because they do not have to pay someone to answer the phone, nor will insurance and other benefits be required.

But what are you supposed to do if the question you have isn't on the list of options or you are never able to get connected? This is what happened to Dorothy Johnston of Jackson.

"I was trying to reach AT&T to change my long-distance service," she said. "I never could get anyone to answer and finally had to sit down and write a letter."

Johnston's luck with automated systems has been on a downward spiral. Recently she tried to reach a business to leave a message for her son-in-law.

"I had to punch one number after another," she said. Finally she was able to reach a secretary.

"This isn't funny," Johnston told the secretary. "If it had been an emergency, someone could have died."

Frustrations such as these make automated systems less than popular with a large segment of the population. Elderly people often become confused with the list of options and find themselves at a loss when the recording kindly tells them, "We're sorry, that is not a valid number. Please choose from the following options."

The type of answering system depends a great deal on the size of the business. Small, family-owned businesses rarely have automated answering systems. Some stores even pride themselves on their phone service and advertise the fact that you'll always talk to a human when calling with a concern.

Some companies choose to combine personal service with automated answering. If all the operators are busy, the automated after hours system will pick up. One option is usually dialing zero for an operator.

Other businesses opt for a system that answers calls in the order received. The caller may even be given an approximate waiting time.

It appears as though the days of "number, please" may be fading fast.