Customer Support Line: The Eteneral Headache

--- THIS BLOG HAS BEEN ABANDONED. OUR NEW HOME IS: THE WEASEL SOAP BOX ---

There is nothing worse than having something you expect to work because you pay dearly for the service, for it to break down. This applies to anything, whether you bought it under a warrant, or you're paying a monthly fee for a service like internet or cable TV.

That alone is irritating, the worse part is having to make that dreaded call to the customer inquiry hotline, and plod through the clumsily developed system that requires you to speak to a machine that often doesn't understand what you say because it is poorly configured and the programming behind it is inherently flawed.

The days of simply pushing the corresponding number to get to where you want to go are gone; it's been replaced by voice recognition, which isn't nearly as useful as the button system.

One such example of this "technology", which is to make our lives "easier" is the system that Rogers uses. You call one number and you're greeted by a generic male voice which sounds distinctly mid-western American; that flat toneless accent. Listening to it is an insult to one's intelligence.

This says nothing of the range of support you get. It can go from scripted mediocrity to something that could be considered passable tech/helpdesk tech support, though it has failed to impress me.

The kind of support given to the average computer user seems lacking most days. The people they hire are lacking something as well - knowledge of the subject matter that comes from something other than a brief 15-minute orientation and a script that they can read off, in an attempt to pass it off as their own knowledge.

If you want to get anywhere, you've got to know how to by the first line; you've got to breech the line of ignorance. But, be prepared to face more waiting. Long queues are the company's way of getting people to be complacent due to impatience and willingly accept the first spoon full of bullshit that is shoved in our faces.

Often, they can give you the feeling that they just aren't listening to you, and try and force you to do it their way, even though it's clearly wrong.

I'm glad the only time I've ever needed to call in is when my external connection actually fails... Of course, if it happens, I can be prepared to deflect their condescending, patronisation that they use to give themselves a sense of self-inflated satisfaction from being able to "help" someone instead of just answering a question and letting the person be on their way.