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This article about online inquiries really struck home with me. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to ask a simple question of a company I do business with, wanted to do business with, or needed help from, only to have that inquiry drop into a black hole. In my own experience, response rates are far worse than 4 responses out of 5 inquiries. It's more like 1 out of 5 or 1 out of 10. It's abysmal. Earlier this week, I was working on a technical problem for a fellow employee at work (I work in tech support). The tool the user was trying to run crashed at startup with an odd error message. I had tried to find the cause of the error message on their web site, but couldn't. So I submitted an online inquiry (which, by the way, was what they said they preferred customers do). That was Monday. It's Thursday and they still haven't answered. The other thing that really ticks me off about online customer support is when the company's response to your online inquiry comes, but isn't helpful at all. Many times when I actually DO get a response, that response is along the lines of "You'll need to call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx to fix this problem." In the case of a bank, a mutual fund, or some other financial institution, I can understand why some transactions aren't appropriate to complete by email. But if I'm already logged into your web site, if I am asking a simple question or making a minor request, there is no reason I should have to call the company. I think many organizations think it's easier to shove you into the phone queue rather than take an extra step to try to help you. For example, in January I purchased an MP3 player from Buy.com and decided to buy a 2-year replacement warranty on it in case it died on me. I ended up having to order the warranty separately from the device. It seemed to fall into a black hole in Buy.com's system. When I emailed with a warranty question using their customer service form, I got a response a couple of days later, saying that I'd have to call them to sort the problem out. That was ridiculous to me. I'd provided both order numbers (the one for the MP3 player and the one for the warranty). I'd provided contact information and other proof that I was who I said I was (including the fact that I had to login to the same account in order to send the message). In my opinion, there is absolutely NO REASON their employees couldn't have handled that simple transaction for me. They could just as easily have picked up the phone and called the warranty department on my behalf, resolving the problem. But they didn't. They told me I had to do it. I haven't yet. It's the principle of the thing. As another example, I had some dental work done last April that was recommended by two dentists in two independent practices. Confident that it must indeed be necessary, I had the work done and submitted to my insurance company. Months later, they declined to pay for it, leaving me stuck with a $1,900 bill. I went to their web site, providing all the relevant contact information, only to have them tell me they couldn't find any record of me being a customer and that I'd have to call them to sort this out. I find it hard to believe that given my social security number, name, address, and phone number that they couldn't find my record in their system. Instead of calling them, I complained to our HR people, telling them that I really don't like their customer service personnel. Interestingly, they pre-approved me for exactly the same work this year, on two teeth that were in less-bad shape than the two they denied my claim for last year. So not only is their customer service lousy, their coverage is inconsistent. For those of you who care, this experience was with MetLife Dental. Aside from the fact that I personally dislike using the phone, there is a reason I prefer online communication for customer service when my issues are not urgent. What I often find to be the case is that I call a place and eventually reach a human. I explain who I am and what I need to that human. Often, they have to hand me off to someone else. I have to explain myself again. Sometimes even a third time. This level of redundancy is time-consuming and frustrating. In an online inquiry, I can explain the situation clearly and concisely, then ask whatever question I need to ask. That one explanation can be forwarded around the destination organization to whomever needs to see it, without a detail being lost and without my having to repeat the same story until I'm blue in the face. With Internet access being so widespread today, you'd think companies would be leveraging online customer service more and better than they do... and the smart ones will be.
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