by Jeffrey Rotin

All I wanted to do was remind Aeroplan to fax me my ticket confirmation. I called the 800 number, and a recording on its automated system noted recent changes to the menu, presumably to provide better service. I keyed in my account number, then struggled through a labyrinth of menu options, trying to zero in on the right department. None of the options applied to my request, none indicated how to reach a person. I pressed ‘O’ for an operator, whereupon a recording said my ‘selection was invalid’. I hung up.

Sadly, this scenario is not restricted to Air Canada. Consumers are pushing buttons on their keypads when seeking service or information, but the hassle of automated systems is pushing their buttons. A 1999 national survey by the Canadian Centre for Management Development on public sector service delivery revealed that Canadians are increasingly frustrated by automated phone systems. Project leader Brian Marson observed that, as a result of downsizing, computers were replacing live response, making it more difficult for people to connect with appropriate departments.

Technology may cut payroll costs for your business, but what is the real cost? If you’re using an automated phone system for your business, you might want to ask yourself how much it’s helping your bottom line, and how much it’s hurting it.

Major users such as banks are quick to extol the virtues of automated phone systems. They claim that automated response quickly answers most requests for basic information, such as hours of operation. Customers can access account information from anywhere, at any time of day. Centralized call centres help manage staff and resources more efficiently.

According to Telus Business Manager Graham Moore, the ‘Automated Call Distribution’ system enables businesses to provide optimal service to customers. “Its foundation is customer service improvement and utilization of resources,” he says. By directing callers to the appropriate department or recorded information, automated systems reduce customer dissatisfaction caused by busy signals, endless rings before answering, being put on hold, or staff not returning calls promptly. That sounds great, but what Moore fails to mention is that callers can go through all menu options and still get put on hold. They spend more time getting the same dismal results. Or they might listen to a series of long messages when seeking information and, if they get a wrong response, they have to call back and start over.

Many customers simply hang up in exasperation. A 1998 study conducted in the US by Prudential Insurance found that 41% of people surveyed admitted to ‘growing angrier by the minute’ when placed on hold by voice-mail systems. Over half of respondents said they hang up and try again. How many times will they try to get through before giving up?

This is where many businesses lose customers, says Carla Furlong, a Vancouver-based marketing specialist who trains corporations and teaches university courses on customer retention. When a customer hangs up, this puts them in a high-risk zone of defecting, particularly if they are calling about a problem. Furlong sees these calls as golden opportunities to solidify customer relationships but, with automated phone systems, those opportunities may be lost. “The customer is loyal enough to put this effort out,” she explains, “but if he can’t get through, he’ll just dump you. That’s the moment of truth. That customer is history, and you don’t even know it.”

Optometrist Barbara Caffery knows this all too well. Two years ago, she installed an automated phone system at her busy downtown Toronto practice. The idea was to keep the front desk staff less busy on the telephone, so they could focus on patients standing at reception. “We thought if [patients] could direct themselves to the appropriate person without having to speak to someone first, things would be more efficient,” she explains. Instead the office was bombarded with complaints. Caffery cancelled the service within two weeks. She learned the hard way that “in terms of practice management and practice building, the most important thing you can have is a good voice on the phone when a patient calls the office.”

Enabling callers to reach a person quickly is a fundamental component of customer service. It provides customers with comfort and control. At Telus, Moore advises clients to put an ‘Operator’ option high on the menu selection, rather than making callers listen through lengthy choices. “If there are people that don’t want to go through that menu, put that right at the beginning to allow people to by-pass your technology and talk to someone.” (Evidently, Telus hasn’t heeded its own advice: it doesn’t offer an ‘Operator’ option on its own 800 automated system for enquiries about its business communication services.)

Depending on how many customers want to talk to a person, you may need to hire more staff to answer calls. That may defeat the reason you implemented the phone system in the first place. Sending customers to your web site for information isn’t a foolproof alternative either; not everyone has on-line access, and Internet connections can be unreliable at the best of times. It’s a matter of finding the right balance between technology and live response.

To that end, Furlong says the key is to focus on the customer, rather than the technology. Do your homework before implementing an automated phone system. Not all customers need to speak to a person. “If you do the research and customers say ‘Yes, I want access to a human being,’ what they really want is their problem solved quickly and they want solutions that will allow them to do that.” Figure out what your customers are trying to accomplish when they call your business: the transactions, the questions, the problems.

Even with a well-designed system, reduced human interaction means fewer opportunities to sell. An agent can get to know customers, understand their needs, and determine if there are additional sales opportunities. So the challenge is to figure out how to optimize the opportunity on your automated system.

National Discount Brokers discovered that serendipitously. In early September, the Wall Street firm streamlined its automated telephone system, which left ‘Option Seven’ free. As a lark, the CEO suggested they put the sound of a duck quacking (the mallard is NDB’s corporate symbol). Word of mouth/e-mail spread and, by the end of October, NDB was receiving 2 million calls a week from people who wanted to hear the duck. That led to a 75% increase in new customer accounts. It wasn’t a marketing ploy, but it shows that a little ingenuity and personality in an inherently impersonal system can go a long way.

As for Aeroplan, I tried to contact a spokesperson to discuss its automated phone system. I called Air Canada’s general information number but, after going through another maze of menu options, I was put on hold. After waiting for five minutes, I gave up. I have better things to do with my time.