My wife was sharing her problems with Ron, a friend, about getting an issue resolved with the American Automobile Association (AAA). He relayed back to her a similar customer service problem with a phone provider and he described the blight of automation perfectly. I think you will find this insightful and entertaining:

Ron stated, “I think the problem you had with AAA is part of an interesting change in our society. It used to be that every organization had some people who knew how to make things work. There were systems, but there was also the person.

“Now, as we automate more and more, and as we lean-down organizations to create fake productivity gains, those people are gone. So sometimes the systems just don’t work, and can’t be made to work.

“Last week our phone suddenly stopped working. We had DSL, but no dial-tone. It took three tries and about an hour to contact the telephone company and file a trouble report. The computer said the auto-diagnostic could not find the problem, and a technician would be out between 0800 and 1800 on Tuesday (“We’re sorry, but no 4-hour appointment windows are available on this day.”)

“As it turned out, we’re doing some remodeling and our contractor spotted a phone guy Monday morning who drove up surreptitiously, did something to the junction box outside our house, and then disappeared without even coming to the door or leaving a note. After that the phone worked fine. There was never any follow-up, and of course no one appeared on Tuesday.

“My wife has had similar experiences trying to claim a rebate from the power company for the new furnace. The Web site is impenetrable, and there is no human help. And don’t even get me started on the PeopleSoft applications we are using for HR purposes inside my company now.

“In any case, I think we are seeing the internal operations of the culture gradually grinding to a halt from over automation and under staffing. I believe we will reverse the trend, but not by fixing the problem.

“Instead, we will become like other Third World countries, with a bureaucracy (made up mostly of Web applications, in our case) that simply doesn’t work and a layer of fixers who can circumvent the system to make favors happen. By then, it will no longer be possible to conceal what we have done to productivity by liquidating the infrastructure of our own economy.”

What Does This Mean to the Telcos?
Until deregulation, the telcos were very proud of their customer service, and they deserved to be proud. Their motto for us technicians was, “We will go home when all customers are back in service.”

Customer complaints were handled by a repair clerk, who pulled the customer’s information, passed it to a testing technician who immediately tested the line and then contacted the customer if the circuit was not out of service.

If the circuit was out of service, the repair technician first visited the customer and informed him of the repair process. If the problem was in the customer home, the repair was completed and post-tested by the testing technician. Then, and only then, did the field technician leave the customer.

If the problem was proved into the cable, the circuit was repaired and not transferred to another circuit. The customer was informed by the testing technician or field technician and told when the repair was complete.

We would go to any length to restore service, even if it meant we had to dig up the street or replace the whole telephone cable. People were involved. Unfortunately, that level of customer service has gone by the wayside. The motto for repair technicians today seems to be: “How many jobs can you do in eight hours?”

The efficiencies supposedly gained from automation brought tremendous lay-offs, and with that came profitability. Company execs are happy, shareholders are happy, but what happened to the customer?

Specifically I’m thinking of Ron’s customer service experience. His first contact with his phone provider was a recorded voice leading him through a menu of choices, none of which would help resolve his complaint. I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences. Or, perhaps worse is the company who outsources customer service to Bangladesh and the person you speak with can’t understand you and you can’t understand them. They have a script and, similarly to the automated menu, if your question isn’t typical, then they have no answer for you.

If the customer makes it through the menu and his problem requires a visit from a service technician, he probably won’t see the technician and certainly won’t talk to him. That technician has been told to get in and get out quickly. Get to the next job and seek a record for number of jobs completed in a day. If the customer is lucky, he’ll receive an automated message saying he’s back in service.

I certainly hope that Ron is wrong and that we aren’t going to find ourselves working hard to conceal what we have done to productivity by liquidating the infrastructure of our own economy. Call me naïve, but I do hope that The Customer can again become King - instead of the shareholders.

Signing off
We can’t fix this lack of customer contact but if you are a technician, maybe you can reach out and touch that customer next time you see him. Meanwhile, keep in mind what Sam Walton had to say: “There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” If you call me and get voicemail, I WILL personally return your call, and you won’t get a menu. Call me at 831.818.3930 or send an email to dmccarty@mccartyinc.com.

About the Author - Don McCarty

LET`S TALK Check out our website (www.mccartyinc.com). In addition to providing information about our extensive selection of courses, we are adding an equipment review section and a section on troubleshooting, where we will discuss some interesting cases of trouble. If you have an interesting case, send it along (names withheld by request).

As always, I appreciate hearing from you with questions or comments on any topics that you think are of general interest to outside plant technicians and managers.

McCarty Associates
18281 NE Rainbow Lane
Newberg, OR 97132
Telephone: 503.538.2747
dmccarty@mccartyinc.com