Is anyone there? Why patience is wearing thin as customer service becomes more automated

Marcel Strigberger went through customer service hell after he noticed a strange charge on his credit card.

He was billed $1,000 for visiting a hotel in Moose Jaw, Sask., despite having never been there. He spent the next three hours on the phone trying to get the charge removed.

“It’s the worst,” Strigberger, a retired lawyer in Thornhill, Ont., just north of Toronto, told Cost of Living.

“You’re there, you’re all upset. Nobody picks up the line, you listen to that agonizing music. ‘Your call is important to us. We understand how you feel. They’re getting more calls than usual.’ It’s frustrating.”

In the end, he was finally able to get the charge reversed — but not before a long, annoying experience on the phone, listening to on-hold music and the constant replay of automated messages.

It’s one of many examples of people being forced to deal with the frustration that comes with calling a customer service centre that is now being amplified by automated messages asking them to be patient.

And it’s an experience that experts say will continue, as some companies look to save money by pushing customers off the phone line and toward online options.

On the other side of the line

It’s frustrating on the other end of the phone, too, said Kevin Lippes, who used to take calls for such U.S. companies as Time Warner and Wells Fargo.

“I would get screamed at for their wait times. I would get screamed at for how complicated the voice system was,” said Lippes, of Buffalo, N.Y.

“It wears on you. I was taking, on average, 30 to 40 calls a day in some instances, and I’d say probably a good two-thirds of them were just getting screamed at and belittled.”

That’s led companies and service centres to issue recorded warnings at the beginning of a call, telling people that if they are abusive toward the customer service representative, the call will be terminated.

“To create a positive experience for everyone, we kindly ask that conversations remain respectful. Inappropriate language will not be tolerated and may lead to the discontinuation of your call,” is the message heard by callers to Rogers Communications, which provides Wi-Fi, internet and cable television services.

In the public sector, Service Ontario’s automated message says: “Please be advised that all forms of racism, discrimination and harassment are not tolerated and may result in delay of service. Thank you for doing your part in ensuring our interactions are respectful.”

The Canada Revenue Agency’s automated message is similar: “Please be respectful while speaking with an agent. Abusive or aggressive language and behaviour will not be tolerated.”

But Jessica Cryer, who works with organizations on their call centre systems, said she isn’t so sure that’s the right move.

“Reminding customers at the beginning of every call, adding time to the call itself to remind them, I think it just typically triggers and angers customers,” said Cryer, managing partner at The Experience Advisors, a firm based in Toronto.

“I appreciate the intent. Do I think it’s the most effective way to do it? I don’t.”

Saving money

Warnings against harassment aren’t the only automated messages people hear these days while waiting on the line.

Companies will often have a message providing basic information, such as a store location or hours. Sometimes, a customer will have to input certain information, like their name or account number. And sometimes, they may be required to talk to an automated system that may or may not understand what they’re saying.

Part of that, Cryer said, is to save the service representative time. Companies have done research and want to head off basic questions that can be easily answered while saving the more complicated questions for customer service representatives, she said.

But Lippes said from his experience, companies are hoping callers give up and put down the phone.

WATCH | Businesses cutting back on call centres in favour of online, automated tools:

Are call volumes actually higher than usual? One expert says it’s the norm

One business professor says companies are cutting back on call centres in favour of online, automated tools. But customer calls are taking up to twice as long as they did a decade ago, meaning those call wait times are going to stay longer than expected.

“The company understands that people are going to sit on hold, and they hope they abandon the calls because they don’t have to pay for me to go ahead and have the conversation,” he said.

“People tend to figure out their own problems, or they’ll go a different route. It’s all just a numbers game. It’s about how much money the company can save.”

Nena Bogdanovich, a national representative for Unifor, which represents Bell Canada workers, said companies should rely more on employees and increase their workforce, rather than standing behind automated messages.

“These automations, I mean as much as the companies think that they work, they don’t, because all they’re doing is frustrating people,” she said.

Bots have entered the chat

Much of customer service is moving away from the phone and toward the computer and mobile devices. Chatbots, computer programs that simulate a conversation with human users through text or voice, now increasingly serve the public, while some companies have removed their phone number from their website.

Cryer said it’s part of a push from organizations to reduce staff and rely more on technology.

“If you have a simple question that could be answered by a chatbot … a lot of companies are investing in the technology for you to be able to do that online by yourself,” she said.

And some people prefer that, such as Elise Malicki, who actually avoids the phone.

“I usually just send a message to their chatbots — last resort is typically calling,” said Malicki, a commerce student at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

And why is calling the last resort?

“Because it’s scary,” she said. “Something about sitting on hold for extended periods of time. I feel like when I’m calling, I have to set aside, like, half an hour or even many hours of my day ’cause you never know if it’s going to be 30 minutes or five hours until you get through.”

As for Strigberger, he said he’s not hopeful and feels his challenges trying to get help on the phone are only going to get worse as technology continues to advance.

“Things generally don’t get better,” he said. “They probably get more complicated.”