Tired of Holding

Last week, I answered a phone call from my angry father, asking me what I was thinking buying seventy dollars worth of applications and games for my phone. Shocked, I told him that I had not bought anything of the sort—that there must have been a mistake on the bill. He told me to call AT&T right away and figure out why they had claimed on the bill that I had done so, letting me know that I was in trouble if I didn’t resolve the issue.

So I did. I walked into my dorm room, Googled the AT&T Customer Services number and called it. A recording answered the phone, leading me through a series of questions in which I answered by pushing numbers on the phone. Estimated time: 10 minutes. I was then transferred to another recording in which I actually had to speak, answering simple questions repeatedly because the recording had difficulty comprehending what I was saying. Estimated time: 15 minutes. Eventually the recording gave up trying to decipher my words. I was then put on hold to speak to a real person, only to be dropped from the phone call a minute after an assistant answered. Estimated time: 10 minutes. Total time: 35 minutes—with nothing resolved.

Frustrated, I called back and went through the 30-minute process again, determined to talk to a supervisor and let them know how unsatisfactory their customer service was. When I did relay my opinion to an employee, she seemed unfazed, giving me an unconvincing, “M’am I’m sorry that your experience with AT&T customer services has been this way, but there isn't anything I can do about it.”

Over an hour later, I had finally solved the issue, yet I still remained dissatisfied. I spoke to my suitemates about what had happened, and their responses alarmed me. They both told me of similar experiences they encountered with phone companies!

So I ask this: What gives any company the right to treat its customers this way? 

Too often, businesses, especially big (phone!) companies treat a customer uncivilly and not as a person—pawning the client off to talk to recordings and computers that ask a series of complicated questions, eventually requesting that the consumer “Please hold.” This has become acceptable because corporations no long treat their customers as people. Instead of giving their customers what they deserve—an employee to talk to from the beginning—the company chooses to use the quickest, and cheapest way to deal with the problem, not the most respectful or helpful. According to Stephen L. Carter, author of the Book Civility, a key component of civility is respect, which businesses tend to lack when dealing with costumers. Companies need to reevaluate their “customer service,” ensuring that they treat their customers civilly, showing their clients that they care for them. Because I, along with millions of others, am tired of it. If the businesses I support do not improve how they treat their clients, I’m searching for new companies that do treat their customers better.  Maybe it will take some time; maybe I’ll have to switch to smaller companies. But I know I am right in my demand for change, for isn't “The customer always right?”