Rant on Technology Replacing Good Ole People - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Caroline13 · 08-19-2021, 05:57 PM

Oh how I remember those good ole days, calling a company, office or whatever and a Person would answer the phone, "hello, how may I help you"

At a point with all my jobs I put in 9 tough years at a major electronics company and could NEVER get with it. But the salary was very good so I hung in..and thankfully did as I get a small pension from that company. They paid well and a lot of benefits. And my boss at that company would forever say to me, it will all get better, customer service will excel....boy he was brainwashed too and very well paid.

Thinking back what I liked best about this job, I was working in San Jose and met a lot of great people and got to explore the Northern CA world....it was a transfer from So Cal and so I took it, and came back to So Ca on my own money.

So I miss people taking care of my requests. I had just placed another online order with CVS for a certain product, my 2nd order for this item, and the order was taken and today I get an email "it's been cancelled". No explanation and trying to call their 2 toll free numbers they tell people to call if they have questions, could not get anywhere with the numbers...

stevea · 08-19-2021, 06:49 PM

All these machines telling me how important my call is to company XYZ, and then putting me on hold for 20 minutes to listen to canned promos--most likely the same ones over and over. Or to please listen to the full list as our options have changed. They really don't want you to talk to a human--but the majority of the time their options which probably haven't changed in years are almost never what I want.

Another irritating thing is forcing you to key your account number into the AI system, only to have the human you need ask for it again.

And those AI systems that supposedly understand you--let me tell you they have a long way to go!

Caroline13 · 08-19-2021, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

All these machines telling me how important my call is to company XYZ, and then putting me on hold for 20 minutes to listen to canned promos--most likely the same ones over and over. Or to please listen to the full list as our options have changed. They really don't want you to talk to a human--but the majority of the time their options which probably haven't changed in years are almost never what I want.

Another irritating thing is forcing you to key your account number into the AI system, only to have the human you need ask for it again.

And those AI systems that supposedly understand you--let me tell you they have a long way to go!

My credit card company asks me to that when I call them to make a payment, I don't key in my acct #, but continue to push O button and after maybe 2-3 times person comes on and of course, they want your number and just about everything about you, glad they ask questions but often overboard.

ponytail · 08-20-2021, 06:11 AM

I can't stand dialing a number and then having to listen to a long list of which number to press. Too much automation. I really miss the old gas stations, where the guy came out to fill your tank, wash your windshield, check your oil, sometimes flirt with you.

HuntingtonM15 · 08-20-2021, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline13

Oh how I remember those good ole days, calling a company, office or whatever and a Person would answer the phone, "hello, how may I help you"

Okay, I can't help it but this totally reminded me of the Mama's Family episode where Thelma gets a job at the travel agency and had to answer the phone, "It's a great day here at the Raytown Travel Agency. May I HELP you?"

But to the point of the topic, I do agree in some ways that it can be frustrating with particular businesses. Such as when you're placed on an endless loop on the phone with what seems like dozens of dial prompts only to get disconnected.

On the other side of that, technology can be a good thing. It just depends on how businesses choose to use it. For example, I can e-mail my mortgage company and will receive a well written and informative response from an actual person and not a form letter, and I also don't have to sit on hold on the phone to get a representative who doesn't know how to help me, because they tend to only have admins answer the phones. Nothing at all against admins because they truly do contribute a LOT to running businesses, but they do not often have the knowledge required to answer in depth questions.

Caroline13 · 08-20-2021, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponytail

I can't stand dialing a number and then having to listen to a long list of which number to press. Too much automation. I really miss the old gas stations, where the guy came out to fill your tank, wash your windshield, check your oil, sometimes flirt with you.

Last I heard, long while ago, NJ still had service gas stations, that may be gone now but they did for a long time after all the "self service b.s."...

On this tech world, this reminds me of a dermatolgist I went to a few times and he was pretty old when I saw him, now I wonder if he's still alive, anyway he chose NOT to turn his business to the tech, he had a couple gals work for him and it was all done by "the old way" and they answered the phone...

HuntingtonM15 · 08-20-2021, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline13

Last I heard, long while ago, NJ still had service gas stations, that may be gone now but they did for a long time after all the "self service b.s."...

It's still a thing. It's actually a law that makes self-service gas stations in the state illegal.

Coffeecup · 08-21-2021, 06:35 PM

You said it. It is so frustrating. Do you think tech has gone this way for the companies just don't want to hire help???. I do wish when I called, I would get. "XYX company, this is Shirley, may I help you ? " Instead it's push button for this. Half the time I forget which button to push or the button to push isn't what I want. Sometimes I am glad I am on the last quarter of life for I wonder if I could cope with this at age 20..

Caroline13 · 08-21-2021, 08:19 PM

Coffeecup, my take on it all is the explosion of the mega $$$$$ tech world and the constant push from them to get companies, small and large, to come over to them. I worked in Silicon Valley for some yrs and it's was mortifying on the big spending up there...unbelievable...so many rich tech people and the waste.

I saw it up in Silly Valley all the quick millionaires from all this and it's true put a lot lot of people out of work.

08-19-2021, 05:57 PM	#1
Caroline13 Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jan 30, 2021 Location: So Calif Posts: 14,483	Rant on Technology Replacing Good Ole People Oh how I remember those good ole days, calling a company, office or whatever and a Person would answer the phone, "hello, how may I help you" At a point with all my jobs I put in 9 tough years at a major electronics company and could NEVER get with it. But the salary was very good so I hung in..and thankfully did as I get a small pension from that company. They paid well and a lot of benefits. And my boss at that company would forever say to me, it will all get better, customer service will excel....boy he was brainwashed too and very well paid. Thinking back what I liked best about this job, I was working in San Jose and met a lot of great people and got to explore the Northern CA world....it was a transfer from So Cal and so I took it, and came back to So Ca on my own money. So I miss people taking care of my requests. I had just placed another online order with CVS for a certain product, my 2nd order for this item, and the order was taken and today I get an email "it's been cancelled". No explanation and trying to call their 2 toll free numbers they tell people to call if they have questions, could not get anywhere with the numbers...
	__________________ Inexpensive Health Insurance = Grape Seed Extract Keep It Simple Last edited by Caroline13; 08-19-2021 at 06:41 PM.

08-19-2021, 06:49 PM	#2
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,828	All these machines telling me how important my call is to company XYZ, and then putting me on hold for 20 minutes to listen to canned promos--most likely the same ones over and over. Or to please listen to the full list as our options have changed. They really don't want you to talk to a human--but the majority of the time their options which probably haven't changed in years are almost never what I want. Another irritating thing is forcing you to key your account number into the AI system, only to have the human you need ask for it again. And those AI systems that supposedly understand you--let me tell you they have a long way to go!

08-20-2021, 06:11 AM	#4
ponytail Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 20, 2004 Location: In Happy, Healthy, Wealthyville Posts: 4,273	I can't stand dialing a number and then having to listen to a long list of which number to press. Too much automation. I really miss the old gas stations, where the guy came out to fill your tank, wash your windshield, check your oil, sometimes flirt with you.

08-21-2021, 06:35 PM	#8
Coffeecup coffeecup. Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 17, 2003 Location: snoozeville Posts: 3,183	You said it. It is so frustrating. Do you think tech has gone this way for the companies just don't want to hire help???. I do wish when I called, I would get. "XYX company, this is Shirley, may I help you ? " Instead it's push button for this. Half the time I forget which button to push or the button to push isn't what I want. Sometimes I am glad I am on the last quarter of life for I wonder if I could cope with this at age 20..

08-21-2021, 08:19 PM	#9
Caroline13 Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jan 30, 2021 Location: So Calif Posts: 14,483	Coffeecup, my take on it all is the explosion of the mega $$$$$ tech world and the constant push from them to get companies, small and large, to come over to them. I worked in Silicon Valley for some yrs and it's was mortifying on the big spending up there...unbelievable...so many rich tech people and the waste. I saw it up in Silly Valley all the quick millionaires from all this and it's true put a lot lot of people out of work.