This is a copy of an email I sent to a company, regarding a horrible automated customer service experience I had over the phone.
I feel that your “pay over the phone” option is broken. I do not mean broken, as if it doesn’t work literally. It does, but I feel that it does not work efficiently.
When I called to pay my bill, it took me about 4 or 5 minutes of navigating through prompts to finally get to the part where I could pay my bill. But that’s not the issue.
When I called, I was asked to enter my zip code, which I did. The system was able to accurately determine my service address by using my zip code and the phone number I was calling from. The system then informed me that it was going to transfer me to the bill-pay department. All I needed was my 19-digit account number.
The system told my 19-digit account number to me, and I tried my best to write it all down. However, I was able to get only 9 or 10 digits. I am not the fastest writer, and the system spoke my number very quickly. The system asked me if I wanted my account number repeated, so I chose the option. Unfortunately, because I was trying to verify the numbers I’d already written down and then write down the numbers I’d missed the first time, I was able to write down only 5 or 6 new numbers. Rather than give me another chance to get my account number, the system automatically rerouted me to the bill-pay department.
After being rerouted, I was immediately prompted to enter my 19-digit account number, which I was unable to write down entirely. Since your system gave me my account number, security obviously was not an issue, so I do not understand why my account information could not be transferred with my call. It seems to me that it is very inefficient to tell me my number and then ask me to tell it back to you. Why not knock out this unnecessary step? This is one reason I feel that your “pay by phone” option is broken.
When I couldn’t enter my number, I pressed 0 to talk to an operator. The system did not recognize my request. I screamed “real person” and “real representative” into the phone. The system could not accommodate. I had to hang up and sit through 4 or 5 minutes of prompts again so that I could hear and write down the last 4 digits of my account number. This is reason #2 that your “pay by phone” option is broken.
It seems to me that with the way your system works, you must be able to write down your 19-digit account number very quickly and confidently and hope that you can get it in 2 chances.
I hope that you will take my complaint seriously and consider changing the workings of your automated customer service. I’m sure others have had the same problem but chose to say nothing.
