Go insane with technology.

Dilip Bobb’s ‘Pressing problems’ (TOI Nov’23) talks about the inefficiency of digital substitutes to telephone operators.

Technology for sure has made our lives easier and quicker. Take for instance the metros, online bill payments, ATMs etc. It has also revolutionized the corporate world by eliminating one employee from the corporate food chain and replacing it by what is commonly known as IVR (interactive voice response). Now all that’s required from the caller is to speak to the machine or simply press the buttons on the phone and the call will be directed.

As Dilip Bobb mentioned, outsourcing simple tasks to electronic or digital substitutes is a mistaken belief that it improves efficiency while cutting costs. He also said that sometimes, the human touch matters more than saving money.

It is a tedious pain stalking effort to listen to an animated human voice. It gets worst when one is in a hurry or when the call gets disconnected because for sure he/she would need to go through the same torturous procedure again. The frustration gets further accelerated when the call is diverted to a human being and you’re being asked the same questions. I mean 2-3 minutes just went wasted on the IVR and now another 2-3 minutes explaining the concern to the representative. A sheer wastage of time and credit! Can you just solve my problem? And by the end of it all, all that one can recall is inexplicable frustration and anger.

Companies should take thorough considerations while upgrading their systems to IVR or at least give enough training to their frontline representatives to avoid any disconnect and improve customer satisfaction. Clearly, technology and humans should be well integrated.