There are two kinds of people: Those who will do anything they can to troubleshoot on their own problem, to avoid having to deal with customer support. And those who just immediately call customer support.
Well, bad news for that second group: You may be waiting for an ARTIFICIALLY LONG time, because the company wants you to solve your own problems.
Hewlett-Packard (or “HP”) has just added a MINIMUM 15-minute wait time for EVERYONE dialing in to their call center. It just started yesterday, although only in Europe for right now.
And they’re admitting that the purpose is to ENCOURAGE people to use their online resources to solve their own problems.
They’re targeting the people who are clogging their phone lines with issues that can be easily handled online, or by using virtual chatbots. (Or, let’s face it, with COMMON SENSE.)
But the collateral damage will hit the people with more complicated problems, who HAVE already exhausted the online options.
There’s no word yet on if or when this system could make its way to the U.S., but you’ve got to think it’s coming.
It’s funny how companies would be willing to do this when YOU need THEM. But the minute that you go to cancel your service, or return something, suddenly, it’s NOT just a few clicks online. That’s when they force you into a CALL to talk it over with them.
