I think it is fair to say that everyone has experienced the “ever so friendly” automated answering systems when calling customer support for everything from making flight changes to inquiring about an unauthorized charge on your credit card. I must admit these systems test my patience when the voice comes on and says “I did not understand that option”. It is a feeling of victory once I get a human voice after verbally and physically beating up my phone by demanding the operator at the top of my lungs and hitting every number combination possible.
I have to ask myself, Are web based forms the next generation of the automated answering system? It is not unusual when browsing websites and searching for the Contact Us or Customer Support section to find a website form that must be filled out. Phone numbers are like pay phones, not easy to find; I guess the automated operators are too busy trying to decipher which option a caller really wants.
I don’t mind completing a web form as long as the form “asks” for pertinent information to address my question or inquiry. Too often the fields in the form are vague. It then leads me to wonder, where did my important inquiry go? Is it lost in cyberspace? Was it sent via email and deposited into someone’s junk folder? Was it sent via email and manually typed incorrectly into a spreadsheet or filed in a folder labeled “pending requests” never to be read again?
Website forms are a great and powerful tool and we must not let them fall victim to the reputation of voice recognition systems.
· Keep forms simple to fill out and determine the relevant fields to include based on past customer service inquiries.
· Have form submissions automatically populate in a database (checkout TrackVia’s web form builder) to eliminate the potential for human inputting errors or the risk of messages getting lost in cyberspace. A database also allows you to easily search, sort and filter inquiries so you can promptly follow up with valued customers/visitors.
· Acknowledge receipt of all forms.
The good news is I’ve never had the urge to physically or verbally abuse my computer when completing web forms (fatal errors are another story), but I may be tempted if I feel my inquiries are being routed through the never ending voice recognition answering system maze!
