Saturday, February 26, 2022

Remember when human beings answered the phone?

 Posted on a list serv  on 02/24/22

There were once also things called human beings who answered devices called telephones. Human beings could be given all kinds of information and asked all kinds of questions, and generally understood what was said to them. If not, there were generally other human beings available who could be accessed to assist in the process of accepting information and/or answering questions.

The system worked with amazing accuracy, and problems could be resolved with a single telephone call.

My post in response

Your point is well taken. Your post is a keeper. I have increasingly been thinking the same thing over the last year or so. It seems surprising now when you get an actual human on the phone. The robot voices sound so real that I ask, "Is this a real person?" Sometimes the answer is "yes" and sometimes I get a replay of the instruction.

The other thing I have noticed in my own behavior is a powerful preference for avoidance. I really hate getting caught up in these systems and avoid them if at all possible. I have a handful of clients I just see pro bono because I can't figure out how to bill their insurance carrier and have already wasted more time on their billing than I could earn just using the same time to see another client. Back in the old days working in an agency we called it "bad debt" and it just got written off.

Some might say, "It's just the cost of doing business."

Indeed.

My new meme is "I don't do autorenew. Can I send you a check?"

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