One wonders if any U.S. business has a clue as to the frustration their customers have with the voicemail protocol they have to survive to call said business. In the old days there was the often-harried PBX switchboard operator, who at least was a live voice to screen your request and send you to the right person. Today not only is it a canned voice, but also one who speaks way too fast or at faint or overly loud levels that not only confuse but also anger the customer.

Many systems, in their feeble attempt to screen the incoming call, run the customer through an obstacle course of numbers and information that confuses and frustrates the potential buyer. Some systems run you around through a nightmare of directions that may mean something meaningful to the designer but leaves the customer lost and bewildered.

It would be interesting to see a study of customer dissatisfaction regarding today’s communications systems at the business user end. I’ll bet that FairPoint Communications lost so many landline customers partly because of the poor response customers got while trying to sort out their telephone troubles. Most of them gave up and bought cell service, which is far from perfect but does provide cheaper communications in some cases.

I, for one, as an older user relished the friendly voice at the end of dialing “0.” But sadly, she is gone!

George A. Fogg

North Yarmouth

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