Aurora wrote:
It isn't the workers fault I know but they can't/or are not allowed to
answer a question that isn't on their script. I don't mind spelling things
or repeating answers but I would like them to be able to answer simple
questions such as if I'll get a renewal notice.
The whole "scripted support" thing amazes me. It's entirely beyond me
what the people who put these policies in place think they're
achieveing, other than angering their customers and ensuring their
support staff will never gain skills so as to become more useful to the
company. I can see that they might want to place clear boundaries on
support, for example "no, we're an ISP, we won't help you fix your
computer because it has eight million viruses on it. Here are a few
companies you can call..." . They go a lot too far with this though, to
the point that it becomes simply bizarre. I've called one big OEM, who I
shall leave nameless, and been told "I can't help you with that, it's
not on our script" then asked the same question a different way and got
an answer. Hilarious.
It's for just this reason that I've stayed with WestNet even though I
can't get an 8Mbit service from them yet (and would like one). Their
support aren't that great in terms of technical knowledge, but they will
try to help you out or get you the information you need. As someone who
generally calls for information and can handle the technical stuff
himself, that's incredibly valuable. If WestNet imposed some sort of
scripted support plan, their most of their value to me as an ISP would
be gone instantly.
Does anybody here know why companies put these scripts in place? I've
never seen the logic behind it. Let's just hope Apple doesn't go down
that path, since their support when I've had to deal with them has been
adequate (if inferior in technical knowledge at least when I've called)
and thus vastly better than any other OEM I've had the misfortune of
dealing with. I've never heard them tell anyone to use a provided
"system restore CD" that reformats the computer and erases all data
without even prompting the user, for example - unlike one big OEM with a
3-letter name.
--
Craig Ringer
