An Open Letter to MetLife
Dear MetLife:
While I appreciate your move toward (what your company believes is) efficiency, I am not impressed with the new voice-activated menu system. Your old menu system required a simple selection of a number, to be punched in (by hand) from my phone. Now I must verbalize my choice on the menu and 9 times out of 10 the response from the computerized woman says, "I'm sorry, I did not understand. Please choose an option from our menu." She then proceeds to rename all the options. I find if I interject before the options list is read, I definitely won't be understood. But, if after saying my choice several times, each escalating in volume and annoyance, I will eventually be directed to an actual, live person.
After I have made my payment, changed my auto policy, or have finished whatever business I called you to complete, the operator always says to me, "You can also pay your bill through our automated system to save time." Really? Save time? By the time I am done with your phone system I feel as though I need a nap and some stress-reduction therapy. I do not have an unusually thick accent and I don't think I slur or stutter my words, so why won't this work for me?
So, I would like to offer up a solution. Please offer callers an option to use the automated, by number, menu, or the voice recognition menu. This would make my life, and I am sure, the life of many others, much easier.
Sincerely,
Your customer for over 12 years,
Erin Harty
While I appreciate your move toward (what your company believes is) efficiency, I am not impressed with the new voice-activated menu system. Your old menu system required a simple selection of a number, to be punched in (by hand) from my phone. Now I must verbalize my choice on the menu and 9 times out of 10 the response from the computerized woman says, "I'm sorry, I did not understand. Please choose an option from our menu." She then proceeds to rename all the options. I find if I interject before the options list is read, I definitely won't be understood. But, if after saying my choice several times, each escalating in volume and annoyance, I will eventually be directed to an actual, live person.
After I have made my payment, changed my auto policy, or have finished whatever business I called you to complete, the operator always says to me, "You can also pay your bill through our automated system to save time." Really? Save time? By the time I am done with your phone system I feel as though I need a nap and some stress-reduction therapy. I do not have an unusually thick accent and I don't think I slur or stutter my words, so why won't this work for me?
So, I would like to offer up a solution. Please offer callers an option to use the automated, by number, menu, or the voice recognition menu. This would make my life, and I am sure, the life of many others, much easier.
Sincerely,
Your customer for over 12 years,
Erin Harty