Automated Customer Service -- the catch!

This is what happened today when I called a couple of Utilities customer service line.
1. The Green Energy Gas Company (for now, call itTGEGC)
"Welcome to "TGEGC", please advise that your call may be monitored for blablablabla, if you do not bla bla blabla and blabla bla" (this is the funny bit kicks in) For gas leaks emergencies please press 1 Now. (pause) For enquiry B please press 2, For bla bla blabla bla.

I wonder if real emergency do occur, with that minutes spent on listening the welcome message (plus the panic, screaming *if any*, and getting a hold of oneself), how effective would the customer service be?

2. OPTUS phone company
(Why I mentioned the name? because the service SUCKS!! now that's the power of blogging huh!)
Calling to this customer service takes a frikkin LONG TIME! Geez. transferred here and there, meanwhile theres a holding cue that takes 5-10 mins each!
One thing that confuses me though, at the beginning of call, there's a requirement to say all your account details using vocal recognition, such as what's the inquiry about, what's the product(mobile, land line, broadband, etc), the phone no you're calling about, the pin no, etc.

OK the trick bit. If you're foreigners, focus on Asians, with very different accent and pronunciation as the locals, how the machine would recognize the problem on hand????

Earlier, I couldn't say "Forgotten PIN" like the locals says it (you know aussies and their accent??). This then leads to the lady machine kept on saying "I'm sorry, I did not get that, please say your pin no or if you don't remember please say forgotten pin". The third time saying it wrong, you want to strangle the other person on the line (although you know it's only a machine!). GRMBLGRMBLGRMBL!@#$!!!

Although third time wrong they'd direct you to a person straightaway!

This is where the redundancies occur.
The customer service PERSONNEL (means a REAL person!) would ask you the question that was asked by the lady MACHINE! "please tell me the phone number?" HELLOOO!! done that?
later when I told the personnel to close the account, she put me on hold for she needs to PULL UP MY ACCOUNT DETAILS! that only take, oh, another 5-10 minutes????????? When she got the details and account history up, she needs to direct the call to another PERSONNEL in charge. KABOOOOOOOM!! meledak! MELEDAK SAYA!

I'm not a very kind customer, but if the service would take much shorter cue, I WOULDN'T COMPLAIN AS MUCH! to your face, of course.

Calling OPTUS takes my whole half hour away. Oh during the wait, I talked with my sis ON THE PHONE! that's how long the wait was. I have 2 phones on both ears. Now that's multitasking.

note to D: take this as consideration when you're coming here. DON'T GET OPTUS!! get Vodafone. then you can call home whenever with cheaper cost. Lo tau ndiri kan gue nelfon ke elo kalo lagi kebanyakan pulsa???? ;)) Don't get optus pokoknya. Don't.

and I say it again,
It's the power of blogging.
where you can trash about brands you dislike.
NO COST. NO CHARGE. NO LAWSUITS (this one depends on the content of the blog :D)


They would say Automated Customer Service is for practicality, for maximizing customer relationship management, for customers' benefits. But alas, bottomline is for COMPANIES to cut short on costs. Imagine for big companies use all live personnel for all inquiries? how many staff would they need? how much costs they need to spend for a person alone? although some may not get a balanced workload.

Yes, it is for CRM purposes, but don't take it too far as given it all to machine! Not just it irritates customers with vocal difficulties (although not disabled), but also having to repeat the details twice by the real personnel! That I called, a waste of your 5 minutes!