So I’m calling the Kaiser appointment line to schedule a couple of appointments, and the little automated voice asked me to key in my Kaiser ID number on my touch-tone phone so that the info will be available for the appointment folks to pull up automatically.
And I do it, while smiling and shaking my head, knowing that every other system I’ve dialed into over the past year that asked for this same info still started off with Mr. or Ms. Phone Service Person asking me, “Can I have your [ID/credit card/account] number, please?”
But … wonder of wonders … this conversation started off with Ms. Phone Service Person asking me, “Mr. Hill?” The technology actually worked! It was used! Effectively! Helpfully! Conveniently!
Makes me feel good about being in IT.
Yes, thank you.
I hate it when you give them the information and then they ask for it again. Hello? Left hand? Where is the Right hand? Duh.
‘Course it’s even more fun when they don’t believe the information you are giving them… I get this line alot: “You can’t have a Fax machine on the same line as your phone… it won’t work with our system…”
I can and it does. Little toy called a router… get into this millennium, people – it’s technology – use it!
Of course, it’s not just low-tech companies that don’t understand the implications of technology. Until at least XP (from what I heard), Micro$oft’s whole security/profiling/usage model assumed one person would only ever have one PC in one location. A person with multiple PCs in one location? Bizarre! A person with multiple PCs in different locations? Unheard of! A person with a PC (notebook) in multiple locations? Outre! Multiple people sharing a PC in a location? You’re kidding, right?
A change in any of the above? Better reformat and start over.
Uh. Don’t get me started about XP…