They are all gone – those nice ladies who used to answer the phone and transfer your call to the right person. What happened to them? Are they all living in some giant retirement home for switchboard operators? Do they sit at night with glasses of sherry and laugh themselves sick at Cyber Sally and her mates who now man the phones.
Now there’s a profession where the power in any company vested in one place – and one place alone – the switchboard operator. She knew everything and everyone. She knew which calls to put through and which calls to put “on hold”. Remember those old boards with the cables all criss-crossed connecting incoming calls with internal phones.
I had thought that the invention of the touch tone phone was the worst thing ever. We’ve all been there – press 1 for English, 3 for customer service, 6 for “what the heck”. In an attempt to make this arduous task more “human” some companies now have voice recognition. Double ugh. Show me one person who doesn’t feel like a fool speaking to a machine.
This horrible feature is promoted as being something that will help your business grow. Really?
Receptionist TINA is a ‘virtual receptionist and assistant’ that can grow along with your business’ call handling needs using Intelligent Assistant™ technology from IA&A Technologies. You can choose all or parts of the Receptionist TINA that you need. Later, add customised Intelligent Assistant™ modules to Receptionist TINA that suit the growing needs of your business and incoming call volume.
Receptionist TINA will:
· Have the voice of any staff member, or personality you choose
· Greet callers differently based on caller-id and a greeting play list
· Promote your company when placed on hold
· Give detailed personalised information to callers
· Divert calls to phone extensions or other phone numbers
· Allow voicemail to be left for a person, department or company
· Record calls for staff training …..
The list goes on and on and on….. And this is what she looks like ….. OMG
It’s just not the same feeling is it – and they call it customer service…. Not.
The Travel Lady's Blog 
Lesley, I agree with you and I’ll go much farther. I am on a one-woman crusade to bring back Attendants. It’s my theory that putting conductors on buses, attendants in public washrooms, and sales people in stores, to name just a few examples, would actually lower costs and improve the longevity and health of the citizens. Oh, and ushers in movie houses, properly equipped with flashlights and hooks with which to eject noisy patrons.
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Oh I would love ushers in movie houses. Could they confiscate everyone’s phones on the way in?? Or is that going too far?
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