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fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Since when has... .... the "live operator" been a part of "the regular cost of doing business"....?
I think that what's more valid is to say that it took far more time for Qwest to catch up to charging a fee for a live agent taking a payment than anything else.
"It's one of several ways carriers take the regular cost of doing business and add it via below the line fees, allowing companies to quietly impose rate hikes while keeping advertised prices the same."
I'm sorry, but that "opinion" is just that... for MORE years than not, operators NEVER took payments over the phone.. "customer service" was there to answer questions about bills, order new service, change existing service, and disconnect service... but taking payments over the phone didn't become popular really until the 2000's...
I think too many people call in to make payments vs sending them in... which is fine.. but, now that there is internet connections and automated phone systems that can do it, for christ sakes people, stop taking up the time of customer service reps time from people that have needs that CAN'T be addressed elsewhere.
When was the last time you had to sit on hold waiting for someone to help you with a service need? ... those hold times are increasing large in part by people too lazy to use the net, the automated service, or sending a payment in. Consider that $4.00 fee payment for your time to have to wait..
Two things:
1) Cable operators mostly get penalized when they don't answer the phones fast enough... (usually within 30 seconds) so when people are calling in to make payments, and taking up a good amount of time of the reps and they're not meeting that time requirement, maybe they have to hire more people to handle those calls that quite honestly are not necessary.
2) Everyone here bitches about just how important the internet is in their lives and how it should be a regulated "utility" since it's a necessity and not a luxury.. well...? ...there is no excuse for any of the people in that school of thought to complain.. use that all-so-important internet connection and pay on-line - it's free!
So I'm sorry, but when the news cometary / op-ed piece author cries foul about a fee imposed to "pay with a live operator" and that it's just "the regular cost of doing business" it really isn't.. rather, he should be reminding people about the "importance of the internet"... basically, practice what he preaches. Not to mention, that op-ed post also makes it sound like he's singling out the communications industry when it's been VERY well established that MANY companies are now charging to make payments with live operators other than the communications industry.. as a matter of fact, power, gas, and airlines have been doing it FAR longer than any communication company has... | | |
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chimera
join:2009-06-09
Washington, DC | I do tend to agree with you. Paying more to deal with a real person makes sense. The fact that they added a charge for paying through an automated system before is the real issue which they fixed. | |
fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Yea... I agree as well.. and was on record for saying that charging for the internet or automated system was out of line...
My general opinion has been that with the explosion of CHECK CARDS (which really caused the incredible rise of what people call "Credit card payments" in the first place) more people began using that method to pay their bills. At that time, the internet and automated phone payment systems were not readily available.. so yea, operators were taking payments... but, now that just about every provider takes payments on their website and phone systems, people should use those and let the live operator get back to doing what their job was originally intended to be.
And again, I think it is worth repeating... "communications companies" , as Karl likes to beat up for this specific topic, weren't the evil companies that started these fees.. I do believe power and gas companies did this first AND their fees were up to about $15.. I can also point to a number of credit card companies that still charge to make any payments OTHER than checks in the mail.. and some charge you to have your payment simply POSTED in anything less than 4 days of making your payment.. a fee of about $10... Personally, I find cable and phone companies that charge $3 or so on average to take a payment via a live person really to be a "convenience" fee.... is it NOT a convenience to the consumer? I personally find writing out checks and mailing them IN-convenient. | |
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