Is it lying to speak untruths to a disembodied voice at technical assistance?
Our Charter internet cable service is down. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with a disembodied voice that asked me to take several actions to try for a fix to solve the problem. I had already done all the things she asked me to do, so I lied to the voice. Have I sinned?
Charter's customer service by phone is terrible. Once you get a real live person on the line, they are usually kind and helpful, but by then, I'm pretty annoyed, and I'm afraid that the real live person sometimes bears the brunt of my annoyance with the voice and the whole damned company. The lines in the tiny office here are long, with people spilling out the door at times.
Hmm, well, didn't they use to tell us that a lie was a deliberate withholding of the truth from someone who had a right to know it? But that would be casuistry, I suppose...
ReplyDelete4 May, that is, indeed, what they (in my case, the Jesuits), told us. In other example, one did not have to be "home" to all callers and visitors, whether one was physically present or not.
ReplyDeleteEgo me absolvo....
It is the same everywhere. My ISP is usually very good and the problem I had a few months ago was not their fault but the monolithic provider of telephone lines which used to be a govt monopoly but was sold about 15 years ago (and I am a shareholder). Now ISPs buy space from them.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I still must go through my ISP and inevitably I get a person with a strong Indian accent (I am tempted to ask about the weather in Mumbai) and they always start by telling me to reboot my computer, restart the modem etc. etc. I feel like screaming that I have been running banks of computers in libraries since 1995 and do all the obvious things BEFORE I pick up the phone. Yes Mimi, lie through your teeth to these idiots.
And I forgot the best(worst)one
ReplyDeleteHave you tested your phone line?
How the hell do you think I am ringing you?
I don't understand; you had already done all the things the voice asked you to do, so you didn't lie. It's only a matter of a different interpretation of time.
ReplyDeleteG.M., I think you are being what they used to call "scrupulous." Erika is quite correct that time is irrelevant. As with God, whether we pray for a sick friend before or after recovery doesn't matter to God. The same is likely true of ISPs, though for different reasons. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBrian, the real live person, who had only a slight Indian accent, told me that I could get the best help by going online to charter.com.
ReplyDeleteErika, you have to take time out to pretend that you're checking. You can't say, "I already did that," because the program only accepts "yes" or "no" or "continue", a very limited selection of words, and you can't answer too quickly. It's a game.
AFter several times of interacting with Charter (we have them here in Oregon) - I just tell them YES or NO - whatever -- as I have done those things - I know the drill by heart.
ReplyDeleteTobias, in my adolescence, I used to be what they used to call scrupulous. It was hell, and I gave a couple of priests who were trying to help me hell, too. Poor priests. One of them had a nervous breakdown, and that gave me something else to be concerned about, because I wondered if I had caused the breakdown.
ReplyDeleteScrupulosity was fairly common amongst Roman Catholic youths in my day.
While I can't claim any nervous breakdowns, I too had my share of scrupulosity as a young Roman Catholic.
ReplyDeletePerhaps by becoming Episcopalians we are now better able to apply our nervous breakdown inducing skills to bishops?
Ann, there has to be a better way. Sometimes if I repeatedly hit the zero button, I can get to a real live person. I feel defeated before I start, because I know what an ordeal the call for service will be. It doesn't help that Charter is in Chapter 11. I wish a decent company would buy them out.
ReplyDeleteAs tutored by my fairly weird brother-in-law, I now just say "Agent" any time I am asked to respond. Most phone trees give up and let me talk to a human.
ReplyDeleteEither here or in Bangalore
Whatever, Grandmere --just remember, your sins are forgiven.
ReplyDeleteTobias, I used my skills, such as they are, to prevent the election of Bp. Smith in Louisiana. I don't know whether I had an effect, but I tried. I believe I retained at least some of my scruples, because I made the case against his election mainly from his own words, and he knew what I was doing.
ReplyDeleteSusankay, I'll try your BIL's advice next time.
Margaret, what sins? I've come a long way, baby.
:-) Lol!
ReplyDeleteMimi
ReplyDelete"the program only accepts "yes" or "no" or "continue", a very limited selection of words, and you can't answer too quickly"
Well then, it's not dishonesty that plagues you but the rigidity of a software program. The onus for a more productive conversation is on the company that employs these robots and believes them to be helpful.
Erika, I didn't seriously believe that I sinned. I posted the question in jest, out of frustration, to generate a conversation, which it did. Many of us in the US are frustrated with Charter cable service. I'm thinking of switching to AT&T, which runs slower, but offers much better customer service.
ReplyDeleteHello Grandmère Mimi,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Eric Ketzer, and I am a Manager with Charter Communications. I am certainly in no position to determine if it is a sin, but I can provide some options to avoid the automated troubleshooter. If you still have connection, you can use eChat which is available via Charter.com or you can contact my team through social media spaces, like Twitter and Facebook (for more info check out http://www.charter.com/Umatter2Charter). If you do not have connection and calling is your only option, pressing zero during the recording should take you to a live Agent.
If we can ever be of assistance, please feel free to send us an e-mail to Umatter2Charter@chartercom.com.
Have a great day...Eric
Eric, thank you for your response. My quarrel is generally not with the employees of Charter but with the policies set by the executives of the company. I do not believe that those folks care about me as a customer at all. They run the company on the cheap. The workers in the local office are not always as pleasant as they should be, but I believe it's because there are too few of them in a very tiny place, and they are overwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteIf I did not have my laptop connection with AT&T, we would be without internet service, so it would be ludicrous to suggest online help. We are considering changing our internet service for the desktop to AT&T, because, although AT&T runs somewhat slower than Charter, their customer service is much better.
Again, I thank you for your response. The execs need to know that Charter has a bad reputation all over the country. One of our neighbors signed up for Charter phone service and has had nothing but trouble. We won't make that mistake. Once again, my quarrel is not with you and most of the employees.
Not only internet problems but we had the TV package but no one could tell us what was in our package - not on the phone nor on the web site. We finally gave up and went to Dish.
ReplyDeleteAnn took the words out of my mouth, or fingers, as the case may be. I have a friend who switched from AT&T to either Direct-TV or Hughes-net (not sure but it is satellite) and when I take my laptop to her house when I house-sit, her wireless is wicked fast.
ReplyDeleteThe nice young man who came to restore our Charter internet service told me that if you go through the drill with the disembodied voice, or pretend to, in the end, you are much more likely to get to talk to a real life person in the US rather than someone in another country with a heavy accent, than if you repeatedly press the zero button. Just thought I'd pass that on.
ReplyDeleteof course you might get someone in the US who has an unintelligible regional US accent who knows less than that nice young person in another country
ReplyDeleteAnn, anything is possible with Charter. :-0
ReplyDelete