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The Nightmare on Telecom Street
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H. James Harrington, a noted quality consultant, related the following story in Quality Digest
magazine:
I called to make a flight reservation just an hour ago. The telephone rang five times before a
recorded voice answered. “Thank you for calling ABC Travel Services,” it said. “To ensure the
highest level of customer service, this call may be recorded for future analysis.” Next, I was
asked to select from one of the following three choices: “If the trip is related to company
business, press 1. Personal business, press 2. Group travel, press 3.” I pressed 1.
I was then asked to select from the following four choices: “If this is a trip within the
United States, press 1. International, press 2. Scheduled training, press 3. Related to a
conference, press 4.” Because I was going to Canada, I pressed 2.
Now two minutes into my telephone call, I was instructed to be sure that I had my
customer identification card available. A few seconds passed and a very sweet voice came on,
saying, “All international operators are busy, but please hold because you are a very important
customer.” The voice was then replaced by music. About two minutes later, another recorded
message said, “Our operators are still busy, but please hold and the first available operator will
At last, a real person answered the telephone and asked, “Can I help you?” I replied,
“Yes, oh yes.” He answered, “Please give me your 19-digit customer service number, followed
by the last four digits of your social security number so I can verify who you are.” (I thought I
gave these numbers in the first place to speed up service. Why do I have to rattle them off
again?)
I was now convinced that he would call me Mr. 5523-3675-0714-1313-040. But, to my
surprise, he said: “Yes, Mr. Harrington. Where do you want to go and when?” I explained that I
