It’s Wednesday…
Earlier today, I shared this FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Launches New Effort to Crack Down on Everyday Headaches and Hassles That Waste Americans’ Time and Money in Biden Bits…
Don’t worry, I don’t wanna talk about the whole thing just one bullet point:
- Cracking down on customer service “doom loops.” Too often customers seeking assistance from a real person are instead sent through a maze of menu options and automated recordings, wasting their time and failing to get the support they need. In a recent survey, respondents said that being forced to listen to long messages before being permitted to speak to a live representative was their top customer service complaint. To tackle these “doom loops,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will initiate a rulemaking process that would require companies under its jurisdiction to let customers talk to a human by pressing a single button. The FCC will launch an inquiry into considering similar requirements for phone, broadband, and cable companies. HHS and DOL will similarly call on health plan providers to make it easier to talk to a customer service agent.
True Story Time:
A few weeks ago, my grown son rode in a Uber; he left his phone in that Uber.
He called me using a landline phone from where he was and I was tasked with trying to track said phone.
He couldn’t do it as he didn’t have access to a computer.
I started with “find my phone”, it worked I found the phone not far from where my son was located.
My fist attempt was to contact the Uber drive, but for security reasons, the drives can’t receive calls or texts from phone numbers that didn’t book the Uber…
So, I google Uber attempt to sign into his account; his password was incorrect!
This is when the doom loop started…
I attempted to reset the password…
I couldn’t as Uber needed to send a security code to my sons phone to confirm his identity.
I then attempted to get the code by his email account that I had saved in my computer…
I couldn’t gain access as I had an old password, not the current one; I couldn’t ask him as I couldn’t call him back on the landline number…
Anyhoo–I tried to find “help” via Uber’s website for lost items.
It was about 1 pm Cali time when I started the process.
I filled out the form provided that required info about the lost item and got back a bunch of emails that said “we need more info” or “we can’t help you because the email account isn’t the one used to book the Uber”…
It was around then, I discovered Uber does not have a phone number to call; not at all, you can’t do anything with Uber via a phone call…
The son finally returns home “we” aka him try to reset his email password; that way we can reset his Uber password and contact the driver about his phone…
Yahoo! Mail would reset his password if he subbed to “premium” service for $12.99 a month. I said fine, use the bank card; the lady wouldn’t do it as the bank card is in my husbands name.
At that point it was almost 6 pm Cali time…
I won’t lie–we gave up for the night because honestly at this point the phone was vanished anyway…
The next day after blogging I decided to give it another go…
I’m not usually a quitter…
Anyhoo…
I make an Uber account and find a new form, which includes the best button ever that reads “CHAT WITH UBER”…
This chat person/bot; at that point I didn’t really fucking care if it was a person living on Mars. As long as someone or something provided me with “help”…
The “chat” lady; her name was Amy, finally sent me a link that allowed me to contact a different person that finally after almost 24 hours found the driver and confirmed the phone was vanished.
I then ordered his replacement phone via our phone insurance company…
It arrived the very next day; the chat feature to set up that new phone went wonderfully and I reset my sons shit via my computer.
It was then I being the good mother I am reset how he can regain access if his phone is lost.
Yes, I did tell him to save his passwords in his computer; on a posted note; on a piece of paper, but for the love of my sanity, save them not just on the phone.
But, because of the doom loop from hell experience, I made sure if this happens again, I can contact someone from Mars faster than 24 hours later…
I one hundred percent support the ending of “doom loops”…
This is an open thread
