IVR or CSR?

Thank you for calling XYZ Wireless. If you are calling from a touch-tone phone, press or say one."

I press one.

"Please select one of the following nine options ..."

One minute goes by as the interactive voice response (IVR) unit goes through the first seven menu items. After option eight, nothing sounds like the perfect choice. Maybe I should press three for billing. Or was that five?

"Press or say nine to return to the previous menu."

Impatiently, I press nine, paying closer attention to the choices.

"... For billing, press or say three."

I press three.

"For this month's current account balance, press or say one. For the status of last month's bill, press or say two. To hear the remaining minutes in your account, press or say three."

Wait a minute. I just want to ask a billing question, not hear about my account. I hesitate too long before making a selection, and the options are repeated to me. I press nine, hoping to return to the previous menu.

"This is an invalid response. Please try again."

"Nine," I say, into the phone.

"This is an invalid response. Please try again."

I hit zero, in the hope that my call will be sent to customer service.

"This is an invalid response. Thank you for calling XYZ Wireless. Goodbye."

The IVR hangs up on me. Frustrated, I call back. This time I pretend I am on a rotary phone, and I stay on the line.

"Please hold. A customer service representative will be with you shortly."

And so I wait.

OK, I exaggerated. This is a worst-case scenario compiled from the horror stories of IVR users. People are confronted with IVR every day, whether they are verifying bank account activity, checking credit-card balances or inquiring about their wireless service.

Personally, I love IVR. My calls always are answered on the first ring. If I wake up at 3 a.m. in a panic about my account, I can call the trusty IVR and set my mind at ease. When I am in a hurry, it takes less time to get an automated answer than it does to wait in a queue.

Certainly you have recognized IVR's benefits, too. One IVR vendor jokes that IVRs never call in sick, and they don't ask for benefits. And, it has practical uses, such as reducing your customer service representatives' (CSRs) call loads.

Most companies initially install IVR to back up CSRs when they are short-staffed. But when they stop using it to enhance a call center and start using it in place of one, companies run into problems. My love for the IVR turns to hate if I have to sit through dozens of menus when I just want to talk to a person. IVR's acceptance rate may be higher in the wireless industry than in others. Still, not everybody likes it, and today's new subscribers could very well be technophobes or people who demand personal service. To ensure that you don't take the "interact" out of interactive voice response, there are some things to keep in mind.

First, you always should give your customers the option to speak to a CSR. Second, after a customer is given several choices, the call should route to a CSR if there is no response at all or if the response is not recognized. Third, your IVR should stand out. Steer clear of what one vendor calls "shrink-wrapped software" and "vanilla implementations." Fourth, if certain customers habitually opt out of the IVR, you should route their calls automatically to a live person. Software is available that will recognize the IVR-haters, so a CSR always can answer their calls. Most important, your IVR should be user-friendly. Putting nine options on one menu or layering menu upon menu is not user-friendly.

Whether the customer is making his first call to your call center or his 30th, you should make sure that answering his question is as easy as possible. If it isn't, that call may be his last.