Modes of communication

March 15, 2022
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Why offer modes of communication, and then ignore them?

ChatContact Point

I needed to find a new Vet and reached out to friends who had pets to see who they used.  One of my friends said to speak with the Pet Vet (fictitious company).

So I went to their website and the offered three modes of communication.

  1. Telephone Number
  2. Email
  3. Chat

It was early evening, so I discounted calling.

So I sent an email.  Simple contact form, gave them my name, email and what I needed.

You would think it’s simple?

Nope!  It’s 48 hours and no response.

Attempt No. 2

So I attempted to reach out with their Chat client.  These web-based chat clients are pretty mature these days.  They work “well”, especially when there isn’t a bot attached.  You’d expect some type of reply in a few minutes.  After 30 minutes and no response, I closed the client.

Bad Customer Interaction

This is just bad customer interaction.  If you aren’t going to answer emails, or chat from your website, then maybe you shouldn’t offer those options.

My question now moves to how this Vet will treat my pet and his human (me).  Are they going to jerk me around and make me wait inordinate amounts of time in the waiting room.  Are they going to try to gouge me?

Definitely a quandary that could have been ameliorated if they only answered….

Surprise

I was actually surprised by the speed from waiting to examination, and the honesty of the Vet (suggested services that she said we should use a specialist, not them).  Still… if they only answered their email or chat clients….

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