- Toll Free Numbers
My earliest memory on the word 'Toll' goes to my school times when we were told, and we used that statement many times and at many places, was, " Life takes its own toll". That means, in the journey called Life, we have to bear some sacrifices, some pains before we see the gains of living (an expense or a charge for living.)
Then, when the economy started expanding with revolution in telecommunication industry, most of the Corporate set-up Toll Free Numbers to take the load of customers' calls, handle volume of customers, and to tide over the element of subjectivity that crops up in a two-way communication. The word "Toll Free" here means that when you place a telephone call on given toll-free number, there shall not be any expense or charge on customer. And that's indeed true. No money is charged to customer when he places a call on a Toll-free number............
But, shouldn't 'toll' go beyond 'money charge' and include 'pains' too when you call a Toll-free number?
I say it from my experience that, in practicality, calling a Toll Free Number has since become a headache for most of us, with listening to impersonal audio responses, endless punching of numbers 1, 2,3 .......onward to be able to speak to right level of customer care executive., and many a times, call drops for some technical reasons. In case you succeed with the call, most of the times, after you run through toll-free call menu and land on the right customer care executive number, a recorded voice says, " All our customer care executives are busy, and on and on.......call after some time. So you disconnect and again run through the menu course of reaching right level of customer care executive. And in case of a Bank, after going through the same process, one also has to go through the customer verification questions before they listen to your grievance. With no real authority to customer care executive to resolve the issue, they shall simply forward your concerns to concerning department, and it all turns out to be a frustrating experience and total waste of time.
Placing a toll-free-call has literally severed a direct communication between customer and the Corporate to the disadvantage of customer.
I have worked with two leading private sector banks, but when it came to availing Home Loan and Vehicle Loan, I preferred taking these loans from SBI, simply because, other than the advantage of having such loans at most competitive rates, they have a well defined robust grievance redressal system, with phone numbers/email addresses of the concerning grievance redressal officers available on their web site itself, which unfortunately is not the case with new-age Private sector banks, and other non-finance Corporate too. I have successful experience of prompt redressal of my grievances whenever I encountered a problem at the branch/RACPC level, as I called up the concerning GM (Complaints) numbers, briefed him about my concerns and he spoke to concerning person in branch/RACPC, and lo, the issue gets resolved in less than 30 minutes.
Having seen that such system works, I am advocating that let all Banks/FIs/non-Finance Corporate offices invariably have designated officers for attending to customer's grievances, with a clear-cut matrix for escalation of grievances, in case customer isn't satisfied, where a customer can directly call without putting the call through toll-free number, and let the customer's call to that grievance redressal number be charged, like a normal telephone/mobile call.
Of late, while traveling by road, we are all accustomed to paying 'Toll' at the Toll plaza, for the convenience we experience in driving on smooth roads etc. In the same league, let the Banks/Corporate also mentions the' Paid service numbers' where willing customers may call to get their issues sorted out.
A money expense is a better bargain than living in frustration and fighting the whole day in dialing the Toll-free numbers. A 'Toll-paid' number is the need of hour these days. We don't mind paying for our convenience.
Hope some one shall take an initiative in this direction and reset the canvass of customer grievance system.