I recently switched online prescription providers, and, so far, I've been pretty happy with Express Scripts. Other than the fact that it’s difficult to find a contact phone number online, once I was able to talk to someone, the CSRs were great at giving me the info I needed and at setting me up within their system. I was also absolutely delighted when I received a recorded phone message from Express Scripts telling me that the prescription I had requested had been received from my physician and would be processed. The message went on to say that I didn't have to do anything else; everything was taken care of. Wonderful peace of mind! But then, the next day, I got the same message about another prescription, and the next day, another. It seems that the prescriptions had been received or processed on different days, so I got different calls. And the only way I knew they were different prescriptions is because the phone messages mentioned the dates the prescriptions were received.
These weren't the only phone messages; I also was notified when each day's prescriptions were about to be shipped and then again when they had been shipped. Enough already!
Further, the phone calls came in at 8:30 a.m. This is not a problem during the week, but on Saturday, I sometimes like to sleep in…my family and friends know that 8:30 is too early to call on a Saturday, but Express Scripts doesn't. I am going to have to tell them.
So what's the point here? Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. I used to believe that customers should be proactively told EVERYTHING that concerned them. I've significantly modified that opinion. I believe that we (customers) should have access to all information concerning us, but not necessarily be notified. I now believe that customers should be proactively notified about things that are unexpected or outside the norm. Let me know when there is a problem and how to solve it. You really don’t have to tell me that everything is going swimmingly! At least not on the phone at 8:30 a.m.
It's also the messenger that can be the problem. I don't mind Amazon.com sending me an email confirmation of an order, an email notification that the product has been shipped, and then a follow up to ask for feedback. I can read emails at my convenience. But phone calls are obtrusive.
A way this could be addressed and turned into a more positive experience is to have an option on the phone message to 1) stop getting the messages, 2) be instructed to go to a specific Web page to change the delivery method to email, or text, or whatever my preference is, or 3) be contacted with a live representative to customize your options.
So make sure that when you are contacting customers, you are offering them information they need and you are making it easy for them to let you know how to receive this information. Communication with customers is a good thing. Don’t let overuse spoil it!
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