customer service

I'm being a very impatient customer today.  I am a very patient person in real life and typically would not find myself in a state of impatience, but I have found that with the instantaneous gratification of technology comes the feeling (for me, anyway) that the people on the other end of the technology should also provide instant gratification in the form of answering my questions.  Like, I'm first in line in a store.  I'm on your website.  I have stepped up to your counter of products, and I am asking what I want to know.  Why aren't you answering me the moment I ask?

The trade-off for not simply calling the customer service number provided to talk to a real person in real time.  Another result of an increasing technology-based culture = people avoidance.  It provides us outs to not speak to people - other humans like me - like we have something to hide or be ashamed of.  This is the mask that some undoubtedly hide behind.  Others simply opt for the benefit of saving time.  Why wait on hold or be forced to make a phone call during business hours (when I'm taking care of MY business, too, duh!) when I can just send an email on my own time?  And on YOUR own time you can answer it, too?  And on MY own time I can read your response?  You can read this blog in YOUR own time.  This is the pro for me.

Finding the balance between that and the tendency to expect (and in some cases demand) instant gratification in this fast-paced world?  This is a delicate task, and one which I must constantly remind myself to consider.  We're all only human. :)

But then again, sometimes others just provide bad customer service. ;)