Efficiency

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Some time ago I have changed my telephone, internet and television subscriptions from their separate originals into an ‘all in one’ subscription. Seemed more efficient at the time; starting to pay just over half of what the old set of subscriptions cost me is most definitely a bonus!

When I ordered the new package deal I was informed that the whole thing would take 4 weeks to be processed, send out, installed etc. ~ which was surprising to me, but no deal breaker. As expected I received the new modem, cables and manuals about two weeks into the process. On the day the switch from one to another would take place I installed the new and better system; for now adding to the ‘rats-nest’ of cables rather than subtracting from it. Yet, one telephone call later, everything worked.

As so often, it turned out that working out the details is where it gets complicated...

In the old set-up I had four telephone lines. Over time, two of these lines had outlived their usefulness ~ and this seemed the perfect time to discard the extra lines and numbers. Something that, according to the manual is easy to do yourself when you access your account online.
Taking this next step, I am surprised to find that the window where I should be able to make those changes is absolutely empty.
So I call customer service. I get the message that they are too busy right now, I should give them a call at a later time, and the call will be automatically disconnected.
Oh well...

A couple of days later, I receive an email telling me that my new subscription is working and processed; and any changes I would like to make in my telephone settings I can easily do myself when I access my account online. So I give it another shot. Still an empty page.

Another couple of days later ~ more than a week after my new subscription has taken effect ~ I am still unable to change my telephone settings. Time for another call to customer service.
This time I am being bounced from one person to the next ~ the third person finally comes with an answer: “It’s complicated”.

How complicated can it get? The whole process is automated from the moment the order is entered into the system ~ this to make sure everything is handled with the utmost efficiency. And yet, the (automated) administrative changes take 10 days and allow for an email to be sent out that says the process of switching over to the new subscription is all finished, when in reality it is not...

The friendly, yet somewhat argumentative customer service person insists: “It’s not that easy”.

It makes me wonder ~ does efficiency really complicate things?
Or have we, in our strive for efficiency forgotten that the simplest solution more often than not is the best solution?
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