Automation

People like efficiency...not automation. People want to feel special...not part of a program. Every time you place someone in an automated telephone answering sequence and force them to go down a predetermined path, there's a good chance you'll lose them...if not at the outset, then at some point when the paths don't work for them.

If you're stuck with an automated system, the first choice should include talking with a live person...no questions asked, 24 hours a day (or, at least anytime the business is open). Anything less is inhospitable.