> there are legitimate situations in which a potential customer requires that they speak to someone or they will simply ignore the company.
That's a good point. There are a lot of those, and a significant fraction is about some information critical to the customer, that is not present or not entirely obvious on the site. Things like:
- Are you double-plus sure that when I order a violet widget, I get a violet widget? The UI isn't inspiring confidence, and there's a deadline, so unless I can be certain, I'll go with the more expensive vendor whose site is more clear on that.
- There's bunch of bank holidays and stuffs coming up in the next couple days; I need to be sure you'll send the package tomorrow at the latest, or it'll hit a weekend and then a holiday and it'll arrive late, by which time it'll be worthless for me.
Etc.
I've abandoned plenty of carts due to inability to clarify things like that, and I've many times significantly overpaid just to deal with a vendor or system where I don't need to ask for clarification in the first place.
Still, here's the thing: in each case, I had enough information already that I knew I want to buy. I knew the costs and delivery estimates and exact models/parameters. Without all those information, I wouldn't be calling to clarify - I wouldn't consider buying in the first place.
That's a good point. There are a lot of those, and a significant fraction is about some information critical to the customer, that is not present or not entirely obvious on the site. Things like:
- Are you double-plus sure that when I order a violet widget, I get a violet widget? The UI isn't inspiring confidence, and there's a deadline, so unless I can be certain, I'll go with the more expensive vendor whose site is more clear on that.
- There's bunch of bank holidays and stuffs coming up in the next couple days; I need to be sure you'll send the package tomorrow at the latest, or it'll hit a weekend and then a holiday and it'll arrive late, by which time it'll be worthless for me.
Etc.
I've abandoned plenty of carts due to inability to clarify things like that, and I've many times significantly overpaid just to deal with a vendor or system where I don't need to ask for clarification in the first place.
Still, here's the thing: in each case, I had enough information already that I knew I want to buy. I knew the costs and delivery estimates and exact models/parameters. Without all those information, I wouldn't be calling to clarify - I wouldn't consider buying in the first place.