The ability to communicate with one another has reached a level that only a few decades ago would have seemed impossible.
Billions are spent each year here on earth and on satellites orbiting the earth to improve connectivity throughout the world. Many parts of the world, which until recently had very little ability to communicate outside their immediate environment, can now get on a cellphone and contact others in different parts of the world or even watch sporting events or news shows via the internet.
With communication abilities expanding at such a tremendous rate, why do some feel that in some ways communication has actually gotten a lot worse in some arenas?
I am not talking about communications with one another on a personal basis but with larger organizations.
When contacting a store, business, manufacturer, or governmental entity we do so either by mail, phone, text, or email. Some sites have a contact form to fill out. Others have instructions on contacting specific individuals or departments within the organization. And many just have a general email address to which one can send a complaint, question, or comment.
Sometimes an auto response is sent back stating that someone will get back to you soon, in one or two days, or some similar message. Often one sends an email or text and gets no immediate response.
Everyone has different experiences on how easy or difficult communication is with certain organizations from time to time. In my experiences, I would estimate that 50% of the time I have received no response to a message I have sent. If the message is regarding a service I have not been happy with or a product I have had a real problem with, I would estimate the percentage of no responses to exceed 90%.
Often, if I have a complaint, I am not looking for a refund but more to let the company know I am a little or a lot dissatisfied with a purchase or service. If one takes the time to let a supplier, etc. know about a problem with a product or service, would it really be that hard or that time-consuming for them to send a simple response acknowledging your concerns and simply say that they were sorry that it did not meet your expectations?
Even if they do not offer some sort of restitution (i.e. take the product back, etc.) a simple response would very often be appreciated.
Maybe complaining about the lack of people responding to emails, text messages, etc. these days is overly sensitive or seems trivial, but I have made it a personal decision to deal as little as possible with those companies, especially those where I have purchased a somewhat defective or inferior product.
Sometimes we don’t have a choice. Some products in general, such as clothing made overseas, just does not seem to have the same quality as when made in the United States. However, finding some U.S.-made products at competitive prices has become more and more difficult.
Maybe others have always been able to get prompt, courteous responses. But I think for many of us these days, those are more the exception and probably gone for good.
That is until artificial intelligence takes over as it already has begun to do.
