Patty Seybold's dashboard

THIS STORY STARTED OUT AS A "WORST CASE" OF IVR HELL EXAMPLE.

Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield's automated phone system hung up on me yesterday! I was calling to find out if I had to get my primary care physician to refer me to my infectious disease/travel specialist so I could update my shots before I travel to Uganda and get a prescription for the right kind of malaria pills. I called the main 1 800 number on my card at 4 pm (hours are 8 am to 8 pm) and was told. "We are experiencing an unusually high number of calls. We can't take your call right now. Good bye." (I realize that the H1N1 virus probably has them swamped with calls, but I was appalled that they just hung up on me!)

A much better approach would have been to tell me that the wait may be long, but I can stay on hold if I want to, and play some nice music. I probably would have given up, but at least I wouldn't have been hung up on!

I then went online to try to figure out the answer to my question, but since I hadn't logged on before, I had to come up with a long, convulated user name and password (don't you love it when they want a user name and/or a password with upper and lower case, letters AND numbers and at least 12 characters!!!), and then they were going to MAIL ME my PIN before I could use the site. Or, I could call another phone number to request a PIN.

RESCUED BY A HELPFUL PERSON! Since I am in the midst of moving from one address to another AND I couldn't wait 5 days to get an answer to my question, I called the phone number provided, which routed me to a person right away (moral of THIS story, always call the "online support" number, not the main customer support number.)

A nice woman told me that I didn't have to wait for my PIN to be sent via the mail, she would give it to me over the phone as soon as I answered an identify verification question (to your point), which I did. She gave me a PIN. Then I asked about changing my address and she said "don't do it on the Web site, it won't "take" .. It will change right back. Address changes have to be done by your plan administrator. [Ahh, HONESTY!!]

Then I asked her about my physicians' referral. I was surprised and delighted that she could answer my question. "Yes, you need one. You should have called your physician a week before your appointment. But as long as you call and make the request before you go to the specialist, you'll probably be fine." That was just what I wanted to hear. The young woman was personable, friendly and knowledgeable. It made me feel better about Mass Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Actually, I was wrong! It was a glitch on my computer. Our Widgetbox widgets are working fine on our Web site. Their customer support was fast and effective!

You are correct, Jeff. Thanks for your help. After I rebooted my computer and reloaded my browser, everything appears to be working fine.. Thanks for your prompt attention! – Patty Seybold, on October 19, 2009 23:37