Does this describe your voicemail menu?

Seth Godin offers one of the best metaphors for the experience of seeking help via phone from almost every company in existence:

Let’s say the person in charge of your retail operations does the following every single day:

• Puts up a sign indicating which of five doors customers should use.

• Locks that door.

• Randomly unlocks another door.

• When someone figures out which door to use, he runs out and kicks them in the groin, then locks the door.

And he concludes:

Maybe, just maybe, after a day or two of this, and a few warnings, you’d realize that this person was doing serious damage to your organization, no?

Here’s a homework assignment: round up a few friends or family members. (Don’t do this yourself, because you’ll be looking for something positive; use people with no personal interest.) Ask them to call your company for help. And tell them you want the unvarnished truth about the experience.

And then see what they say.

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