Executive has an answer to phone system cheat sheet
Paul English can add this to his cheat sheet on how to reach a human on a computerized phone system: have a story in the newspaper.
English, the subject of a Nov. 6 Globe article, has caught the attention of Michael Zirngibl, chief executive of Angel.com, one of the leading makers of automated voice systems.
Zirngibl, whose McLean, Va., firm's clients includes Adidas, Kellogg's and the US Army, applauded English's efforts on behalf of consumers but said there were a lot of things wrong with his approach. English, a 42-year-old Arlington software engineer, made headlines with his personal website, paulenglish.com, which houses a cheat sheet that tells people how to reach a human on the voice systems of more than 100 companies. Zirngibl said such systems often help consumers more efficiently than live agents.
To show that automation can be good and turn English's assault into a business opportunity, Zirngibl put out his own cheat sheet for businesses on how to create customer-friendly systems. Among the tips: never hide the option for speaking to a live agent and never require callers to repeat personal information once they reach a human being.
Zirngibl said it was easy for English to urge companies to spend more time talking directly to their customers when his own company, Kayak.com, was losing money. English is the cofounder of the travel search engine.
English said Angel is trying to spin the negative image the phone systems have received to its own advantage. ''It's good public relations, but I think it's slightly sleazy," he said.
Angel.com also has bought ads on Google that pop up when anyone searches for ''Paul English."
English said it's true that the phone systems can handle some tasks well, but consumers should always be given the option of pressing ''0" at any time to talk to a live person. He said companies should be upfront about wait times and consumers should be allowed to rate their experience with the phone system after every call.
Since the Globe story, English has become something of a media sensation, giving more than 100 radio, TV and print interviews, including one for the Dec. 5 issue of People magazine. The cheat sheet on his website has received more than 80,000 visits a day since the story appeared, he said.
''It's crazy that something so simple has generated so much attention," English said. ''It's not that the cheat sheet itself is so great. It's that it hit a nerve. People are so pissed."
Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com. 