Customer Service is the new media

Doctor's Offices are already (in)famous for lousy customer service.

They treat you like dirt, have no consideration for your time and make you fill out endless paperwork in spite of your being a regular patient.

Add a new annoyance to dealing with them: SMS Messages that don't explain anything and IVRs that only lead to dead ends.

This is an example of both:

1. No clue about who to call
2. Seven options on the IVR before you get to "0" for the operator
3. No answer on the operator line
4. No place to leave a message
5. Line is not monitored

There are a dozen optometrists in my zip code. I already have an appointment for this Monday. However, unless they deliver exceptional service, I will drop them like I dropped the last one for lousy customer service.

Many companies don't realize the importance of customer service in the face of increasing acquisition costs.

As an extra: had they paid for an excellent designer as opposed to a mediocre one, the excellent designer would have told them the obvious: include who to call in the text message.