Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 29 April 20, 1995 - To the Editor

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

To the Editor

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 29 - April 20, 1995

Dear Editor:

Would someone with authority kindly respond to my concern about the public image projected when one calls the University Bookstore? If you look in the campus directory, you will see numerous departments listed, but all with the same extension, 5991, which is just the extension of a computerized switchboard operator. When you call the bookstore, all you get is a series of recorded menu options that take you through one of the most complex mazes you'll ever encounter, and if you're lucky, might get you through to the right person. This is a pitiful excuse for an organization whose survival depends on its customers. Do the people who made this decision have any idea how aggravating it is to get this kind of treatment?

Suppose we at the Pamplin College did the following:

"Hello, this is the Pamplin College of Business. If you're calling from a touchtone phone, press 1. If you'd like to speak to someone in accounting, press 1; finance, press 2; etc. Hello, this is the Finance Department. If you'd like to speak to someone in corporate finance, press 1; investments, press 2; financial institutions, press 3; etc. Hello, this is the investments faculty. If you'd like to speak to someone in stocks, press 1; bonds, press 2; mutual funds, press 3; etc. Hello, this is Professor John Doe, a specialist in stocks. I am not in right now. Please leave a message at the tone or press # to return to the main menu."

Get the picture?

Sincerely,

Don Chance