The Expert Podcast

Is paying for customer service, the new normal. We've seen a lot of companies deleting. Phone numbers for customer service major airlines a lot of large companies even government agencies don't have phone anymore for customer service And even when you do access customer service, it may cost money. Even in the healthcare industry, there are trends towards billing for even the smallest interactions with the healthcare providers and article talking about how doctors are now charged. For emailing responses to questions and this one. Person who was interviewed, said that their Cleveland clinic. Has begun billing for some email correspondence between patients and doctors, 15 or $20. Is the norm, according to the study. Fees some institutions I charge a copayment of $3 up to 35 or a hundred. For email conversations. And…this is a big question. Does this make it harder for people who are on limited budgets to get good quality healthcare? And for some people with different kinds of insurance. It could have 33 to $50. Minimum charge for the patient for each email exchange. On the other hand if email starts to be used more and doctors. Their entire day is spent doing emails How is that going to work for a business model So it's an interesting question but what we've seen in many industries. Is more and more companies I don't have the same depth of customer service. For free with email phone, even online. Because of the fact that it's consuming too much of time of actual providers of the service actual professionals. Sometimes if you have let's say a plumbing company or a electrical company where somebody calls in or ask questions. The person who might know the answer to that is actually the licensed plumber or the professional in the field. And if they take their time away to answer questions all day, they're not gonna be able to do any work for paying clients So a lot of companies are going to this paid model. And…it is an alternative to getting no answer at all Or if you call up just talking to a clerk receptionist answer the phone that really can't give you answers. And some people want more…and just what they can read on a website Some people want an actual one-on-one conversation So even though there's some companies that still do this, Sometimes they'll offer you a sales person that can. answer some questions but really trying to sell you something. But paid conversations is more common in this. example. They have Aetna insurance and had a high deductible. She'd been billed $32 for email threads seeking treatment for psoriasis. Eczema. And other items So time is money to be able to submit something super simple communicate with doctors better than driving 20 minutes. Each way and sitting in the waiting room So some people see the value in it for some people it's a budgetary thing. But if it's the same as your deductible and you can get the same answer without having to go there again it's a trade off whether it's right or wrong, who knows, but it is the trend It seems even in high level professions, like the medical field.