DHL "service", Big is the new lousy?

I'm starting to wonder if a company can actually become too big to have decent customer service?

I had to return something to Amazon, and pleasantly they even pay for return shipping, and gave me a DHL label to print out.

I requested a pickup today, but the day is getting on, so I wanted to ask if it's happening or not.

1. There was no phone number in the confirmation email I got.
2. When I went on their site, it was hard to find any contact info.
   
3. And even harder to find a phone number.
   
4. When I found it: look at all these ridiculous options to choose from. I have no idea what any of it means.
   
5. So I called the top one. And after sifting through various phone menus, none of which covered what I needed, I chose the closest one, and the girl told me:
6. Amazon returns can't be handled by phone. I have to use the email address given in the confirmation email. Wha? [Update: well, they did actually answer very promptly to the email, and gave a phone number too.] [But then they don't seem to answer the phone there.]
   

... Do they really need to have different "teams" to handle parcels to be delivered, parcels which have been delivered, etc? One would imagine that with an intelligently designed software system, any operator could pretty much handle any request.

I'm not sure about the "big company" thing. I've occasionally had excellent service from very big companies, and lousy service from very small companies. But still I'm reminded of Seth Godin's "Big is the new Small" concept. Unlike a couple of decades ago, there really is no upside for either the company or the customers to a company being huge. Apparently all the huge companies are suffering. Of course I am not really sure why and how it was an advantage once but isn't anymore.

blankphotog said:
"Dumb is the new smart," as anyone who has been an employee of a call center knows from experience. They would rather their customer service be specialized, dumb and invisible, rather than have long calls that might actually solve customer issues.

gary w yahoo said...
Very true, blankphotog. I've worked for Convergys (call center farm) and was told to get off the line many times while solving a customer problem.