I know that this new automated stuff is the way to go for larger organizations in an effort to keep costs low and still provide service, but they certainly distance you from your customer. Especially if you are a small or niche business keep that human interaction to stay close the the customer.
Even more shocking to me the other day was when I went to change a service plan for my bundled cable, etc... they wanted to charge me $5 dollars to speak to a human representative... I guess that is how they value me as a customer... -$5 bucks...
The moral of the story.. not a single person in that organization knows how frustrated I am right now... stay close to your customer, they develop relationships with the company..not answering machines..they want someone to listen and help them get to where they need to go.