Customer's hilarious and frustrating experience with Australia Post: ‘Doinks’
- Replies 8
As our lives become increasingly digital, it’s no surprise that customer service chatbots have become increasingly common. But, sometimes, things don’t exactly go to plan.
One customer recently found out the hard way after they had an odd online exchange with an Australia Post chatbot.
The customer shared the typed conversation, which was attempted to change their mailing address, on social media.
The exchange began with what appeared to be a minor misunderstanding—the chatbot asked for a tracking number, which the customer didn't have.
But things soon escalated, and after numerous rounds of incomprehensible back-and-forth dialogue, the customer asked if they could speak with a real human and refused to share their email address—only to be met with a slew of robotic responses.
Perhaps the most striking reply the customer received: ‘Doinks.’
Without skipping a beat, many saw the post as an opportunity to share their thoughts.
As one user commented, 'Hard to find good employees these days.'
'Sometimes you need to program a response that's an exclamation…so customers feel like the agent is listening to, relating to, or empathising with them,' another said.
'We just use “Oh dear!” or “I see!”-–”Doinks” is an odd choice.'
One commenter argued, ‘The point isn’t to help, it is to get you to give up in frustration,’ calling the chatbot ‘hilariously bad’.
Other users shared similar experiences with chatbots, taking on similar lines of exasperation with the automated services.
Australia Post maintains a section of its website that talks about its chatbot.
According to them, ‘wherever possible, the chatbot will try to answer your question’.
‘If the chatbot doesn’t know the answer, it will connect you to one of our support agents who are available during business hours to solve more complex questions. And, you can ask to speak to a person if you prefer,’ the website said.
‘Our chatbot is built using machine learning, which means it will keep improving and getting smarter over time. If it doesn’t know the answer to a question you ask today, it will learn how to provide an answer in the future.’
Australia Post said they are ‘constantly working to improve the digital experience for customers’.
Unfortunately, the customer didn’t get the experience they deserved, but Australia Post has since apologised for the incident.
‘Australia Post apologises to the customer for this poor experience and encourages them to call us on 13POST (13 76 78),’ a spokesperson said.
‘While the majority of our chatbot interactions are working well, we continue to work to improve and enhance the service.’
While chatbots may be helpful for some, they may also be used to harm others.
AI chatbots were earlier reported to be used by scammers to trick people out of their hard-earned money. Read more about the story here.
Members, have you also encountered a frustrating conversation with a chatbot? What do you think of companies using chatbots? Let us know in the comments below!
One customer recently found out the hard way after they had an odd online exchange with an Australia Post chatbot.
The customer shared the typed conversation, which was attempted to change their mailing address, on social media.
The exchange began with what appeared to be a minor misunderstanding—the chatbot asked for a tracking number, which the customer didn't have.
A customer shared a hilarious yet frustrating conversation with Australia Post’s chatbot. Credit: Reddit
But things soon escalated, and after numerous rounds of incomprehensible back-and-forth dialogue, the customer asked if they could speak with a real human and refused to share their email address—only to be met with a slew of robotic responses.
Perhaps the most striking reply the customer received: ‘Doinks.’
Without skipping a beat, many saw the post as an opportunity to share their thoughts.
As one user commented, 'Hard to find good employees these days.'
'Sometimes you need to program a response that's an exclamation…so customers feel like the agent is listening to, relating to, or empathising with them,' another said.
'We just use “Oh dear!” or “I see!”-–”Doinks” is an odd choice.'
One commenter argued, ‘The point isn’t to help, it is to get you to give up in frustration,’ calling the chatbot ‘hilariously bad’.
Other users shared similar experiences with chatbots, taking on similar lines of exasperation with the automated services.
Australia Post maintains a section of its website that talks about its chatbot.
According to them, ‘wherever possible, the chatbot will try to answer your question’.
‘If the chatbot doesn’t know the answer, it will connect you to one of our support agents who are available during business hours to solve more complex questions. And, you can ask to speak to a person if you prefer,’ the website said.
‘Our chatbot is built using machine learning, which means it will keep improving and getting smarter over time. If it doesn’t know the answer to a question you ask today, it will learn how to provide an answer in the future.’
Australia Post said they are ‘constantly working to improve the digital experience for customers’.
Unfortunately, the customer didn’t get the experience they deserved, but Australia Post has since apologised for the incident.
‘Australia Post apologises to the customer for this poor experience and encourages them to call us on 13POST (13 76 78),’ a spokesperson said.
‘While the majority of our chatbot interactions are working well, we continue to work to improve and enhance the service.’
While chatbots may be helpful for some, they may also be used to harm others.
AI chatbots were earlier reported to be used by scammers to trick people out of their hard-earned money. Read more about the story here.
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