London, March 2:

Computer systems are being used to snub you more effectively, depending on your value to the company you’re calling.

This is how it works. In the customer record is a field that rates your importance, based on your spending power. If you have deep pockets, you may merit a ‘1’, marking you as first-class customer whose calls should be answered pronto by a senior customer service agent.

The same field, in the record of a poor customer, might contain a 3, which tells the system to treat you like a third-class customer (or pond life, as one IT executive described non-priority customers). The system will put you to the back of the queue. If you eventually get through, your call will be routed to the cheapest call centre.

“It’s all about finding out who the customer is, and putting them in the correct bucket,” explains Ian Davis, director of product strategy for customer experience management company ATG. Companies need to screen out the least valuable customers, explains Davis. “The unprofitable customers never hear about the discounts or the promotions.”

Henrik Mandal, from Responsewave, explains how his invention can be used to target prospects. “There’s a range of ways we can get to the customer.”