We just tried to contact a few ACH processing companies because either their FAQ, or the API (application programming interface) documentation didn't cover something or was confusing or even worse: incomplete.
I don't want to be on the phone with these a55holes anymore than I have too (or they with us) but questions I have and they need answered.
The issue is that email doesn't have the real time flow, the ability to explain something and the ability to correct the person on the other end when they interpret it incorrectly so you can get them to that Aha! moment so the conversation can move on to actually implementing their API.
Amazon strikes a good balance: Their automation does a ton of things correctly and they do have phone #'s if you need. That way they keep their phone support costs low (mainly personnel) but it's there if you need it.
