Sunday, November 06, 2005
Phone menus and frustration
Calling a company for help or information, the computer picks up and tells you to pick an option number from a menu. I've found that options sometimes are less than helpful, too. I've been known to end up saying, "but what if I want to !#$%?, dammit!" Sure, I end up pushing the buttons until I finally get the information, or I hang up in disgust. This article gives some hints on how to, possibly, bypass the menus and go straight to a human. How to outsmart automated phone systems
On the right side of the article is a box entitled, "Shortcuts and tips". One of the tips suggest not calling from a cell phone as the systems, sometimes, cannot hear your numbers.
I have tried pushing '0' before and gotten caught up in some maze. According to the article, it depends on the company. Maybe, I should write to the company involved, and give them a piece of my mind...not that they would care, but it might make me feel better.
...We spent more than 2 ½ hours on hold while experimenting with various tricks to bypass the phone menus, voice prompts and automated routing systems to reach a human. A few made it easy to get an operator. Others required a virtual tap dance of carefully timed number-pushing, or they trapped callers in an endless loop of options...
...Using the most common shortcut — pressing zero to bypass the system — causes some company phone systems to hang up on you. Others try to herd you back into line by feigning confusion if they sense you're trying to do an end run...
On the right side of the article is a box entitled, "Shortcuts and tips". One of the tips suggest not calling from a cell phone as the systems, sometimes, cannot hear your numbers.
I have tried pushing '0' before and gotten caught up in some maze. According to the article, it depends on the company. Maybe, I should write to the company involved, and give them a piece of my mind...not that they would care, but it might make me feel better.
