Phone Trees!!

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

I had to make a call to my wireless company the other day to handle a simple matter. The call itself took less than 4 minutes.

But here's the nonsense I had to go through to get that point...

"Thank you for calling XYZ wireless. We are always working to serve you better. Are you calling about mobile number XXX-XXX-XXXX? Say yes or Press 1 now."

1.

"Thank you. Did you know you can check your upgrade ability at any time by texting upgrade to 55433?"

"I see you have a balance due. To pay the whole amount due press 1, to make a partial payment press 2, for anything else press 3."

3.

"Have you been to XYZwireless.com lately? Our website offers a wide variety of automated account tools for your convenience. Check us out today!...For billing press 1, account changes press 2, to purchase or activate a phone press 3, for technical support press 4, for rebates press 5.

1.

"For a description of charges on your bill press 1, to subscribe to paperless billing press 2, to change your billing address press 3."

(at this point I get fed up and hit "0" to try and reach a human being)

"...I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you wanted. For a description of charges on your bill..."

(I listen through again only to realize I missed this at the end):

"For all other inquiries press 4 to speak to a representative."

4.

"Your call may be recorded for training purposes."

"Introducing the new HTC Plasmatouch! It's one of the most revolutionary smartphones ever and it's available exclusively at XYZ wireless! The Plasmatouch is one of the hottest new 4G devices on the market today. Get yours now for only $149.99 with new activation or upgrade."

(I tried repeatedly to skip this ad but could not)

"Your call will be answered by the next available representative. Please stay on the line and thank you for choosing XYZ wireless."

Bottom line: I suffered through TEN minutes of phone tree BS to spend less than half that time talking to a human and getting my issue taken care of.

It should NOT be this hard or convoluted to reach an actual person. I swear sometimes these things are made complex to try and cause people to give up because the companies don't want to bother dealing with them.

I understand the need to get certain callers to the right departments, but surely this can be accomplished by way of something that's not a convoluted mess?

[bara]

I think you are half right. Some of it is to get people to go away, but I also believe that some of it is because someone who gets paid way to much actually think its a good way of doing things.

I find it annoying as hell myself. I figured that pointless number mashing was half the reason many of my callers were pissed off.

[gremcint]

give me a phone tree any day over the voice recognition emily systems I had to work with. of course the internal phone tree was so bloody simple, no ads just departments.

[HYHYBT]

The thing is, for most calls, it's not necessary to reach a person, yet a lot of people will insist on doing that if it's easy.

Still, there's a limit...

The last time I dealt with one was trying to get Mom's internet working. She'd signed up for new DSL service and has no landline phone. The substitute number is *supposed* to be included in the box and also sent separately. It wasn't. Trying to get through a phone tree that demands an account number you don't have at every turn is fun. Moreso when, after being "transferred" (hung up on after being told what number to call just in case it disconnects) you get someone who (understandably, up to a point) says they cannot give out account numbers and that (far less understandably) the only possible way to find out what it is is to wait for the next billing cycle, when it will be on the emailed statement. She did, however, "transfer" (by the same method as before) me to the equivalent of the first number but for a different state, where I got someone who fixed the problem.

So, a total of three times through the phone tree the long way... made the worse for being the kind that insists on voice recognition rather than pressing numbers.

[Andara Bledin]

I do dunning for the place I work.

I called one of our customers and the automated phone system demanded either an extension or a last name for their director, neither of which I had, and the "Press 9 to talk to a human" wasn't functioning and just sent you back to the beginning. >_<

As for the "transfer by hang up," that sounds like Earthlink's typical tactic. >_<

^-.-^

[Nekojin]

I work in the Shipping department at the same company that Andara works at. Once in a while, I run into a problem that requires that I call UPS, Stamps.com, or FedEx, all of which have intricate phone trees. The phone trees in all three cases are only capable of answering questions that I could get answered myself by going online and using the online tools that they provide. If I have to resort to the phone, I need to speak to a person, because I have an out-of-the-ordinary situation.

[Rageaholic]

I hate the prerecorded bullshit you have to wade through just to get to the menu. They make you wait just to tell you things you could easily figure out on your own. I don't need a fucking robot on a phone to tell me the hours. And who thought stock answers would be any help? Half the time, they don't even come close to answering the question I originally had.

[protege]

I hate those phone systems...especially when my situation doesn't fit under the "normal" items on the menus.

For example, I was having some problems with my credit card. Some crackhead got the number from a K-Mart in Poughkeepsie when I was up there for my cousin's wedding. Imagine my surprise, when someone in that store used the number...to make a crapload of collect calls to Australia We're talking over a thousand dollars here, folks!

I get my latest statement, and was like Called up the credit card company, and went around in circles. When I'd get to the point of entering my account number, all I'd get was the balance. There was no way possible to get a live person to talk to. After an hour of waiting and wasting my time, I was understandably pissed. So when the account number question came up, I screamed into the phone "Put a fucking rep on the fucking line right now!"

Imagine my surprise when I'm presented with "USAA Credit Services, this is Lisa...how can I help you?" Seriously though, I didn't go off on her. It wasn't her fault that her company's phone system sucked. She took the calls off, issued a new card, and that was it. I did tell her that the phone system pissed me off.

[HYHYBT]

I don't need a fucking robot on a phone to tell me the hours. And who thought stock answers would be any help? Half the time, they don't even come close to answering the question I originally had.

*You* don't need that... half (or more) of the time. That doesn't mean it doesn't solve the vast majority of the calls they get, especially repetitive, easy ones.

As for credit cards... one thing I wish they'd make easier (and perhaps they have by now) is reporting a *found* card. Usually, you can't get through to a person without entering the account number and personal information nobody else is likely to have. Which is fine, if someone's trying to find out your balance or change your address, but not so much in this case. Happened a lot more than you'd except at McDonald's, considering the fact that people swipe their cards for themselves. I know that, if I lost my card, I'd much rather find out either that it's been destroyed or that it's being held for me to return, rather than perhaps not even noticing it was gone until days later. I almost always did get through eventually, and when I did they were always helpful about it.

[boringscreenname]

I would much rather deal with a phone tree, than voice recognition systems. My insurance company only has a voice recognition system and it is a huge pain in the ass to use it and there is no way to just use numbers.

Both our cell phones get crappy reception anywhere in the house and outside so I have to yell into the phone, before it even recognizes I said anything, then it can't understand what I've said so I wind up repeating myself several times.

Whenever I've had a problem with my bank card, I usually just call up the number for lost and stolen cards, because I know I'm guaranteed to talk to a live person, then I just have them transfer me to the appropriate department, it's so much easier and less hassle than fighting with voice recognition or a phone tree that doesn't have the options I need.

[freeatlast]

Back when I had phone service with AT&T I called to have my service transferred because I was moving. Their system required voice prompts and each time I said "transfer service" the system would say "I'm sorry, did you say...." and it was nothing like what I was saying. I finally got fed up and screamed "can you understand f**k you!!!!!" I was immediately transferred to a representative. I guess it is programmed to transfer when the caller swears