I want to speak to a real person!!

Do you get sick and tired of calling places and having to push 10 different buttons and still not be able to talk to a real person. Today, was the final straw. I called AT&T about our telephone bill. After pushing several prompts, I received a message that told me to ask the question and I was being answered by a computer generated voice. I finally got mad and yelled - I want to speak to a real person. I received a computer prompt voice that said - one moment please and a real person finally came on the line.

Oh Yes!!!! I put off calling any company to the last minute because of the menu's and such!

What really ticked me off is I have a bank credit card (can't say who) that does not even have an 800 number...needless to say they are cancelled... That is cheap!!!!

Computers are taking over!

BIG HINT!

With most automated systems they ask you to respond to the menu by pressing a key.

DON'T PRESS IT!!

Not everybody has a touchtone phone (really!) The system usually then connects you to a warm (?) body.

HTH
Sue

You mean it really worked???

"eyes"

Nine times out of ten, it DOES work! Another thing that gets me is calling a doctors office or a business, with ALL of our operators are busy, or like my doctors office, and you get, Our office is busy taking care of other patients< Please leave a message! Rarely do they call back the same day! Doooris

Nine times out of ten, it DOES work! Another thing that gets me is calling a doctors office or a business, with ALL of our operators are busy, or like my doctors office, and you get, Our office is busy taking care of other patients< Please leave a message! Rarely do they call back the same day! Doris

Yes - Sue you are correct. I should have done that this a.m. Although there are times, that I've been disconnected while waiting for a real person.

LOL, we don't have a touch-tone phone. Actually, I should say we don't have a touch tone line. If you just wait long enough without pressing any buttons, you get a real person.

I had a great call today. It was someone trying to get me to change phone companies, but we ended up talking about dairy farming, grandkids, achy backs and just about everything BUT phone companies. It was quite refreshing!!!

Nebraska_Jewel how about this: Your call is important to us please hold until an operator is available.......Your call is important to us yada yada yada I've waited 15min's sometimes. Just like you said Shuttlebunny just stay on the line or press "0" Took a few frustrating calls to learn that. FP

Yep, sometimes you can get through by pressing 0... this can sometimes get you through the automated attendant (that's the name of that annoying person repeating how important your call is to them) to the "real" person designated to answer the phone...

I know this because I have often been the "real" person. LOL
Little did they know...!
hehehe

One thing I try to do is have a magazine or something else to occupy my time while I am on hold. Or needlework. Or put them on speaker phone and go about the rest of my chores.

If you do get through to the "real" person, be kind. No telling how many irritated people she (and it's almost guaranteed to be an underpaid, overworked "she") has had to deal with during her day.

Gently,
Janie
<{{{:><

Oh, Janie, you are SO right. I did customer service as well as CS support (call-backs with escalated situations) for a large mail order company which I'd wager many of you have ordered from. I can tell you first-hand that the customers who treated us respectfully despite their anger at situations got the best service. I know service is supposed to be the same nomatter what, but you can never remove the human element from it; there is a person at the other end of the line, and you don't know if a family member has died, if he's failing classes, if she just got reamed by a supervisor...Don't let the first thing they hear coming out of your mouth be something foul and snotty, please. It just sets the tone.

Hooooeeee. Been there, done that (on both sides!).

Oh, and my DH just keeps hitting 0 repeatedly when he calls places. Most of the time it works. :O)

I agree about being courteous to the customer rep. What's that saying - honey attracting ....

What would we do without the portable phones while on hold?

And I have to chuckle at the ones that ask how the Cornhuskers did during the last game.

The 0 does work great. I had to hit it about 50 times for the IRS but finally got a person. Theres would always say we are having high call volume please use are automated system. It did not want to take the 0 but I was persitant and beat the thing. WOOOOO HOOOOOO

I'm like you Kathleen...DH says I'm the only person he knows who can talk to a wrong number for half hour. When I picked up the phone one day this man starts right in (thought he had his DD) "You won't believe how much that pumpkin weighed". When he realized he had a wrong number he apologized and tried to leave. I said NO...I want to know about yur pumpkin. We talked for quite a while. When some one calls me and says, "sorry, wrong number"...I come back with "I've never been a wrong number in my life!" Jo

Oh roadrunner, you are so much like me or I am like you whatever. My Dh always say's, why do you say I'm sorry you've got the wrong number, when they are the one's who should be saying I'm sorry I've got the wrong number. I to have carried on conversation's with people calling the wrong number. LOL Even tried helping them find the right number.

There should be a law against companies that have voice mail on their accounts payable line. I make collection calls, and mostly you get someones voice mail and they never call you back. A great way for companies to not worry about late payments.!!!!!!!

Dh is the expert at running his mouth here. He'll call about a credit card or to order something and a half hour later he's still yackaty yacking. The other thing I hate is people looking for donations..well the smallest amount we can accept is..... Hey, if I can only send a dollar say thank you and hang up already.

I do what some of the others said. I don't push anything and you usually get a real live person. I thank talking to a real person is really important. I want a name even if if it is only one they go by for work.