Is It Just Me?
A reader and I had similar issues with the dang automated phone systems.
One of her frustrations is that they say they need to verify that it is her and could they send a text message? She said “no” and they repeated that they wanted to send a text message. She responded “No, I am on a land line.” Yes, some people still use them.
But the system wasn’t listening or didn’t understand this strange “land line” response.
She went through the system a few more times and then started pressing buttons to see if a human answered. Nope. Then it switched to, “All right, let me ask you some questions,” none of which were related to the reason she was calling. So, she started making a few choice comments to and about the system and how she felt about it and what they could do with it. She received no response. However, she is sure it was recorded so that the AI robots could play it again and again and laugh at what they could make this human do.
I also recently had a conversation with the automated phone. My ID was accidentally left at a medical office and I needed it back. When I called, of course I got the automated system with six different choices for directing my call. Shockingly, none of them included, “Where the heck is my ID card?”
I tried pressing zero since that often got you to a human but not this time. The system took me back through those six choices again. I hollered at it but for some reason that didn’t make a difference. Finally I called back and pressed one of the six options and left a detailed message.
For good measure, I called again, pressed another number and left another detailed message. I finally got a call that afternoon telling me they had my ID card, knowing nothing about my voice messages. I don’t know if these automated systems get together for a conference, but if they do, they have many tales to tell and can share more tips to frustrate humans.
If you have comments or stories to share, send them to [email protected].
