I know the end of the world is nigh

[matt819]

Can I still have pet peeves?

Spent some time on hold this morning. I hate hold music and hold messages. The music, if you can call it that, sucks. And it's tinny. And it sucks. And it goes on forever and ever, repeating. I feel like a prisoner who spends his time counting the tiles in the ceiling or the cracks on the wall, or whatever it is prisoners do.

And the hold messages. Once is enough. I don't need to hear your self-serving messages over and over.

Forget waterboarding. Put on headphones and make suspects listen to hold music.

I'm done, thanks.

The end of the world may resume now.

[True Dough]

1. What I hate more than most hold music

is when a business constantly inserts a recorded message that "Your call is very important to us. Our representatives are all busy now, but someone will take your call as soon as possible," or something to that effect. Then the hold music resumes. Then 15 seconds later that message comes on again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

UGH!!!

[Wounded Bear]

2. I know the feeling...

I just want to scream, "If my call is so damned important, why don't you answer it?"

[csziggy]

6. The power company here breaks in to tell me how to submit outage reports

On the internet or with a text message. Problem is - if there is no power I don't have internet. And I get no cell signal here so I can't text anybody.

The phone/internet/TV tech support line also has the same type messages. By the time I get someone on the line I want to scream at them! They also have "automated tech support" on the phone line. Essentially all they tell you to do is to restart everything. Before I call tech support, I've already done that with the modem, the TV box, the computer and the TV.

[Phentex]

12. major peeve of mine too

IF I COULD GET TO THE INTERNET, I WOULD!

What a moronic message to play.

[csziggy]

14. The other part - about texting a problem - gets me, too

Aside from the fact that I've only owned a phone capable of texting for a couple of weeks, there is the fact that I get no cell signal here at my house. When I charge the new smart phone it makes plaintive little noises as it searches for a signal.

It also makes a happy little sound when it locates the Wi-Fi but I'm not sure if it then is able to send a text.

[Laffy Kat]

3. I work for an HMO that has the most vomitus hold music on the planet.

And most of the time patients have to wait a loooong time. By the time I talk to them they are homicidal and I don't blame them. Would it kill organizations to work on the hold situation?

[matt819]

4. Harvard pilgrim?

That's what prompted my post.

[Laffy Kat]

5. No. Is that an HMO? nt

[csziggy]

7. Years ago Corel (WordPerfect) had their tech support out of Ireland

They had the most wondrous Celtic music when you were on hold. I told the tech support people they should have a play list available to download - I would have bought some of those albums. That was the only company I ever wanted to have longer hold times!

[lunatica]

8. Far worse is the robot who 'helps' you get to where you want to be

Giving you choices like, "If you want to pay a bill, press 1" or say "pay a bill".

I went round and round one day with one of these robots when what I needed was to talk to a person. I finally got one and was helped. Before I hung up I told the nice woman that I wanted her to tell her supervisor that me, Lunatica, strongly suggest they fire that robot. The nice lady cracked up laughing. I think I made her day.

[Phentex]

13. I have screamed REPRESENTATIVE at the robot

First the robot tells me to speak in complete sentences and he will understand what I say. I say "problem with the tv signal" and he says "I'm sorry, I didn't get that." And I say "tv problem" and he says "Sorry, I didn't get that." And I say "TV." And he says, "OK. Do you want to pay your bill or can I help you with something else?" And I say "technical support" and he says "OK. You need technical support. First, let me get some information. With which product do you need technical support?" I say "Uverse television signal" and he says, "OK, you need help with your Uverse internet. Many issues can be resolved by visiting www.att.net...

Then I am screaming "REPRESENTATIVE! REPRESENTATIVE!" in between responses of "I'm sorry, I didn't get that."

Until finally he says, "Let me transfer you to an operator."

[csziggy]

15. Just mumble - the robot gives up faster if it can't understand a word you say

Once I just mumbled "muumnbvasd; lkhfuyrbt" into the phone until it sent me to an operator. Asking for a human or customer representative had done no good on a previous call then I got interrupted and had to hang up. So when I called back I gave the robot nothing to work with and it hooked me up with a human very quickly.

[Skittles]

9. I just don't understand what is so wrong about a bit of silence

seriously

[my2sense]

10. I Despise

having to speak to the robot that can't understand my answers. After a few tries I'll just say "speak to representative" until it rolls over to a human. Corporations are so greedy they care nothing about "customer service" anymore.

[mnhtnbb]

11. The worst? Advertising blather before they even give you the menu

that doesn't contain what you need so you have to go through again trying to decide
which number to select--which turns out not to be what you want--and then exit and try to get a REAL LIVE PERSON.

I HATE robotic phone trees. Hate them.