Phone Call Frustrations!

A

AWPLLC

New Member
It seems as though every company is using IVR software and it actually hangs up on you when you do not press the right number, or you take too long to press it! It takes hours to get to a person! What are your thoughts?
 

All I can say is this frustration of pressing multiple numbers and waiting too long for any large business has been going on for a long time now. And I assume it will get worse. It's awful.
 

Butterfly said:
What's IVR?
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IVR is the robot person that directs makes you press multiple numbers. We are on the phone for 10 minute before a hint that we will ever talk to a real person! It makes me wonder if companies are actually saving money by eliminating the person that directs the call! questions of life, i guess.
 
This is a subject that drives me nutty. Menus that don't identify the reason for calling and when you select what you think may be the closest related--you still can't get to a real person. What I always wonder is if my call is so important, why is it I have to wait so long to have it answered? A couple phone calls can take up nearly the whole morning. My time is important to me too. A few minutes or so, I can understand. I'm actually not impatient but it has gotten to be a bit ridiculous that you can't call anyone without being subjected to these menus and in some cases, being forced to wait an unreasonable length of time or even disconnected!
 
That is definitely my "Go to" but lately I have been hung up on by 2 different companies because "0" was not a recognized number. Interesting set-up! Thank you for your input :) I appreciate it!
 
When I worked for the PO some up and coming manager decided that the way to control unscheduled absences was to take the process out of the hands of local management, and handle it regionally. We called a number, fought thru the voice and button prompts, received dire warnings about poor attendance, were threatened with disciplinary action if we were determined to be "malingerers", and then very sweetly granted sick time, with an invitation to extend another day if needed.

Ironically this backfired tremendously. Should have seen it coming,with human nature being what it is and all.

The old system you had to speak directly to your supervisor who would cajole and or brow beat until often the employee decided the he wasn't that sick. Speaking to a machine, negated that effect and sick leave sky rocketed.
 
Robusta said:
When I worked for the PO some up and coming manager decided that the way to control unscheduled absences was to take the process out of the hands of local management, and handle it regionally. We called a number, fought thru the voice and button prompts, received dire warnings about poor attendance, were threatened with disciplinary action if we were determined to be "malingerers", and then very sweetly granted sick time, with an invitation to extend another day if needed.

Ironically this backfired tremendously. Should have seen it coming,with human nature being what it is and all.

The old system you had to speak directly to your supervisor who would cajole and or brow beat until often the employee decided the he wasn't that sick. Speaking to a machine, negated that effect and sick leave sky rocketed.
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What did they do, outsmart themselves? The company I worked for did the opposite. We had to speak to an immediate supervisor, phone messages not acceptable.
 
AT&T is one of the worst. We have them for cell phone, land-line phone, cable tv, and internet. Dial their customer service. A "robot" says, "I can help you. Please speak clearly. How can we help you today?" "Speak to a person!" "I did not quite understand you. Did I hear you want assistance with paying your bill?" "NO! Speak to a person!" "Thank you. I will be happy to help you with your service outage. May I have your account number?" "I do NOT have a service outage! I want to speak with a person!" "I am having trouble understanding you. Can I connect you with a customer service person?" "YES!"

Sheesh! Then, the CSR can't help with your issue and has to try to pass you on to someone else. In the meantime, you get disconnected and have to go back through the robot again.
 
Similar happened last week. I wanted to make an enquiry, but just kept getting instructions to press buttons, and none of them in any way matching what I wanted to know.
A few years ago if you didn't respond you were put through to a live person, but just doesn't seem to happen any more.
 
jujube said:
If I hear the words "YOUR CALL IS IMPORTANT TO US" one.more.time, I'm going postal. I'd frankly rather hear, "Y'know, we really don't care why you're calling, so hang on or hang up....it's the same to us." At least, that would be honest.
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How truthful is this! I totally agree! We depend on phone representatives for everything, yet nobody seems to care if we are given the right information or any information at all. :(
 

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