[This is to be read with tongue slightly in cheek, although I imagine most can relate.]
Nothing is more successful at making me lose my usually mellow temperament and get my blood pressure up than having an issue with some organization and not being able to reach someone who can actually help. (Thankfully, there are still a few exceptions, but I can't think of very many.)
You probably know the drill of sorting through online instructions, knowledge bases, etc., and either finding nothing that addresses MY issue, or recommendations don't work in my case, or the solution is 100% technobabble that would take me weeks to translate. If lucky, I manage to find an actual phone number. But when I call, I'm offered a menu [i.e touch 1 for this, 2 for that, etc.] with only options that don't relate at all or that I've already tried. So, like most others, I try to get to a real person by saying 'representative' or 'agent' or by dialing '0', etc.
That used to work pretty well, but no longer. Instead, I'm asked to describe my issue so their computer/AI system can direct me to the right department. No getting past that, especially with larger companies. (ATT comes to mind.) Once in a while, if I have a straight forward problem, I can find some success with that, but usually, if I'm to the point of calling them, it's either because the suggestions provided online or in recommended steps-I'm-forced-to-listen-to-again-before-I-can-get-to-a-live-person, have already been tried and didn't solve the problem or don't apply at all or their AI/computer misunderstands what I'm describing. That starts the purgatory of the closed loop that sometimes can never be escaped.
Never thought I'd say this, but I've finally gotten to the point where I'm almost glad to see a Chat option. However, that usually means a new process, starting from the beginning, typing in an explanation of my situation and all the steps I've already tried that didn't work, or answering a sequence of questions, then sitting there waiting for a response over and over. An hour or more later, I may or may not have it resolved.
Now that I've got myself properly worked up, I need to go face dealing with an airport parking service I'm now required to use whenever I want to reserve a spot at a nearby hotel which has long been my favorite place to leave my car when traveling. Somehow, with my last reservation, I inadvertently got subscribed to a monthly service I don't want that was free for only the first month... Wish me luck!! 
[The topper: After I hit the post button, that didn't work, either. Instead, I get a message that says "String or binary data would be truncated." LOL! So I had to change some characters in the subject line. Fingers crossed... ] |
