The "Please Press 1" Conundrum

[nick1091]

Have you considered asking if your company could change their extensions so that they all have a one in front of them? IE, tech support becomes extension 1446? At least, that's what you tell everyone?

Indeed I have, but apparently, since it's only an annoyance for the four people in my department, they don't see it as a real high priority.

[BusBus]

In defence of the people that repeat right back to you what you just said, half the time when I'm calling someone and they answer the phone with, "Hello, this is so and so with such and such" they say it so fast, or in such a way that I completely miss the so and so and such and such, sometimes I repeat it back to them to make sure I heard correctly, other times I ask them to repeat themselves because I couldn't catch it.

Yes it sounds idiotic, but its like a brain reset....have to repeat to make sure our brain catches it the second time around. (Though if you can't get it by the second time... )

I have to admit that I'm guilty of this. I will call somewhere and ask for someone, and it turns out that it's the person who identified themselves when the phone was answered I don't hear everything clearly on the phone, so I tend to repeat things (although I usually say "Sorry").

[NightAngel]

Most people just don't listen though. There is a guy at one of the stores in my district that answers the phone with either:

"Thank-you for calling Blockbuster where the phone rings all the time."

or

"Thank-you for calling Blockbuster where we trade movies and babies."

The only people who ever notice are other employees. Not once has a customer ever noticed...

[Mr. Rude]

People listening to prompts on an IVR is like poeple actually reading a manual....Never happens

[HYHYBT]

Redhead: not quite the same thing, but we once, for a week or so, had a problem where people (different people, not the same one over and over, though it would sometimes be the same person several times in a row) would call us and insist we'd called them and wanted to know why. Turned out to be a problem with their phone company: their phone and ours would ring together, and of course we'd both answer.

I don't know how it happened. It shouldn't be possible, but then neither should a lot of the idiocy we all see daily

[Tria]

Most people just don't listen though. There is a guy at one of the stores in my district that answers the phone with either:

"Thank-you for calling Blockbuster where the phone rings all the time."

or

"Thank-you for calling Blockbuster where we trade movies and babies."

The only people who ever notice are other employees. Not once has a customer ever noticed...

A friend likes to answer the phone at work, "Welcome to Pizza hut, home of the Hell Pizza!" in reference to that pizza with the cheezy pizza crust, not the stuffed crust, but the one where you tear off bits of crust.

[karma_gypsy]

A friend likes to answer the phone at work, "Welcome to Pizza hut, home of the Hell Pizza!" in reference to that pizza with the cheezy pizza crust, not the stuffed crust, but the one where you tear off bits of crust.

When I was working at Domino's a good friend of mine was in the middle of an order. For some odd reason she was either spacing off - not paying attention or just stumbled over her words. When she asked him what kind of pizza crust he wanted, she asked, "Would you like original, thin or deep dick?"

Luckily for her, he wasn't really paying attention. She was so embarrassed when she got off the phone.

[Bandit]

People listening to prompts on an IVR is like poeple actually reading a manual....Never happens

No kidding. Almost as bad as trying to have chip designers and engineers read e-mails about the "Brand New Corporate Standard" phone system that's about to be installed.

The company I was working for bought out another one that has some oddball type phone system, so when the local office for the outfit I worked for and the other were to be moved into one building, I had to put in a new phone system.
Nothing fancy - 4-digit extensions, dial 9 for local (this is important), dial 5 for long-distance, new voice mail system, yada, yada, yada. Oh - and all the extensions from the just-purchased company will change from 9XXX to 7XXX (and so is this).

In the two weeks before install, many e-mails went out to all, new directories were published, training courses were offered on the new systems, whole 9 yards.

Of course, the e-mails were ignored, the doughnut bribes to get people to show up for the training courses went uneaten (until I got at them), and basically nobody gave a flying.

So, Monday comes - new system in place and it's brace for impact time.

Almost nobody has a clue as to how to make a phone call. So, since nobody had looked at all the *new* directories that were both on-line and printed out and left on the desks, they try to call the office admin who used to be dealing with the system. Her extension is now 7911. It used to be 9911.

After the police made 2 of the people there pay about a $500 fine each for repeated calls to 911, there was suddenly a renewed demand to the training.

Yes, a telephone *IS* too high-tech for some people.

B

[AFpheonix]

When I was working at Domino's a good friend of mine was in the middle of an order. For some odd reason she was either spacing off - not paying attention or just stumbled over her words. When she asked him what kind of pizza crust he wanted, she asked, "Would you like original, thin or deep dick?"

Dang, where can I get me a pizza like that?

[Misanthropical]

I have gotten calls at home and when I answer they will ask if I'm my husband.

I have been told that I have a very feminine voice, so they are either not paying attention or they think my husband sounds like a woman.

I can understand the confusion when people think I'm my daughter or vice versa on the phone, which happens a lot, but my husband?

[Becks]

When she asked him what kind of pizza crust he wanted, she asked, "Would you like original, thin or deep dick?"

I've been calling the WRONG Dominos.

[Rahmota]

Well I don't like the computer systems and try to work within them as much as possible but whenever I can I'll try and get to talk to a human as soon and as often as I possibly can. Call me old fashioned but I think better customer care can be given by a real live thinking breathign person than a computer why?

Because a lot of those press 1 for this 2 for that menus are spoken so rapidly or so off kilter from normal human speech that I have trouble understanding them. Or as has happened on a few they have malfunctioned and suddenly I'm bouncing around the phone system getting sent from one menu to another that I didnt choose or i hit one thing and go somewhere totally elsewhere. One of these days I think I'm going to hit one of those menus and it'll come on and go I'm sorry dave I can't do that.

[chainedbarista]

hi, i'd like to order the 'deep dick' pizza...MANY of them!

i think on my last day of work, i'll answer our phone with:

'shady pines mortuary, you stab 'em, we slab 'em'

or

'starbucks savings and loan, public restroom and freebie emporium, how can we help you?'

[nick1091]

I have gotten calls at home and when I answer they will ask if I'm my husband.

I have been told that I have a very feminine voice, so they are either not paying attention or they think my husband sounds like a woman.

I can understand the confusion when people think I'm my daughter or vice versa on the phone, which happens a lot, but my husband?

I actually am guilty of doing the reverse.

Someone named Pat, who was the proprieter of Pat's Florist, complete with high-pitched voice, asked to speak with one of my colleagues.

"I'll connect you right away, ma'am," I said.

I received a screechy "I'M A SIR!!!" in response.