On Hold...AGAIN!!
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
October 4, 2007 7:57pm CST
Have you ever stopped to think about how much time you’ve spent on hold by a customer service representative or repair service? I’ll bet I’ve spend more time on hold than I’ve spent sleeping, I’m sure I’ve spent more time on hold that I’ve spent eating and I’ve probably spent more time on hold than I’ve spent…oh, never mind that…lol
It’s so exasperating! “Your call is very important to us…” Then WHY have you kept me waiting for 25 minutes??!!?? “You will be assisted by the next available representative…” Yeah, right, that’s what you said a half hour ago! “Please stay on the line, one of our friendly agents are waiting to assist you…” Say WHAT??? WHO’S waiting for what??? Oooohhhh…I know I’m venting but it pis*es me off so bad. How about you, share your on hold experiences so we can bi*ch to each other!
Annie
3 people like this
10 responses
@BayleighGray (4334)
• United States
5 Oct 07
LOL I sooooo feel your pain Annie!!
I dont think I could begin to rant with you about Customer Service and waiting on the phone. Its the most annoying thing I can think of. Especially that damn recording, it makes your wait even more excruciating!
Ive tried to think of one really good time, but they all seem to rank right up there with the worst! lol
Im not sure if I hate talking with a live person or an automated line the most. You can actually get away with cursing out an automated line. lol
Bay xx
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
5 Oct 07
Good point! I actually do curse out the recordings quite often...you know how it goes "Your call is very important to us"..."Then WTF are you making me wait forever for?" I'm always saying I'm going to start at the beginning of the year and time how long I'm on hold, just to see how many total hours I waste in a year, but then I always forget to do it! I'll be it would be a matter of complete days lost.
Annie
1 person likes this
@BayleighGray (4334)
• United States
5 Oct 07
lol It does help to let out some aggression while your waiting.
I got to thinking and remembered a time I had to call our electric company, AmerenIP. They had just raised the rates, and our bill was triple what it had been, which posed a problem since I wasnt working. So I call to see what I can do about this bill, its over $200 compared to the $90 it was before the rate hike. The CR tells me that perhaps I should get a job, then she kept repeating to me "You control your usage ma'am", she also told me that if they cut the rate hike back, people like her could loose their jobs. I said "By all means, I dont have a job, but Ill pay a higher bill to gaurantee yours, B!tch" and I hung up. lol
I cant stand that feeling of being bent over and screwed raw!
Bay xx
1 person likes this
@ggaaiill (196)
• Philippines
5 Oct 07
Hi, I know your sentiments. there are several factors why you have to wait for a long period. One could be PEAK hours, If customer service is open 24 hours a day, try calling late at night or early morning to avoid the RUSH or PEAK hour. Also try not to be irate when you are speking with a representative, remember those representative are not the one at fault, why you are on hold for a long time. It will be a waste of enery on your end if you get irate with an agent. Its their fault. If the customer has an email address, try sending an email with your complaint or write them an email and ask them if they can call you back and indicate your prefered time. So that you wont have to wait.
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
20 Nov 07
I know that about the peak hours but the times I get stuck on hold is when it's a company with hours like 9-5 or whatever and I don't have much choice in when I try to get them. I'm never irate or rude to the representative as long as he/she is polite to me. Ask them to call me back at a preferred time? I can really see that happening...lol! Just like asking a repairman for the cable or telephone company what time they'll be there; THEIR time is obviously much more valuable than OURS!
Annie
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
5 Oct 07
I hate to waste time. It is such a waste of time to sit there on hold. But the worst thing of all is trying to navigate Through all of the press this then press this number for this and that number for that.
Then the next time you call, the menu options have changed and if you try to jump ahead, you end up having to start all over again. Then, once you get to a live person, it is never the person that you need to talk to. So, you go right back on hold.
I will usually use this time to practice my solitare game or something. If I just sit there on hold, I will go crazy.
1 person likes this
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
5 Oct 07
Worst times ever!
Only a couple of the call holds actually have good music to them, not the maddening cheesy elevator mix. The worst is calling computer manufacturer's lines. I've waited on one for more than an hour. Oh and I'm gonna embarrass the company. That was HP (Hewlett-Packard) thats HP, sucky calls, sucky customer service, sucky product laptop, sucky hold and call system.
1 person likes this
@maribeth_log (34)
• Philippines
5 Oct 07
i know the feeling, one of the leading cellphone line here put me on hold for minutes .. i was arguing about a certain offer they gave me..the customer rep. realized that i was mad already and raising my voice she hang up the phone! pretended that the line was accidentally cut then when i was trying to call again it says that the line is busy and that i will just have to wait for some available customer rep.
sweet.
1 person likes this
@kwenge (2487)
• Kenya
5 Oct 07
Annie you have reminded me of one telephone line customer care i called and was kept on hold till my phone battery went down totally till the phone went off..........Gosh I was pissd of I have never tried calling again. I just went to their office. Imagine the worst thing is when they tell you " your call is important to us" your conversation will be recorded" I was like, what do are you recording and I havent even been served.I mean i havent talked to your friendly whatever..........WTH. hell.
@biwasaki (1745)
• United States
5 Oct 07
I know EXACTLY what you mean! It's so frustrating to be on hold forever, only to be transferred to another place, then another, and another, and then back to where you originally started! It drives me absolutely insane!
Thank goodness there is ONE company that I know of out there that will give you the option of a call-back. You keep your place in line, but they let you hang up and then call you back when it's your turn. I hope other companies start employing this technique as well. It's so much better than sitting and listening to elevator music whiel you wait.
@bestisyettocome (1531)
• United States
5 Oct 07
Great discussion! I've got a great one that I heard today while on hold. "Your conversation may be recorded while waiting" hahaha-no way! How can they do THAT? It's just wrong! It's bad when you have to stop to remember just who you were waiting for in the first place!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
5 Oct 07
Oh this is one real beef of mine..What is also annoying is trying to get to talk to a REAL person to begin with....Those automated answering things are so annoying..Press 1 for this, Press 2 for that, Press 3...by the time the "menu" finishes which thing to press, you forget what to press. And they always say too..."This conversation may be monitored for quality purposes." Well good cause I hope they record when I scream into the phone..."I want to speak to a person"
Oh, and don't you just love the music they play? Urgh---And then, also, once you do get a real person to talk to, half the time its someone from China or India and you can't understand them--why do they have that...If you're dealing with a company in one country, say here in America, why are people from India answering??
1 person likes this
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
22 Nov 07
I know ezactly how you feel. Now a days it's next to impossible to get a live person on the phone. Companies don't hire receptionist anymore and it's a real shame. Not only does it take away jobs from real people but people tend to not call in for help anymore. I try not to use the phone to call these places, if I can use the computer instead. And most cases you can. It's a lot quicker and a lot of sites will have live chat with you to fix the problem you are calling about.
Another thing that bugs me is everyone has voice mail. So many companies and individual people just don't answer their phones at all anymore and you have to leave a voice mail message. Then they can call you at their convienience, usually not at yours.
