How not to call me ...

You know, Pete makes a really good point when he describes how not to answer a telephone.

Recently though, there's been a disturbing increase in the number of companies who feel it's desperately important that they talk to me. Right now.

It's almost always companies that I'm doing business with (for example, the electricity company or a credit card provider). That wouldn't be so bad, you'd think, except that the messages they're about to deliver are so important that I have to wait on hold RIGHT NOW for them to talk to me!

Um, what?!

Sorry, you brainless dweebs, I'm the customer. And your message is important to you, not me. Ringing me in the middle of the weekend, because your financial systems didn't process the payment I sent you and telling me to wait for you isn't on. Minus 1,000 points.

Minus 1 trillion points when your automated redialling system calls every single phone I own when I hang up (I'm looking at you, GE), and on every single one of them, tells me to wait on hold.

Frankly I couldn't give a rat's1 if you save 10 seconds of time on someone to whom you're barely paying enough to buy a sandwich a week, to deliver a marketing spiel I don't care about. You're wasting my time delivering the message, don't waste more of it on hold.

If you can't make a profit without this kind of idiocy, there's always bankruptcy. Use it.

1: "I couldn't give a rat's": I really truly don't give a stuff.

Published 07-29-2007 10:58 by davidr
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Comments

# re: How not to call me ...

Friday, 3 August 2007 9:36 AM by BronR

MMMMM. It seems to me that you both make a good point (Peter and Dave). What erks me even more is that when WE want to speak with someone WE can't even speak with someone in the same country as we are! Yet the people who call you are from Australia most of the time - exceptions being telemarketers (yes Telstra, Optus and 3 this means you)

I love the fact that these people in India (for example and I mean no malice) are trained in how to speak "Australian" and yet cannot understand that I don't want to upgrade my service, I simply want my friggin voicemail turned the hell back on! No I don't want to change my talk time package because last month was just one month that I used more/less that I usually do! And I most certainly don't want a new handset - i have had to purchase a new one because when the old one broke 3 months ago you wouldn't help me out! JUST TURN MY FRIGGIN VOICEMAIL BACK ON!