Ringing up corporations

DorsetDude

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Keith
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So you ring up your bank/mortgage/energy company then do the press 1 for x, press 2 for y, then again press 1,2,3,4, then another one and then off you go into the hold music, "you're call is important to us blah blah" then the music comes on for 10 seconds or so, and then there's a click and you think you've got through only for them to say "your call is important to us, an adivisor will be with you soon", back to the music. All wonderful fun Im sure you'll agree.

Ive just rung my new mortgage provider and they've dispensed with the press button 1,2 menu's four deep. Oh good you might think. No. Instead you now have to speak out loud your choices, so you can sound a complete berk in the office.

And then you have to read out your mortgage account number, date of birth and address to the automated system. Then you get through to the helpful Indian chap. Whats his first three questions?
Whats you mortgage account?
whats your date of birth?
Whats your address?
:bang::bang::bang::bang: :annoyed:

What is the bloody point? Are corporations deliberately trying to make the experience of ringing them up as annoying as possible?

/rant over!
 
If it's an 0845 or 0870 number, the longer they string out your call, the more money they make from it!
 
Just press # a few times and you get through to an operator 99% of the time without listening to the menu.
 
Its an 0800 number but says in the small print "call charges may apply" Huh?!?! Is that actually possible, legal even?

Im gonna regret switching to Woolwich(Barclays) arent I.
 
Its an 0800 number but says in the small print "call charges may apply" Huh?!?! Is that actually possible, legal even?

Im gonna regret switching to Woolwich(Barclays) arent I.

0800 aren't free from mobiles, that's what it'll be referring to :)
 
Insurers can be bad too with all the guff at the beginning about not telling porkies and who they're regulated by etc, and then the labyrinthine menu system. I did use a broker once (not one of the big boys but probably middle tier) that would pick up the phone almost immediately and know who you were from your phone number. Unfortunately though their premiums became uncompetitive.

Wasn't there someone in the news recently that had developed some sort of database of the menu systems of many of the large corporates so you could just go tip tap tippity tap and bob was your proverbial?

Edit - here's the phone menu database website thingy
 
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