"Pressing 4, in my experience, usually ends up with a tinny version of Bach being played into one’s ear, an effect that can be achieved easily at home by tuning to Radio 3 and hiding the wireless in the fridge"
Now, you may consider me old fashioned but I thought the
telephone was meant to ease communication person-to-person. Usually
when you pick up a telephone, you expect to find someone on at the
other end. But nowadays, that seems to happen less and less. Instead,
you get an electronic-sounding voice, which thanks you so much for your
call, and explains just how important it is. Well, if it is so
important, why do you then have to go through the rigmarole of pressing
1, 2, 3 or even 4 before you can actually get to where you want to be?
And then there are the really annoying phone systems, which bring in
the “star” key, and something called the “hash” or “square” key what
ever that is. Every time I am forced to press it, I do wonder what
exactly it is I might have ordered.
I sometimes wish they would be honest, and admit that you should press (1) to be ignored, (2) to be put through to the wrong department, and (3) to be connected to someone who has no idea what you are talking about. Pressing 4, in my experience, usually ends up with a tinny version of Bach being played into one’s ear, an effect that can be achieved easily at home by tuning to Radio 3 and hiding the wireless in the fridge.
Surely it is time to return to the, perhaps old-fashioned, idea of actually having a real person answering the phone? I know as an actress words and diction are the tools of my trade, but you cannot convince me that there are no longer enough people out there who are capable of carrying on a clear, concise and informative two- way conversation. What a condemnation of our modern culture that would be, if that really were the case.
Now, you can call me a square, but I say to these big companies hiding behind automated phone systems – stop making a hash of it and bring back real people!
This article appeared on the Whyohwhyohwhy (UK) in the Celebrity Soundoff Column. Thanks to Jan M for spotting it. This is a column in which the web surfers are solicited to vent (or compliment) and, supposedly, this is one of Judi Dench's pet peeves.