I'll bet this rings a bell

Feb 22 2005 By Helen Logan Evening Gazette

Ringing a customer service number can prove to be a frustrating experience.

First of all you have to negotiate the lengthy automated menu of which service you require.

I don't know about you, but I find I have to listen to the whole list because there is never a choice which quite fits what I am ringing about.

So then I have to press the button for the list to be repeated so I can pick which option approximately meets my needs.

Then the long wait begins before you speak to a real person, with awful music being played over and over or a recorded messages saying something like "Please be patient. All of our operators are busy. We will answer your call as soon as possible."

Telling me to be patient while keeping me hanging on ten or 20 minutes really makes me angry.

What adds insult to injury is you are being charged for the "privilege" of being kept waiting.

According to a new report, an increasing number of people phoning call centres are hanging up in frustration because of the time it takes to answer.

The number of abandoned calls has risen for the sixth year in a row, according to computer firm Dimension Data, which conducted the research, It has warned companies their "fixation" on cutting costs through reducing jobs should not be done at the expense of customer satisfaction.

But the problem with putting the phone down is that when you try again you are back to square one, having dropped to the bottom of the queue.