I hate automatic phone systems that require you to speak your choices instead of entering them with the keypad. I feel so stupid talking to a computer that’s pretending to be a real person.
Even worse, I discovered today that if you cough or loudly clear your throat while the computer is talking, it thinks you’re trying to say something it doesn’t understand, and it interrupts itself to tell you as such before going back to the beginning of whatever it was saying. If it’s a long cough or throat-clearing, you get stuck in a phone-tree whirlwind and wind up someplace completely unknown.
Do the people who designed these systems think we’re handless? I know there are disabled people out there, but I’d at least like to have the option of dialing instead of feeling like an idiot.
I know what you mean. Seems more companies used to give you a choice (“press or say the number of…”). I seem to run into it a lot when calling airlines to check on flight status. I feel stupid grunting to my cell phone: “Yes… three-four-six… today… departure…” Oh well. At least we can all feel stupid together. ;)
I long for a return to dial phones!
THANK you. I was on the phone with Time Warner yesterday while arguing with the cable guy and asking Dan questions, and got sent through umpteen menus. The kicker is that when I did say something directed at the computer, it never understood.