Telephone queue - deliberately annoying?
Discussion
Do businesses (NatWest in this case) deliberately make being held in a queue as annoying as f
king possible? I actually suspect so.
First you get some silly cow telling you to they have exceptionally high call volumes and only to stay on if it’s exceptionally important in these COVID times (as they’re trying to help people that really need help), then you enter various identification crap (it asked for 3 out 4 security digits! yeah that’s safe it only leaves one to guess if it is intercepted), and it puts you in the queue. Then there are very frequent messages interrupting the music telling you to ps off to online help pages; / sorry for delay please use online services / they have high demand / etc
I’m thinking they are irritating in order to get some people to put the phone down. Is that the case?
king possible? I actually suspect so.First you get some silly cow telling you to they have exceptionally high call volumes and only to stay on if it’s exceptionally important in these COVID times (as they’re trying to help people that really need help), then you enter various identification crap (it asked for 3 out 4 security digits! yeah that’s safe it only leaves one to guess if it is intercepted), and it puts you in the queue. Then there are very frequent messages interrupting the music telling you to p
s off to online help pages; / sorry for delay please use online services / they have high demand / etcI’m thinking they are irritating in order to get some people to put the phone down. Is that the case?
If you ring on three separate occasions over a year and they have "Exceptionally High Call volumes" then that is not exceptional, it is just they have not got enough call centre staff or have forgotten to change the message.
And the music that sort of clips and drops out, double annoying if its a blatant rip off of Clocks by Coldplay with 4 notes changed so its nearly there but not, it conveys the same impression but grates as its nearly but not quite.
Or "Say, in a few words what you are calling about"
"I want to discuss my bill"
"You have a disgusting smell, is that correct" ?
And the music that sort of clips and drops out, double annoying if its a blatant rip off of Clocks by Coldplay with 4 notes changed so its nearly there but not, it conveys the same impression but grates as its nearly but not quite.
Or "Say, in a few words what you are calling about"
"I want to discuss my bill"
"You have a disgusting smell, is that correct" ?
British Gas and Bank of Ireland can go and fk themselves for their annoying on-hold music and messages, both of whom I won't have to deal with "within months" as I'm moving away from them (not because of their on-hold queueing system but if anyone from their company wants to know, yes it fking well is).
k themselves for their annoying on-hold music and messages, both of whom I won't have to deal with "within months" as I'm moving away from them (not because of their on-hold queueing system but if anyone from their company wants to know, yes it fking well is).CoolHands said:
I’m thinking they are irritating in order to get some people to put the phone down. Is that the case?
Most probably. The cost of dealing with calls is surprisingly high; much better if the punter wastes their own trying to find the answer for themselves, or uses a bot.Having worked in contact centre design for many years, it's a combination of horrendously priced leased phone lines with little to no bandwidth, architects who don't have a clue, businesses who are stingy as fk, 50+ year olds who think they know how "Customer Experience" works but can't even load apps on their smartphone. Contact centre managers who act like little hitlers, and the good old 'just plain old dont give a fk'.
Although ever rung apple? They have awful bandwidth on their phonelines. They let you choose the theme of the hold music, but it all sounds like its being played down a well.
k, 50+ year olds who think they know how "Customer Experience" works but can't even load apps on their smartphone. Contact centre managers who act like little hitlers, and the good old 'just plain old dont give a fk'.Although ever rung apple? They have awful bandwidth on their phonelines. They let you choose the theme of the hold music, but it all sounds like its being played down a well.
will_ said:
CoolHands said:
I’m thinking they are irritating in order to get some people to put the phone down. Is that the case?
Most probably. The cost of dealing with calls is surprisingly high; much better if the punter wastes their own trying to find the answer for themselves, or uses a bot.CoolHands said:
I’m thinking they are irritating in order to get some people to put the phone down. Is that the case?
Yep, I'm 100% with you on this, I was tempted to post a similar thread myself.Every. Single. Organisation that you call currently says that they are "currently receiving extremely high call volumes". I suspect that if you called at 3.27am you'd hear the same.
In several cases I've experienced recently, hold music has gone from "soothing" (which was always how it was supposed to be, so that if you had a grievance you calmed down a bit and didn't take it out on the operator) to just ridiculously jangling; I asked one company recently if their hold music was actually designed to make people put the phone down. Made my ears bleed.
And the Covid excuse: it's utter b
ks, now. I'd allow it last March/April, maybe generously even a little longer than that, but if the person running your call centre hasn't sorted their st out by now, they need firing. The company I was working for when Covid kicked in last year ran a service desk for around 150 high-end asset management/PE/law firms (ie, not the sort of people renowned for their patience). On the day we decided to close the offices, we had a full remote service desk running, from people's homes, at 7am the following morning. It wasn't difficult. These companies surely must have a business continuity plan in place, so any excuses to the contrary are just bullst.Have been with first direct for 12 years. I don't phone them often, probably only 10 times over that period, but the longest I've been 'on hold' is 3 rings before someone picked up, which has happened once.
Now that I have said this, I daren't phone again to prove myself wrong
The bits where the (ste) music cuts out for a voice to then say your call is important please hang on or whatever is more annoying, because you hear the music stop and think someone might have finally picked up...
Now that I have said this, I daren't phone again to prove myself wrong
The bits where the (s
te) music cuts out for a voice to then say your call is important please hang on or whatever is more annoying, because you hear the music stop and think someone might have finally picked up...It has been the case for many years now, if you deal with certain companies a lot and are not making a sales or new business enquiry you are in the swamp with everyone else.
Often the people answering are perfect helpful and decent, but you are annoyed after the time waiting and that is an awful start to a potentially difficult conversation at times.
It is when you are asked for security questions for something you bought 3 years ago and have never needed then you are quizzed about it again when they answer, "I already gave you all that effing info with my keypad"
They know they have you on a string, so are playing you endlessly, it is an effort to get you to do it online, meaning they can cut their staff even more and even more.
Messages are recorded once months ago unless something happens, so much so that you can work out how to whizz past them if you have to call a lot.
there are ways to find direct numbers but I shall not link them here. It is not hard to find places where they are collated.
Often the people answering are perfect helpful and decent, but you are annoyed after the time waiting and that is an awful start to a potentially difficult conversation at times.
It is when you are asked for security questions for something you bought 3 years ago and have never needed then you are quizzed about it again when they answer, "I already gave you all that effing info with my keypad"
They know they have you on a string, so are playing you endlessly, it is an effort to get you to do it online, meaning they can cut their staff even more and even more.
Messages are recorded once months ago unless something happens, so much so that you can work out how to whizz past them if you have to call a lot.
there are ways to find direct numbers but I shall not link them here. It is not hard to find places where they are collated.
I used to be a milkman.
If I saw something iffy I could nip down to the local police station any time during the night.
If there wasn't anybody in (unusual) I'd probably see a car cruising around shortly.
Fast forward and the police station is on daytime hours only.
Phone 101 and you get a recorded message giving you the choice of a. Reporting lost or found property (yea like you always report lost property at 2am on a Tuesday morning) or b. Speak to a human being.
Then...you get the recorded message about 'There is a high demand at present, please hold the line'
High demand at 2am on a Tuesday
(probably all these people reporting lost property)
Towards the end of my working life I just didn't bother.
Kids roaming the street...not my problem.
Suspicious men hanging around cars...nothing to do with me.
Sad, but a knock on effect from cost cutting.
If I saw something iffy I could nip down to the local police station any time during the night.
If there wasn't anybody in (unusual) I'd probably see a car cruising around shortly.
Fast forward and the police station is on daytime hours only.
Phone 101 and you get a recorded message giving you the choice of a. Reporting lost or found property (yea like you always report lost property at 2am on a Tuesday morning) or b. Speak to a human being.
Then...you get the recorded message about 'There is a high demand at present, please hold the line'
High demand at 2am on a Tuesday
(probably all these people reporting lost property)Towards the end of my working life I just didn't bother.
Kids roaming the street...not my problem.
Suspicious men hanging around cars...nothing to do with me.
Sad, but a knock on effect from cost cutting.
Spare tyre said:
Ring 101 to report some iffy lads trying door handles or something of that nature, you go round a few times then just cut off
I’d imagine if you ring 999 you’d get a bking 
I remember ringing 999 a few years ago and had to wait at least a minute to be answered by the emergency service (not the BT handler). I genuinely couldn't believe it. I’d imagine if you ring 999 you’d get a b
king Companies will put people on hold for service desk calls even if there's an available slot simply to deter them from doing it again.
Quite topical, worst hold music ever https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/...
Quite topical, worst hold music ever https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/...
Drawweight said:
I used to be a milkman.
If I saw something iffy I could nip down to the local police station any time during the night.
If there wasn't anybody in (unusual) I'd probably see a car cruising around shortly.
Fast forward and the police station is on daytime hours only.
Phone 101 and you get a recorded message giving you the choice of a. Reporting lost or found property (yea like you always report lost property at 2am on a Tuesday morning) or b. Speak to a human being.
Then...you get the recorded message about 'There is a high demand at present, please hold the line'
High demand at 2am on a Tuesday (probably all these people reporting lost property)
Towards the end of my working life I just didn't bother.
Kids roaming the street...not my problem.
Suspicious men hanging around cars...nothing to do with me.
Sad, but a knock on effect from cost cutting.
I don't think it is just about cost cutting. I don't know about 101 call volumes, but the number of 999 calls has risen massively over the last decade or so. Calls to the ambulance service increase by roughly 300,000 every year. If I saw something iffy I could nip down to the local police station any time during the night.
If there wasn't anybody in (unusual) I'd probably see a car cruising around shortly.
Fast forward and the police station is on daytime hours only.
Phone 101 and you get a recorded message giving you the choice of a. Reporting lost or found property (yea like you always report lost property at 2am on a Tuesday morning) or b. Speak to a human being.
Then...you get the recorded message about 'There is a high demand at present, please hold the line'
High demand at 2am on a Tuesday
(probably all these people reporting lost property)Towards the end of my working life I just didn't bother.
Kids roaming the street...not my problem.
Suspicious men hanging around cars...nothing to do with me.
Sad, but a knock on effect from cost cutting.
If a similar rate of increase in the number of 101 calls is happening, its not so much cost cutting that is causing the problem but that resources are not keeping pace with demand.
I work for a major tech firm that provides contact center solutions. There really are no excuses, as most of the agents can now work from home and have been for some time using specific remote agent software. Unless of course the majority of the agents are down with Covid itself, the response times should be the same before the pandemic.
However many of the companies are not investing in the proper agent software licenses, therefore the agent is not being monitored, so they have no idea of the agents productivity..So agents not answering calls are not being flagged up, hence why you are in an endless queue.
This is starting to become a big problem, as customer vote with their feet. Also many of them will not be able to make real-time decisions..
G
However many of the companies are not investing in the proper agent software licenses, therefore the agent is not being monitored, so they have no idea of the agents productivity..So agents not answering calls are not being flagged up, hence why you are in an endless queue.
This is starting to become a big problem, as customer vote with their feet. Also many of them will not be able to make real-time decisions..
G
I had to leave NatWest, probably the worst company I've ever dealt with.
And I say that with Santander losing all the money in an ISA I had once, blaming me and saying I must have withdrawn it and then fessing up over a year later. First Direct were great, but they did some daft scheme where they thought they were so good that they'd offer to pay you if you left. So I took the money.
Banks are rubbish.
And I say that with Santander losing all the money in an ISA I had once, blaming me and saying I must have withdrawn it and then fessing up over a year later. First Direct were great, but they did some daft scheme where they thought they were so good that they'd offer to pay you if you left. So I took the money.
Banks are rubbish.
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