# Help desk fail **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2021, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363 "2021-02-07T09:59:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/1 "2021-02-07T09:59:21Z")
I have an HSBC bank account based in a foreign country (Australia) that I maintain because I need to make regular payments to people in that country. I have one of [these security dongle things](https://www.hsbc.com.hk/help/online-and-banking-security/device/) and recently discovered it has stopped working. I sent a message to HSBC asking how I could get a new one. This was their reply: > Thank you for your email regarding your online security device and I > sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your email due to > recent high email volumes. > > I can certainly understand the importance of having a device handy to > have full access to your accounts online and I appreciate you reaching > out to us on this. > > I would very much like to help and arrange for new replacement online > security device to be sent to your mailing address on file however, to > proceed with the replacement device request through this contact > channel, it requires you to be logged in using the Security Device > first. > > Kindly reply to this email while being logged in with your online > security device along with a confirmation of your mailing address and I > will proceed to have the replacement device to be arranged on your > behalf. > > I hope the information provided has been of assistance and I look > forward to assist you better. In the meantime, enjoy the weekend ahead. Can you see what’s wrong with it? > Kindly reply to this email while being logged in with your online > security device along with a confirmation of your mailing address and I > will proceed to have the replacement device to be arranged on your > behalf. 🤔 🤨 On the one hand I can only assume they haven’t comprehended my problem, but then I read this bit again: > I can certainly understand the importance of having a device handy to > have full access to your accounts online and I appreciate you reaching > out to us on this. And it seems clear that they do understand my problem. Sooo, umm, I’ve written back kindly explaining that what they’ve requested isn’t possible. I look forward to their reply. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/2 "2021-02-07T13:40:50Z")
Reminds me of the old MS-DOS message - “No keyboard detected, press ESC To continue.” ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/3 "2021-02-07T16:42:59Z")
Manulife Financial posts their email address on their site for support contact. Great! This sure beats the inevitable being on hold and having to listen to irrelevant taped messages for the on hold duration. However, send them an email and you get back an automated reply telling you they do not reply to email messages for personal security reasons. So what’s the point in posting an email address in the first place? Incidentally, my question for them was of a generic nature containing no personal information what-so-ever. Not that anybody will ever read it. Another is whenever you (me at least) points out a problem with a company messaging system; usually email, or even an issue with their web site, it’s always turned around to assign blame to who’s reporting the problem. For example; your browser must be out of date, use such & such browser, check with your internet provider, and on & on. Never just, thank you for taking the time and we will look into our problem. Where do companies even find these people to hire them. Course this idiocy nearly always dribbles down from above. It says to me, I’m dealing with the wrong outfit. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/4 "2021-02-07T16:54:22Z")
Since this thread is about laughing at the HSBC help desk, I’m not sure if trying to help you solve your problem constitutes a hijack…? But I use HSBC too, and I have both U.S. and overseas accounts. When I used the physical security device (one for each account…), a couple of times I had similar problems when one broke or was not physically accessible to me - there is in fact (of course) a tedious security reset procedure to go through, you will need to get on the phone with them. However, I was able to switch to security apps on my phone instead of separate physical devices - about 2 years ago I think? I have found that much smoother. Although if you lost your phone I guess it’s still a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/5 "2021-02-07T17:27:45Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’m not sure if trying to help you solve your problem constitutes a hijack…? No intent to hijack. I took the heading of the OP as the general subject: ‘Help desk fail’, and the issue with his bank as just an example. I simply provided a couple other examples. Lots more where they came from 🙂 I guess the OP will have to clarify whether the post is about HSBC specifically, or help/support issues in general. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/6 "2021-02-07T17:33:19Z")
> [@Keith1](#): > > No intent to hijack. Sorry that wasn’t clear - I was actually talking about what followed in my _own_ post, not commenting on yours. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/7 "2021-02-09T08:39:53Z")
The standard way for help desks to fail is simply not having front-line staff who can speak intelligible English (or whatever language you might use). I had one of those just today. It must be refreshing to encounter these avant-garde services with their more creative ways to be utterly worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/8 "2021-02-09T20:51:33Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > However, I was able to switch to security apps on my phone instead of separate physical devices - about 2 years ago I think? I have found that much smoother. Although if you lost your phone I guess it’s still a problem. I did see in the link in my OP that physical security devices aren’t issued anymore, and that you can setup the app using “memorable questions” for security… yay. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/9 "2021-02-11T08:14:21Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > However, I was able to switch to security apps on my phone instead of separate physical devices - about 2 years ago I think? I have found that much smoother. Although if you lost your phone I guess it’s still a problem. Phone SIM security is inherently insecure – and doesn’t work anyway if you travel. So even if you don’t loose your phone you’ve still got a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/10 "2021-02-11T21:15:41Z")
I would assume it’s just a code generator (that’s all the standalone device was) so wouldn’t need an internet connection and SIM security would be irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/11 "2021-02-12T00:28:40Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > would assume it’s just a code generator (that’s all the standalone device was) so wouldn’t need an internet connection and SIM security would be irrelevant. And replacing it with a phone solves some problems, while introducing others. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/12 "2021-02-12T07:45:38Z")
Well, for me it solves the problem of not being able to access my bank fully. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/13 "2021-02-12T21:07:11Z")
Yes, at the cost of not being able to access your bank while doing international travel, and of exposing your bank account to sim-swap and sms-spoofing hazards. Many people don’t travel internationally, and depend on hope and good luck to not have their bank account hacked, but those little security dongles did have some value. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/14 "2021-02-12T21:22:10Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Yes, at the cost of not being able to access your bank while doing international travel, and of exposing your bank account to sim-swap and sms-spoofing hazards. You’re assuming it requires a sim. I don’t have it yet so I can’t vouch for the type of security app it is, but if it is a stand alone code generator (ie an app version of the dongle), it’s just an app, it doesn’t need to be connected to anything, and it can be used from anywhere in the world. It’s also not required to access the bank, it’s only required for some special things such as doing funds transfers to new accounts. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/15 "2021-02-12T22:01:16Z")
I’ve activated the app. It is the bank’s banking app but the code generator function is accessible without logging in, so no need for an internet connection. HSBC’s help desk people were ultimately successful. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-desk-fail/932363/16 "2021-02-12T22:41:12Z")
Didn’t have a story yesterday, have one today. Looked up FedEx website (package delivery service) to complain about 4 different deliveries this week alone. The have a phone number but warn of excessive wait times and suggest I use their email option. Ok, I open it up and it has a prompt for kind of problem I have. Weird for email, more like chat, but I type "delivery complaint and hit enter. Message comes up “We are not accepting emails at this time, try our helpline.” I wonder if one could have something to do with the other.