Do you have any idea how many people don’t know their own phone numbers? And how many of those who don’t explain it with the mind-numbingly irritating “I never call myself! HAR HAR HAR!”
Sometimes it does. Sometimes the person doesn’t get all 16 digits entered. Sometimes they type it wrong which is why they get transferred in the first place.
I forgot my phone number the other week. I usually know it and can trip it off my tongue quite easily, when that particular day I started to recite the wrong number (my work number) and when I realised, my home number was suddenly strangely elusive.
That would be me, except instead of “account number???” I would be asking “and where is the account number located on my bill?” and then afterl the “yeah” part of the answer. Then it would be more like:
CSM: Do you see the number in blue?
Me: Yes, there are several, which one do you want?
CSM: The one on the left
Me: The alphanumeric one starting with B, the one directly underneath it (still in blue) that is numbers only, or the short one that is more toward the middle of the page?
CSM: No, now you’re too far down the page, it’s the set of blue numbers less far down the page than that.
Me: Okaaaaay, the set starting with Anc-20X?
CSM: No NO, now you’re too high up the page!!! It should start with MOA-ANC 3X, or if you live in the west part of town…MOA-WAnc…blah de blah…
Me: I think I see it, hold on…OOOOOH, you mean that tiny -0.2 font outlined in red with blue print that I can’t read without both my reading glasses AND a magnifying glass? The one that is at the bottom of a list of 10 other numbers and alpha-numeric codes also all in blue? Gosh, I’m SOOOooo dumb not to have seen that!
CSM: YES! now read it off to me, GEEEZ!
Me: Okay, hold on, I have to find the electron microscope and turn on the halon spotlights.
Wait a minute! You mean, if I screw up entering my card number, I can talk to real live person? Seriously?
Sweet! I will never enter the correct number again!
Hmmm…if I enter an invalid number, it usually prompts me to reenter it.
Just don’t enter anything. Just ignore the strident prompts to enter a number. I made a call to one of the credit card companies once that required entering the number five times at different prompts – and got disconnected because “all operators were busy.” When I called back, I ignored the prompt and was immediately connected.
Since I’ve ALWAYS been asked to give the number again when a human finally answered, I’ve stopped entering anything at all, and it generally gets me faster service (note that it will often ask for you to enter the number five or six times before it gives up, so give it a chance).
Abso freakin lutely.
These people don’t use the system they created.
But the complete winner is the IMS dept at my school district, whose phone line has only one option: “Press 1 to continue”. There are NO OTHER CHOICES. What in God’s name did they expect people to choose? To hang up? If I didn’t want to talk to you, I wouldn’t have called.
Idiots.
Nerd jerk:
Halogen.
The latest supermarket to open up close to Mom’s (she’s within 100yd of 5 supermarkets, that’s Spain’s idea of “downtown” for you guys) does that with their customer card.
“Hello, do you have our discount card?”
“Oh drat, I forgot it in my other wallet!”
“No problem! May I have your phone number?”
The cashier types the phone number in, the customer gets her discount, ta-dah! I’d love that supermarket only for that, we can all put our stuff into Mom’s discount and get her “present points” just by rattling out her phone.
OTOH, some webs in the UK do not accept credit card payments unless the cc’s bill goes to a UK post code (which you must enter). UK banks won’t give me a card yet (“fresh off the boat foreigner”), stores take my money happily both in person and on the web, the gas and electricity company takes it happily through their webpage, but not a single phone provider wants my card - they do want my money, they just won’t let me pay it to them :smack:
There are three major types here in Australia- swipe across the top, or swipe on either side. It’s really not that hard to figure out. The “OK” button is always the large green button on the bottom right, and if you don’t know what “CHQ” “SAV” and “CREDIT” buttons are by now then you’ve got problems.
It depends. Even when I swipe their cards for them, ask them what sort of account they want to use, I still get a blank stare at the “ENTER PIN” stage. I’m not entering your PIN for you, you lazy (or dumb) peasant.
It does take a lot of time, especially when (as in our store) the EFTPOS machine is in front of the register screen on the other side of the counter from the staff. In fact, it can take longer than ringing up the transaction in the first place. Look, I’m happy to help the elderly or disabled with these things. But “Normal” people should know how to work an EFTPOS machine by now, and if they haven’t worked it out by now then I feel justified in regarding them with some degree of contempt.
My problem isn’t with people taking a few extra seconds to work out which way their card needs to swipe or being unable to work the machine due to some legitimate medical problem or disability*. It’s “normal” people looking at a common or garden variety EFTPOS machine like it’s an Astrolabe or the Antikythera Mechanism. They’re not alien technology, they’re not powered by magic, and you’ve seen/used them before, so stop staring at it and enter your bloody PIN so we can get the transaction finalised and then serve one of the other 20 people in the queue behind you.
*I get so fed up with the Tree Huggery here sometimes; this sort of thing should be taken as read anyway. I shouldn’t have to mention it just so I don’t end up offending someone.
Presbyopia hit me like a son-of-a-bitch a month or so after I turned 40. With reading glasses, I’m fine, but I have an IMPOSSIBLE time reading the security codes printed on the signature strip at the back of the credit card after it’s been in by wallet for a few months, even with reading glasses on.
Great in theory, crappy in implementation. Ralphs supermarket never never ever updates their database. Every time I forget my physical card and give my phone number, it spits out Mr Dypwick, the guy who had my phone number 9 years ago. (Who also never paid his bills and still triggers collection agency calls to our home number). It looks like once a phone number is in the system, that’s it. It can’t be reassigned to another account unless the original owner updates from their end.