be-musings

Yesterday I called a utility company (unnamed due to possible implications, but it wasn't cable or hydro. Get the drift?). This company has a voice-activated system rather than touch. In their line of business it makes sense to have more advanced telephone communication...get the drift? I was looking after the kids and doing laundry while giving verbal responses. Apparently other noise sometimes confuses the system. The lovely patient female voice had to ask me to repeat myself a couple of times. I got to the section that seemed to be the most appropriate, and the phone rang and rang and rang. Seemed unusual for that kind of utility company. Get my drift? I hung up and tried again, beginning to be frustrated. As I navigated again, the lovely patient female voice asked my phone number then repeated it back incorrectly. At the confirmation request I said "No". "She" paused and said "I'm sorry. My mistake. Could you please tell me again so I can get it right." Here's the first flaw to having a female voice on that system. What woman would admit to that! After navigating to a different section with the hopes of getting a quicker connection, I ended up in totally the wrong section. Suddenly I blurted a frustrated "CRAP!" The voice waited, then said "Okay" with that hanging on at the end that a person would do who thought you were being unreasonable but was being too polite to really say it. Well, one more voice answer from me and the next thing you know I had a real person on the phone! Not even one more ring! Here's what I think happened. The phone system identified my word, and jumped me ahead of everyone else. I was picturing the internal lines going into a red alert. Frustrated client uttered a potential cuss word from the preprogrammed cast number of them in the system. Alert! Alert! Jump her ahead so she doesn't swear more and ask for a manager! So, the next time you call into this unnamed place, you could probably cut through all the B.S. by cussing. Or at least saying CRAP!