Where Have All The Humans Gone?

When the phone rang today, I was happy to hear my dad's voice on the other end after I answered. It wasn't just that I was glad to talk with him and catch up with what's going on in his corner of the world; it was that there was a real live human being on the line with me. That seemed to be a rarity today, although I can't say that today was much different than most lately.

Part of it is that our primary elections are next Tuesday so there are plenty of phone calls urging us to vote for this candidate or that one, all of which are pre-recorded messages. Just as well...a real person would be wasting their breath since we took advantage of early voting and have already cast our ballots. And don't get me started on the obnoxious political call we receive over and over again that starts out Tired of getting your ASSets taxed of? I'd vote for that candidate's opponent just because I can't stand the message but that would require that I listen to enough of it to determine just who it's promoting. That won't be happening.

But that was just one of the automated calls we received today. There was one to remind Wayne of his doctor's appointment on Friday. Press 1 to confirm your appointment. And there was some sales-based call; I suppose a real person would have come on the line once the initial spiel was over but I didn't hang around to find out. Let's don't forget the two calls where no one was there to respond to my cheery Hello. The computer dials but doesn't talk, and the human who doesn't dial was busy with some other victim prospect.

As frustrating as these are, they don't compare to the call Wayne received a few days ago. It was from the insurance company that carries his drug coverage and they wanted to know why he had stopped taking one of his prescriptions. Only problem is...he hasn't; that pill goes down his throat once a day just like always. It isn't a pricey drug, just his $4 co-pay, so apparently Walmart doesn't file anything with the insurance company anymore since they aren't entitled to any additional sums. Try explaining that to a recording.

Did you stop taking the drug because of its cost? Did the condition for which you were taking the drug improve and you no longer need the medicine? Did you have an adverse reaction to the medication? There were plenty of questions on the recorded message to which you punched in a key on the phone to answer yes or no but none to say you've got it all wrong. I could hear the frustration in his voice as he muttered that he was still taking the medication but it was all in vain; there was no way to leave a message and no option to reach a real person. I understand the economics behind these automated calls, really I do. But that doesn't make me like them any better.

Someone said that if e-mail had been around before the telephone was invented, people would have said Hey, forget e-mail...with this new telephone invention we can actually talk to people. Little did he know how wrong that was. More often than not, we can only talk to machines.

Comments

[Jude.x]

Oh, I'm so with you on this one........ Here in the UK we can sign up to a scheme that should stop these calls - but ONLY if they originate in the UK! :( Instead of hanging up I often "play their game" and hold on, pressing buttons to take me further and then leave it sat on the side so it's wasting their call money! If it's calling from a Freephone number and I have nothing better to do, I even call them back and waste a bit more of their time..... surprising how often they stop calling me after a couple of those!! :) About the only company where we can't speak to a "real" person, bizarrely, is our telephone providers! LOL. Jude.x

[Jan Connair]

I have two "favorites" in this category. One call we get repeatedly tells me that I need to hurry because my opportunity for a lower credit rate is rapidly dwindling. Press 1 for espanol. Press 2 for more information. Press 3 to make all of these calls stop. Of course I press 3. Next week: another identical call. Finally I pressed 1 to talk to a live person, who was excited to think that I wanted more information until I told them to please put my number on their Do Not Call list. The person hung up on me without responding!

The other favorite call starts with a proclamation: "This is not a sales call!" Then it explains to me that a dire situation is occurring that involves vandals in my neighborhood. I believe that is followed by a sales pitch for security systems, but it's been so long since I hung on to hear the full message that I don't even remember.

Don't get me started on the political calls. Who is telling these candidates that robotic calls casting aspersions on their opponents' character is effective?!!!

[Sandi]

The one we get over and over is "Hi, this is Ann of Card Services". I've tried everything to get rid of her. I seethe over her multiple times per week calls. No one is ever there and they hang up rudely if you try to reason with them. My husband Googled Ann and there were so many comments about her that he felt more hopeless and signed off!