Automated Voices on the phone...

[AMISLANDER]

....Here's a vent...just try to do speak with someone other than an answering machine when calling a business today...we have so many account numbers and passwords...I can never remember mine and I keep them the same and write them down...how can this be? Well, some demand a number mixed in with the letters and then I try to make it so similar to my screen name that I completely forget & space out...Tried today to pay the cell phone bill online but they kicked me out for not remembering or being able to answer my own pet name question...so I called the 800 # and the robot tried to fake like it didn't hear the amount I really wanted to pay..."is that $200 you wanted to pay on your saved charge card number?" "no, it's 100." Unbelievable...don't tell me the automated answerers aren't programed to request a higher amount of payments....hmmmmm....It's the end of the day, almost...just about time to head to the gym to work off the afternoon popcorn.

[SinkingFast]

BOA got me.

For about 2 weeks, we kept getting calls from them. On my cell phone,...... How odd. First time, I answered it. It was an automated thing. I hung up.

Several days go by, get the call, see the number, let the call go. Nothing.

Then, the darned thing leaves a voice mail message. With my name in it. Says respond by 3 pm the next day.

I call the number, enter the PIN they gave me in the message. It's an automated pitch to get me to pay them money. I hang up.

Daily calls again. Then, over the weekend, SIX calls on Saturday and SIX calls on Sunday. Sprinkled here and there thru out the day, both days. See the number, know who it is, don't answer. Another voicemail from the last call on Sunday. Same thing as before. I ignore it.

Then, Monday, I get a call from a totally different phone number. It's a live human being. From BOA! They got me!!

She was really nice. I told her we didn't have any money and why. She said she was so sorry for us. Then she said she had this little spiel she needed to do if I didn't mind. We owe them nearly $800 at this point. She said they hadn't reported me to the CRA's yet. They didn't wanna give me a black mark on my credit. If I could send them a payment of $200 and something by next Friday, it would be enough to keep them from reporting me to the CRA's.

Almost made me wish I had the $200 something to send. She really was very nice.

[Minnymouth]

Me, I won't sit and wait on a automated call........... nor will I stay on the phone for one................. nor do I call back on automated calls. Sorry about their luck.......

They want to talk to me - it's going to be in person or not at all....

They want MY MONEY, MY BUSINESS, then a REAL PERSON better be speaking to me...... that includes banks, mortgage companies, cc companys, etc.......

Even at banks anymore you don't see or speak to a teller... you drop your check, etc in a box, it disappears, then either a deposit ticket or cash comes back to you.....
No thank you, kiss my A@@ or nothing.... Yet they want all my business (checking,savings,cd's, mortgage, etc).....

I'm not a machine and I don't due business with machines!!!

Nobody has my cell phone # but me, especially since I use it for emergencies only for me!!

And at home an answering machine screens all my calls as they come in..... if I want to answer I do, if I don't, I don't................

My thoughts,

[edwards2]

Amen Minny...I cant stand it when a business will call you and then put you on hold until the next available whomever can talk to you...I hang up immediately. That is so incredibly rude not to mention unprofessional. Last week I got a call from someone in Panama and India. My mortgage company has farmed out their customer service operations to them after hours. I had already paid it but this clown in Panama proceeds to go through his spiel. I told him unless he was in Panama City, Florida our conversation was over. He proceeded to get arrogant and then I hung up...I called another customer service number and they were in India...unbelievable. I know it is cheaper labor but I wont be a part of it. I am sorry I simply cannot understand them. And the automated systems...dont get me started...by the time you get through it you forget why you called. I always push O or act like I have a rotary phone. I know they know I dont but tough my time is as valuable as theirs is. And like you Minny my cell phone is used for emergencies only.

[robivi3]

Amis, got one here. I have five lines and perfect Cell Phone Credit for five years. Was with ATT, had to go over to Cingular back in June to add lines 3&4. No problem. Tried last week to add another line online and got you need to add a $150.00 deposit! This is no joke, never late, never cut-off in FIVE YEARS. In fact becuaes of billpay and my confusion the last three bills were double PAID! Next day i called to add the line (Cingular.com and Cingular are different stores) and was told again you need $150.00 deposit because we can't view your payment history from ATT (a load of tripe) and you haven't been switched for a year yet. So, I said no problem i'll just do it in May, that'll be a year... "hold for just a minute.... good news, i got you approved with no deposit"!!! crazy, they are selling back to ATT and i think that they are hunting for cash.

never had a deposit of any kind, ever, nor did they check my credit.

[Minnymouth]

What these companies WON'T DO to make a dime???
I saw where Bellsouth and AT&T are going to be combined also...
Lots of major monopolies going on nowdays.........
Sears owns K-mart now - (Boy have K-mart prices gone up)!
Buyouts going on all over the place.............

[robivi3]

When I was in the toy business we were good at finding rare items at Kmart... collectibles in poor neighborhoods where people had no idea.
Do you remember "Soldiers of the World".
The RCMP sued Formative Int'l the maker in the world court and won. Kmart was ordered to pull the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Doll from its shelves worldwide. As formative only sold through major stores we were cut off. Those SOTW RCMP Dolls were fetching 275.00 a pop on our site. We hit 19 Kmarts in one day from Boca to Homestead, found kmarts where the gators don't even go and ran into, this is true, long lost friends. the take for the day was 3 dolls, all sold at 275.00, one went to Singapore. Near 900.00 for the day minus expenses and gasoline, not bad. But I'll never do it again.

Many times you will peel the KB sticker and find a kmart sticker underneath, even the big boys do it!