Basher51's Bluff and Bluster

I just spent time, wasted time, sitting on hold having some recorded voice tell me how much my call was important to them.  If it was so darned important, then why didn't they have a human being tell me that?  After I have labored through an automated call screening system in the quite vain hope that I might get directed to the proper person, can't the companies using these blasted systems at least have the common courtesy to have a human being pop in every now and then to see if there is some way to short-cut the waiting process?  Instead, I get an recording telling me that I'm important to the company.  Well, actually I'm not.

Here's an idea:  HIRE HUMANS!!!  How many of the goofballs that have bought these call screening systems have actually tried to work their way through the system?

Years ago I had the joy of trying to navigate my way through Gateway Computer's system to find the status of my daughter's laptop that had been sent in for a warrenty repair.  I actually ended up going around in a complete technological circle without ever encountering a human voice. I also never got the information that I was seeking and I was never able to leave a message to ask to have someone call me back.  I had to do some fairly hefty dectective work to discover a phone number for Gateway that didn't access the stupid system--or send me overseas to talk to someone who didn't speak English, at least no english that I'd ever heard before.  I finally sent a letter via registered and Express Mail to the VP of Quality Control for Gateway that detailed all of my angst trying to find out what had happened to my daughter's computer.  Ta-da!  A human being (imagine that!) called me back and gave me the information that I requested.  He then apologized all over the place for their worthless call screening system that had no exits whereby you'd talk to a human being.  He then offered to send me a check for $50 as a token of their apology. 

In the end, I hope that something good comes of it.