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Waiting On The Telephone

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does anyone think like me that the council an all the other service providers are using the pandemic as an excuse to  say sorry  but due to the pandemic there will be longer wait to answer your call. In my case 50 mins to get an answer on a council phoneline

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If its council tax its always been a long wait, no change there.

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Yes and just about any other service you require help with particularly banking.

 

Its getting to the stage where you will only be able to talk via online chat which is what they want as it’s cheaper as they are clearly talking to many people at once judging by the huge gaps waiting for reply’s.

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Well, I've got a Doctors that has a recorded message urging everybody to use their website instead of the phone because of the pandemic, ringing utility provider says the same and plugs Direct Debits,  a supermarket is pushing self-scan, and Poundland does the same both blaming temporary staffing shortages because of the pandemic.  Virgin have been pushing their web "bot" to answer queries rather than humans (although they can't answer many of the problems you face - especially when the phone line goes down). A few shops I know have posters up asking for contactless payments where possible "to reduce passing on Covid".

 

I wonder how many people will do as requested by all these, then find out when the pandemic is over that they will not be able to revert to how they used to interact with organisations previously? 

 

"Sorry, you're signed up to using the email/internet system now"

"No, you can't go back to how you used to work with us before,"

"We're self-scan only now"

"We don't use cash anymore - we're contactless from now on.  Sorry"

 

Of course, not everybody has the internet or smartphones.  Many companies are not bothered about that - they target those who do.  My main worry is the elderly, who risk being dragged into a future tech world that are not ready for, and are very vulnerable to scams etc etc - the very reason they are trying to stick to cash and cheques.

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Aren't you tarring "the elderly" with the same brush there? Not all of them are technophobic Luddites.

Edited by HeHasRisen

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There seems to be a standard script for all large businesses and their answering machines/service:

"We are receiving particularly high call volumes..."

 

No, they're not. "Particularly" must mean "more than usual"- so whyever is the message the same for all of them and no matter at what time of day?

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And another thing  i was on the phone for 50 mins. Can i send them a bill for a 50 min  phone call

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2 hours ago, Pkingy said:

And another thing  i was on the phone for 50 mins. Can i send them a bill for a 50 min  phone call

Well most sensible people would use a number that is included in their packaged minutes 🤷‍♂️ if you are ringing a 0114 number then surely you are getting these calls free/in a package

Edited by HeHasRisen

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Phone to arrange a blood take, asked for by the doctor.

After  4 minutes listening to a :don't come in if you have covid symptoms i get a: you are number 25 in the q.

Local pharmacy has a notice up: takes 4 days for Dr to approve a repeat prescription and 3 days for th pharmacy to dispense it

All consultations with Dr are 10 minutes by phone one symptom at a time.

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Yes it’s one thing not being able to meet face to face but now we are being reduced to talking to an auto reply bot on a website that rarely answers your questions.Ridiculous.

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3 hours ago, HeHasRisen said:

Well most sensible people would use a number that is included in their packaged minutes 🤷‍♂️ if you are ringing a 0114 number then surely you are getting these calls free/in a package

What are packaged minutes?

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1 hour ago, apelike said:

What are packaged minutes?

Many mobile contracts now include unlimited free calls to most numbers.

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