Automated Phone Systems

[paints]

I received a check out of the blue for child support. My daughter is 28, so it's a little late.

I tried calling the Child support office, got an automated system. Which sent me to another automated system. Which sent me to another automated system!

After 3 days of trying to get to a person, I gave up.

It's the same thing when I call the phone company, or the electric company.

What happened to talking to a person???

[mjdoug03]

That's weird.  Don't cash the check.  They'll figure it out eventually and get that money back!

[mgint]

it has gotten hard to talk to someone without going through several automated messages.

[countrygirl12]

What happened is companies are doing more work with less people.  They figure most questions can be answered thru the automated system or you can go online and find the answer.  And most times they are correct but people are lazy and just want to call someone and ask.  I see that all the time at work.  Instead of reading the manual that came with the item purchased they go home and open it and then call me and ask me how to use it.  UH READ THE MANUAL.

As for the check, that sounds a little odd, but can also be legit because eventually dead beat dads have to pay what they owe.

Usually if you keep pressing ZERO or saying AGENT you will get a person.

[Sadie2426]

its hard when we don't want to talk to a computer but worse if we talk to someone outside the us

[licorice99]

press 0 repeatedly. Eventually, you will get a person. Or if it is one that allows voice options, just say customer service rep or something similar repeatedly. A couple times, I've gotten mad and yelled "Just give me a real person, d****t!" That seems to work well. 

[teenangel]

there a lot of companies that don't want to pay for a human to answer the phones. with companies the just want to line their pockets with the money made instead of paying someone to do the job

[paints]

What happened is companies are doing more work with less people.  They figure most questions can be answered thru the automated system or you can go online and find the answer.  And most times they are correct but people are lazy and just want to call someone and ask.  I see that all the time at work.  Instead of reading the manual that came with the item purchased they go home and open it and then call me and ask me how to use it.  UH READ THE MANUAL.

As for the check, that sounds a little odd, but can also be legit because eventually dead beat dads have to pay what they owe.

Usually if you keep pressing ZERO or saying AGENT you will get a person.

It's not laziness to want to be able to talk to a human being.
Sometimes reading a manual doesn't give you answers, but discussing it with a person can help.
Every time I run into an automated system, I wonder how many people lost their jobs to put that system in place.
I tried pressing zero, all I got was "Invalid response," and then it would repeat the menu.

[BlackSheepNY]

What happened to talking to a person???

Yeah, right!  Lots of luck with that!  By the time you DO get to a real, living/breathing, person, you're so PO'ed you want to scream.  Not to mention the fact that the person you'll get isn't even in the COUNTRY!

[reiddb]

That is kinda funny.....

[Skyisbluetoday]

Automated seems easier for the company, not for the consumer!

[paints]

What happened to talking to a person???

Yeah, right!  Lots of luck with that!  By the time you DO get to a real, living/breathing, person, you're so PO'ed you want to scream.  Not to mention the fact that the person you'll get isn't even in the COUNTRY!

And THEN, that person tells you how much the company values your business!

If they valued my business, and not just the money I send them each month, they would NOT have me listening to some automated guy telling me yadda yadda yadda for 15 minutes!

[dauna]

Nobody likes using automated systems, but--the conventional wisdom (ha, ha) is that they save the company money.  My suggestion?  Keep hitting the "0" key.  Also, repeatedly pounding the "#" key has been known to work.

[tuyetmai]

I recomment don't cash the check unless you find out where.  I think it's a scam.

[paints]

I recomment don't cash the check unless you find out where.  I think it's a scam.

The checks legit. It comes from Child Support enforcement, through the state of Florida.
I was just trying to find out why I'm getting it now, after all these years.
I took it to my credit union and they are checking it out.