TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: "Please Enter Your ID Number" So We May Ignore it

Re: "Please Enter Your ID Number" So We May Ignore it

davidesan@gmail.com
22 Mar 2007 07:41:58 -0700

On Mar 20, 4:52 pm, hanco...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> I telephoned a large business today. As usual, the answering machine
> asked me to enter my account number "for faster service". I did so.
> After the usual parade through many menus I was connected to an actual
> human being. The first thing she asked me for was my account number,
> even though I had keyed it in "for faster service".

> I find this happens all the time.

> What is the point of requesting an account number if it isn't going to
> be automatically forwarded to the person handling the call?

> With today's fancy computer systems, the idea is that after getting my
> account number, my account screen is immediately displayed to the
> person handling my call, saving the time to ask for my account number
> and her to key it it. But this never happens. (Some systems are
> fancy enough to check the caller ID of your phone number and use that
> to bring up your account, but these get fouled if you call from work
> or a different phone.)

I don't know how to program the system, but this makes me crazy as
well. I know the system works, American Express used to know who I
was just from the caller-id on my home phone.

I recently called the local Blue Cross. I waded through the
voicemail, and then they asked for subscriber id. This is now done
with voice recognition since the subscriber ID now has letters. (Why?
We moved away from SS numbers, but why add letters? 10 billion ids
aren't enough?) Then I connect and they ask my ID number again! Why
waste my time and their money on the voice system?

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