ALL I WANT TO DO IS TALK TO A PERSON!

Have you ever been frustrated when you called your local friendly phone company, bank, satellite provider  or whatever with what you think is the simplest of transactions and spend a good part or your lifetime trying to get to the proper department by pushing numbers on your phone keypad or saying your account number and other information into a dead phone?

Yesterday, I called DirecTV to arrange for a pickup of two satellite receivers that we had replaced on Monday.  If I had wanted to do something as mundane as pay my bill or order a movie, I would have been done in mere moments.  But I had something that was not on their list of recognizable requests in their "automated" phone system.  I DID have the opportunity countless times to "confirm" my service call appointment for Monday December 17th.  Keep in mind, I was making this call on December 19th.  It took me almost 45 minutes and calling back 5 times and starting the process over before I was finally able to speak to a human being and then was told that I needed to have the serial numbers of the receivers I was returning in order to get the process going.  I asked if there was a direct number that I could call back on when I had those numbers and was told that I would have to dial the same number I had just dialed when I called back.  (I have an earpiece here at work that we use on the phone, and you know,  throwing an earpiece just isn't as satisfying as slamming down a phone receiver.)

So, with this said, as a Christmas present from me to whoever reads this, note the following: www.gethuman.com.  One of my co-workers, Steve Jensen after listening to my plight, gave me the above link.  It will give you instructions on how to "GET A HUMAN" at just about every conceivable company and service that you might have occasion to call.  After following the website's instructions for DirecTV, I made the call and was speaking to a nice lady in Phoenix in less than two minutes.  By the way, I didn't need the serial numbers and the packaging for returning  the receivers is winging its way to me as we speak.

It's too bad that the society we live in has found it necessary to become so impersonal in our dealings with those around us.  On a side note, when you look at the above website and see all of the F grades that companys get, you will note that Walt Disney World gets an A grade.  It says: 'Direct To Human."  That's the way it should be.  Way to go Mickey!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS,

Dad