Hold music hope spots

[Hyena Dandy]

Calling Gamestop customer service at the moment. This hold music is going to drive me insane.

But even beyond that...

I'm sitting here listening to this brain-numbing music, and then it occasionally pauses to tell me "Please hold for the next available team member."

What do they think I'm doing?

[TheHuckster]

Worst thing about that is each time it pauses you think it's finally a human representative ready to take your call.

[Andara Bledin]

I was doing dunning for work, and one of the places I called not only had that insipid easy listening/light jazz saxophone going (as an aside, I absolutely loath light jazz sax, and exposed to enough of it, I might go postal), but after 25 seconds of music, they'd break in with that, "Your call is very important to us" spiel that was more annoying for being so obnoxiously repetitive and pointless.

I can see breaking after about 60-90 seconds to remind the caller that they haven't been forgotten (regardless of reality), as that's the timing I would use when I was a receptionist, but less than half a minute of awful music before going to the awful recorded voice that came with the phone system software almost made me hang up in disgust.

On another note, another of our late-paying customers had a recording with a delightful British accent, despite the fact that they're located in the midwest US. And, as it was scripted for their company, they had to have chosen that voice.

^-.-^

[NorthernZel]

One thing is an obnoxius genre of music, but the SAME frigging song going in a loop... argh.

I remember vividly once I had to call my phone company - let me tell ya, after approx. 45 minutes listening to the same acoustic guitar cover of John Lennon's 'Imagine', world peace was the thing that was least on my mind.

[gremcint]

You think that's bad? one time the hold thing glitched and it didn't play the music but played the "your call is important to us" continuously.

[wolfie]

When I get one of those messages (repeatedly), I do a mental translation:

"All of our operators are busy ignoring other customers. Please hold, and we will hang up on you as soon as it's damn well convenient for us."

[TheHuckster]

You think that's bad? one time the hold thing glitched and it didn't play the music but played the "your call is important to us" continuously.

I can 1UP that with a call to my local tax department whose hold loop, I kid you not, consisted of a gruff voice that said, "Hold, please." every 5 seconds.

[telecom_goddess]

I have to call into a call center for a phone company once in a while to work with testers there to get orders done. Their hold music is the dumbest repeating loop of crap I've ever heard and I hate it. It's that light jazz crap that everyone likes to use.

[wraiths_crono]

I would say the worst would be when I had to call Star Wars: The Old Republic online support.... music for 45 sec, then the game founders BOTH have to introduce themselves as Doctor such and such when they BOTH speak saying how important my call is... bah.

[AdminAssistant]

I would say the worst would be when I had to call Star Wars: The Old Republic online support

I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for your loss. (SW:TOR had great potential, but it just fell on it's face after a few months.)

[HYHYBT]

I understand why they do it: for exactly the reason it's annoying, it keeps you paying attention. Otherwise, people are likely to set down the receiver and do something useful, and therefore not be waiting on them when they pick up.

Until a few years ago, Coca-Cola (at least at the number McDonald's had for drink dispenser trouble) only had one song in theirs: "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." But I don't remember ever being left on it long enough to mind.

[Gravekeeper]

Blizzard had the best phone system. Not only did you get epic game music, but the automated voice would tell you how much longer you had to wait.

My ISP does the same thing, cuts in to tell you how long you have to wait. I don't know why more companies don't do that. Its the single greatest piece of information you can give a caller on hold. If you know how long you're going to hold, then you know whether or not its worth it or if you can wait that long.

Our on hold music at work was so horrible we had to change it due to customer complaints. Now it's only moderately horrible instant of soul crushingly horrible. Stupid part is years and years ago we didn't have on hold music. We just had a local classic rock radio station. But we had to change it to on hold music because some people complained they didn't like this station. -.-

[TheHuckster]

Our on hold music at work was so horrible we had to change it due to customer complaints. Now it's only moderately horrible instant of soul crushingly horrible. Stupid part is years and years ago we didn't have on hold music. We just had a local classic rock radio station. But we had to change it to on hold music because some people complained they didn't like this station. -.-

I bet you could even hook it up so that it plays different hold music depending on which area code you're calling from.

214: Country music
772: 1930s Big Band
867: Don't Call Me Eskimo

[bex1218]

I wonder if a company will people options. I rather listen to rock than jazz, even if its instrumental.

[the_std]

I dunno about in the States, but in Canada, Virgin Mobile gives you hold-music options. That was a nice touch when I was selling cell phones and often had to wait on their line. Made me not hate them quite as much.