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From: tjfs@tadtec.uucp (Tim Steele)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Talking to People Instead of Machines (was Music on Hold)
Message-ID: <14021@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 25 Oct 90 13:53:11 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 763, Message 1 of 10


In article <13852@accuvax.nwu.edu> dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com (David
Tamkin) writes:

> | A human-factors consideration: when I was making my living as a
> | computer consultant a few years ago, I became sensitive to the fact
> | that people often needed to call me most when they were having
> | problems with their computers, and that the last thing someone who is
> | already upset with his machine needs to hear is another machine
> | answering the phone when he calls for help.  

When I was very young (!) I called a company in California from
Cambridge, England using a British pay phone.  I had a huge sack of
10p pieces to stuff into the phone (about one every three seconds!)  I
was so taken aback by the Californian accent on the other end that the
conversation started like this:

<rrrrrrrrrrring!> <rrrrrrrrrrrrring!>

Phone: "Memory Merchant?"
Me:    "Uh ... are you an answering machine?"
Phone: "<pause> I... don't think so!"

Um.

Tim


tjfs@tadtec.uucp        ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!tadtec!tjfs
Tadpole Technology plc, Science Park, Milton Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB4 4WQ
Phone: +44-223-423030   Fax: +44-223-420772   Telex: 817316 TADTEC G