TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Last Laugh! Western Union's Comment About Useless Phones

Last Laugh! Western Union's Comment About Useless Phones

Jim Haynes (haynes@alumni.uark.edu)
Wed, 06 Jul 2005 18:02:09 GMT

After playing a few rounds of telephone tag, you come to realize that
the Western Union leaders were entirely correct in their 1880
assessment -- telephones are worthless.

jhhaynes at earthlink dot net

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For a really good time, combine
telephone tag with references to numbers not in service. Here is an
example: The bank which holds my mother's mortgage called me today
about something. Before I could reach the phone, voice mail came on
and took the lady's message, to call 800-something and at the prompt
enter extension-something. I did that (checked it twice to be certain)
and after entering the extension an _intercept_ recording came on,
which stated 'the number you dialed, area code 270 something has been
changed, the new number is area code 270 something else.' So I tried
calling 'something else' on my nickle and got another voice mail
saying the person was not at her desk and leave a message or press
zero to be transferred to someone who could help. On my first try, I
did the 'press zero option' and reached something called the 'general
voicemail in-box'. I called back via the 800 number to assure I was
hearing it all correctly, got intercepted again to hang up and redial
the area 270 number, dialed it, got the voicemail again, and left a
message, yet to be returned. But then, I have not yet taken a break
to go sit in the bathroom or otherwise get tied up on an important
phone call; I am certain when one of those conditions apply, the lady
will probably call back for another round of phone tag.

Then I got still another call this morning from 866-660-6940 which
I answered before they had a chance to hang up this time; but I just
got dead air. I dialed it back, got a recorded announcement so weak
I could not understand any of it, except the final two lines which
were a bit louder, asking me to 'input your telephone number'; so I
just input some bogus number (enough to satisfy their system) and
waited again. After about a minute, their system responded and said
'someone will be with you shortly ... please wait' but I just hung up.
WUTCO was correct: these damn devices are mostly useless. PAT]

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