I was trying to find a great TV scene from my past that sums this up - but I can't find it on youtube.

It's the one where Edith is talking non-stop to Archie Bunker, and while she's talking he loads a pretend gun, spins the barrel, points it at his head, pulls the trigger, and then throws his head to the side in a mock suicide.

I think it fits.

"Easy." Ha!

This is from 2007. Does it still say "Please listen carefully as the menu has recently changed"?

Now the real question is, can you get the one for Comcast? And do you have enough disk space to store it?

They're not even consistent-the loan says press 1 for account info, 2 to make a payment, while the credit card says press 1 to make a payment, press 2 for account info. That's almost intentionally bad design.

Wow, three whole levels - yeah that'll make my feeble brain explode.

Uhh, yea, this is old as dirt. I can tell you this because I was speaking with credit card customer service the other day and it came up during the conversation that they dont do over the phone applications anymore.

So going that route will get you nowhere. Also it says in the lower left corner changes effective 6/24/07.

So whoever put this up, please join us in 2009.

@humphrmi: OMG, I think my feable mind remembers that from my childhood!

They could replace the entire tree with "Blah blah blah" except "Press 0 to speak to a human" with how people react to automated voice systems. It also explains why phone support is outsourced and why support queues are so long.

They might as well tack on a fee for talking to a human on the phone. Sure, people will gripe, but they'll pay up. It'd be one of their more reasonable fees to boot.

@teh: "Easier than ever" that's rich...how bad was it before?

Of all the credit card companies Chase and Amex are the worst offenders with just about everything.

Note from Amex "We aren't charging over the limit fees now that we reduced your credit by 2k just don't charge over your limit" I'm not even going to fathom what they'd do, probably create a new fee that is an over the limit fee but call it something else.

PS-->Here's a change in your terms letter for the 3rd time this month, I dare you to be able to read it in 6 font!

@Skaperen:

The thing is, companies "improve" their phone trees all the time. Month to month, even, they can change little things. I hate maps like that if it's not directly on the site already and updated by the company themselves. It's doubly frustrating when your uber resource is out of date :(

Is this an operator-assisted call?

just press "0" enough times and you may get to a person, or the company may just say "we're sorry that we're experiencing difficulties understanding you. good bye!"

Very Simple - Unless you simply want to check your balance, dial the main number and press "*0" Can't get much simpler than that

@Saydur: Actually, if you notice, it is not "0", it is "*0" just to keep you guessing and so that people will not automatically press 0 to go directly to an agent.

What button combo do you press to cancel your account?

Boom-splat.

I actually think this phone tree is well thought out and convenient, uh, at least for me. The most common thing I do is check my current balance, and recent transactions. So to do that I just hit 1,1,1 (listen to the balance) and then 2 to hear the transactions. It really couldn't be simpler. Also it lets you hit the number any time during the instructions so you can just skip what the recorded voice is saying and hit the numbers fast. The other feature I use is the ATM locator, which is just 3,3. Very simple. 1,1,1 or 3,3. I wish more phone trees were as simple as this.

@Skaperen:
When I worked at Comcast about 6 months ago, different areas had different systems for just about anything, IVR (Phone tree) included.

Hell, I worked there and had trouble connecting with internal departments.

@ngth:
The problem with that procedure is often times you will not get someone who is trained or empowered to solve your issue. The phone tree is supposed.. (yes I know.. SUPPOSED) to make sure you get to the right person.

And in support of being polite to CSRs, I know I was never fond of the only sound coming out of my headset was repeated button pushing..
"Thank you for calling Com.."
*BEEP*
"... Thank you for ca.."
*BEEP
"I'm a real person you can stop tha.."
*BEEP*