(Image via rediff.com)
Bengaluru based software engineer, Gopal Krishnan, called up the customer care number of FDHC bank for a query regarding his credit card. By the time, he waded through the countless menus, sub-menus and assorted options of the Interactive Voice Response (IVR), he forgot why he called up customer care in the first place.
“I called up the customer care number at around 8 in the morning, just after I woke up,” Gopal Krishan told The UnReal Times. “I started off by selecting 1 for English, and 2 for credit card. Then I had to enter my credit card number which I got right only on my 2nd attempt, despite not missing any numbers. Then the IVR gave me a long menu. By the time I went through all the options under each menu item, I had completed brushing my teeth and had begun to take a dump.”
“But I still hadn’t found the service I was looking for,” Gopal added, in a frustrated tone. “I decided to talk to a phone banking officer. But after a few more rounds of going into menus and returning to main menus, and a couple of timeouts, I couldn’t find an option to talk to a human being. By then I had finished showering and was sitting down for breakfast.”
When Gopal eventually did reach the phone banking officer, the conversation didn’t quite go according to script. An FDHC bank call center executive who happens to be a fan of The UnReal Times sent us the call record of Gopal’s conversation with his phone banking officer.
Customer care: Good evening, this is Nikhil, your customer service representative, how may I assist you?
Gopal: Hi…I…uh…umm…
Customer care: Yes, sir?
Gopal: Um… wait a second…
Customer care: Yes, sir.
Gopal: Er…
Customer care: Yes, sir?
Gopal: Uff! Stop saying ‘Yes, sir’! I am trying to remember!
Customer care: Yes, sir.
Gopal: …
Customer care: …
Gopal: ARGH! I forgot why I called you!
Customer care: So sorry you forgot why you called us, sir.
Gopal: This sucks yaar! Why do you guys have such a long process to reach an actual person?
Customer care: So sorry for the inconvenience, sir.
Gopal: F**K YOU, MAN, F**K YOU!
Customer care: So sorry, sir, we are not allowed to do that, sir. You will have to visit our branch for that.
Gopal: ARGH! @#$@#$! <hangs up>