Do you find call centres annoying?

A report by the Citizens' Advice Bureau has confirmed what many might have suspected - people find call centres irritating.

The Hanging on the Telephone report found that 97% of people surveyed said they found at least one aspect of using a call centre annoying.

The most common complaint was being kept on hold for long periods and there was widespread annoyance at being given a multitude of options, and then receiving unsatisfactory service.

The Call Centre Association admits that the public get annoyed with some call centres, but say people should remember what it was like queuing on the High Street before they arrived.

Have you got a call centre service story to share? Do you find call centres annoying? Or are they the best way to deal with multiple caller requests? Send us your view.

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

---

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

SUGGEST A DEBATE This topic was suggested by Phil, Chester, England: How have you found call centre service? Send us your suggestions for Have Your Say debates

The record for infuriating call centres must belong to a telecommunication company. It once took me 55 minutes, hanging on waiting for 5 different "options " before finally finding the correct person to answer my query, only to be told that there wasn't a solution! For a communications company they are by far the worse in frustrating callers.
Barry Gibbs, Tetbury, UK

With the government always trying to find new ways to tax hard working citizens is it not time the government diverted its attention to these time wasters. Why not tax these companies - 10p tax per unsolicited call, junk mail and free newspaper would be a good start.
Alpesh Patel, London

What the general public need to understand is the fact that 99% of the time they are rude Laura Duff, Liverpool

I work in a busy theatre box office, similar to a call centre. I have also phoned call centres on various occasions and what the general public need to understand is the fact that 99% of the time they are rude and off hand. On many occasions, I have had people treating me like dirt. I have just finished my degree and am constantly made to feel like I am an idiot and have no common sense. I wish to pursue a career in the arts and so my casual contract is ideal. Most people who work in these areas are graduates and we are simply attempting to gain some money and make a start in life. In my opinion, the general public could do with learning some manners and realise that if there is a problem it is not necessarily the operators fault. Being polite is not that difficult and people who work in call centres or any customer service roles have feelings too. So please, stop being so ignorant and attempt to understand that we are human. The real problem is the public. Learn some manners! and realise that the customer is usually wrong!
Laura Duff, Liverpool

Don't blame all call centres, blame the company that runs them if you are unhappy with the service! I remember before call centres were around trying to call shops only to get permanent engaged tones or no answer at all as the staff were busy dealing with customers in the stores. Now you can call many companies day or night and get your answers. How can people think this is a step backward? I think people have had their expectations increased too much.
Rob, Brighton

Don't take your frustration out on the person on the other end Christy, Newcastle, UK

Waiting in queues might be annoying, but remember - if you spend the first five minutes of your call yelling at the person who answered, that's five more minutes someone else has to wait. Don't take your frustration out on the person on the other end - a polite caller will get further than one who is screaming.
Christy, Newcastle, UK

God how I hate that never-ending list of options only to find that at some stage there's no matching option or you simply just get cut-off!!
Anthony Jenkins, Barcelona., Spain

While I fully understand the complaints from the call centre staff, surely they knew what their job role was when they applied for the position? You don't hear postman complaining that they have to get up early! If you want to work in one of these places, trying ringing one first and see how happy you are after 30 minutes of 'sorry we're busy now, you call will be answered shortly'.
Glyn, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset

If you are a new customer, push one. If you wish to make a purchase, push two. If you wish to make a complaint, push off.
Steve, Tamworth, UK

If the experience is in anyway negative, I assume that they have little concern for their customers and give my business to a competitor who values my custom David, Livingston, Scotland

There are good and bad call centres. Personally I always phone a company before purchasing goods or services. That call indicates to me if they have a call centre, if it's sufficiently resourced, if the resource speaks my language and if the resource can deal with simple and complex queries. If the experience is in anyway negative, I assume that they have little concern for their customers and give my business to a competitor who values my custom. It may mean paying a small financial premium in the outset but that premium would be neutralised when I require advice on the product.
David, Livingston, Scotland

Have others had the Indian call centre problem? The English is very correct in every way, very polite - they are the only ones to call you Mr or Mrs so-and-so. They don't mumble, they don't gabble, but they haven't a clue what you are talking about if you deviate from some virtual script. It is nothing to do with language or efficiency, it is to do with a different life experience. I feel quite relieved when I hear a regional UK accent on the end of the phone because I know there will be a level of understanding that goes beyond language.
Chris, London

I used to work in a number of call-centres and know what tough environments they are to work in. I also know the difference between giving good customer service and poor. Some companies have excellent call-centres, where the staff give their full names, are willing to help and trained to give a top service. Unfortunately many call-centres are staffed by underpaid, under-enthusiastic people, who are not trained in customer care and couldn't give a damn about doing a good job. What I am finding increasingly irritating is when my calls are diverted to India or some other foreign call-centre. The service is not bad, but the line quality is terrible, and there is a feeling that the person on the other end of the phone is not actually doing any brain work but rather reading responses of a long list.
Tom, London

I work in a call centre myself, and what I find most annoying is when customers phone in, starting off with an angry and pessimistic stance, when in fact they do not realise or appreciate the lengths some of us do go to fix their problems. All the people who display "hate" should try and work in a call centre for a week, then perhaps their stance will change.
Rafie H, Ealing, London

All call centres should be forced to operate free phone numbers Gordon, Southampton

I would rather queue in the High Street than spend my money on lengthy telephone calls. All call centres should be forced to operate free phone numbers.
Gordon, Southampton

I was once told by a customer service advisor that she "wished me ill" and for "bad things" to happen to me! My crime? Asking to speak to her supervisor as she herself could not understand why I wanted to change my address. (I had moved house)
Calski, Milton Keynes, UK

I work for a call centre for a bank and I hate the way we get so slated for "poor service". What people seem to forget is that they aren't charities, they are profit making companies and poor people like me work hard all day and listen to people shout off about bank charges, queues in branches, being declined for loans. Generally call centre workers are low paid and high stressed.
Roy, UK

It really seems funny that many of these call centres are charging calls at national rate, not only making the customer wait, with all the frustration that entails, but they are made to 'pay' to wait. The days of queuing for hours in the post office, and suchlike, may be long gone; that at least, didn't cost me anything.
Chris, Edinburgh, UK

As the manager of a small business I regularly spend part of my 'working' day sitting waiting to get through to a call centre. The Bank of Scotland is the worst - I tend to get the message 'we are experiencing an unusually high number of calls at the moment, you may prefer to try again later'! I once 'held' for 20 minutes to try to resolve a problem with them.
Carol Shaw, UK

There is absolutely no point in launching an attack on the poor staff member on the other end of the phone Tim, Ashford, England

I worked in a call centre for eighteen months. The pressure put on the staff from management and from customers contributed to me having a breakdown which, in turn, led to three years of depression, panic attacks and agoraphobia which left me unable to work. Whilst I have every sympathy with people phoning in-bound call centres who become frustrated, there is absolutely no point in launching an attack on the poor staff member on the other end of the phone.
Tim, Ashford, England

There are so many stories I couldn't possibly share them all. What I do know through my own experience is that ALL call centres offer a variety of services ranging from poor to disgraceful. I always know that every time I pick up that phone I may as well set aside a half hour (or more) of my life. The problem is of course that the raison d'etre of call centres is to save money, service is a secondary (or tertiary concern).
Garry Doherty, Fareham, England

Often workers are poorly paid, have little job security and work long, unsociable hours Graham, Bristol

For those who find dealing with call centres annoying spare a thought for those who have the misfortune to work in one - I guarantee its more annoying than having to call one! I was unlucky enough to work for one 4 years ago for 9 months. They are the equivalent of modern day sweat shops. Those who complain about workers following scripts fail to understand that a lot of workers are not doing this out of choice - it is forced about them by senior management policy, and those who deviate from the script are often punished in the form of 'counselling', another way of describing the disciplinary process. Often workers are poorly paid, have little job security and work long, unsociable hours. I found it so traumatising I'm still complaining about it 4 years later!
Graham, Bristol

Has it occurred to any of the people complaining about call centres that improving the service and recruiting more staff would cost money? I suspect that these same people who lament the poor service would also be the first to complain if their bills went up. Sometimes you just have to accept that you get what you pay for.
Anon, GB

Having worked in the business I can say that the effectiveness of a call centre is limited only by the company's policies and attitude. I left because I was sick and tired of increasingly aggressive sales policies, obsessive monitoring of employees, and a patronising attitude from management toward both customers and staff.
James , Hampshire

The problem begins because call centres' sole concern was to reduce costs. There was no correlation between bad customer service and reduced revenue. Within a large number of call centres, a similar problem still exists. A low-paid agent is targeted on one metric only: how many calls they take in a day. This means that there is no encouragement for the agent to take and resolve a more complex issue, which will take some time. Call centre managers and directors need to understand that the agent should be asked to work in a way that improves the company as a whole. Costs are a consideration, but so are customer service, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction.
Neil, Aldershot, UK

There is a large majority of the British public that call who just do not listen to the instructions and information given to them Adam, Midlands, UK

I work in a call centre and have to say in defence that there is a large majority of the British public that call who just do not listen to the instructions and information given to them, hence we find ourselves repeating things over and over again and then are accused of repetitive robot like manners. Just the other day I had someone call who did not own a credit card despite an automated message at the start of our system saying that purchases could only be made by credit card, they then complained to the companies management about the poor standard of service!
Adam, Midlands, UK

Some of the comments on this page make me sick. If the people who are sending in these comments treat the staff like "voice activated keyboards", "trained monkeys" or "script readers" then it's no surprise that they don't get good service, who'd want to help someone after be insulted. I don't and I've terminated many calls because of the insults and obscenities from our customers. Listen up all. Call centres are there to help. Help us to help you. Don't get angry because we have to ask for security, it's the law where your private information is concerned, and treat people how you like to be treated.
Paul, Essex

Although I detest being put on hold with a recorded message, I find my wait is made so much better when I'm told what number person I am in the queue, and approximately how long it will take to talk to a person. The other infuriating aspects of an automated system is that the "options" we are given never match the queries we have. Forget the options, let us know how long before we talk to a person, and then let us talk to a person.
Acb Tyson, London

I agree with Sarah from Readings point. If someone comes through to the call centre I work in aggressive and abusive I will still deal with the issue but most of the call is spent wasted calming them down and trying to ignore the personal abuse. If a customer comes through polite and friendly even though they have a complaint I will bend over backwards to resolve and will have the time to deal. Come on, we all know that politeness costs nothing, manners maketh the man, etc,
Kieran, Brighton

Touch tone options are annoying but it has got my through to the right person every single time so they are there to make things easier Amanda, Newcastle, UK

I work in a call centre and can honestly say that I enjoy my job. It has its ups (no calls in queue and you are paid to sit around and talk amongst yourselves - bonus!) and its downs (150 calls in queue, no end in sight, and abuse from callers) but overall I like it. Of course I use call centres myself and to be honest, the majority I find work very well and I've never had any problems. Touch tone options are annoying but it has got my through to the right person every single time so they are there to make things easier. .
Amanda, Newcastle, UK

The worst bit is getting into a loop where you realise you heard these same options about 15 minutes and 15 menus earlier ....
Tim, Dorset, UK

We love to whine anyway. If anything replaces call centres, as call centres replaces queuing in person, we will whine about that as well.
Kerry, London, England

I work in a call centre and today is my last day before I go travelling(at which I'm very pleased at!) But it is all down to the customer as well as the call centre agent. If some one is giving you hassle in any situation are you going to go out of your way and help them? I doubt it very much. If you want your problem sorted, be patient and tell us a joke! Oh and have your account number ready!
Dave, Glasgow

Be patient we have to deal with hundreds of you every day Oli, UK

As annoying as these automated systems are, they are designed to get the customer connected to someone who will be able to help for your specific query rather than getting through and being transferred over and over until you get through to someone who will be able to help. Having an aggressive attitude towards the operator is less likely to get your problem resolved. So be patient we have to deal with hundreds of you every day.
Oli, UK

I have, through much time spent waiting in telephone queues, realised that when I choose the option which sounds the most like I am wanting to cancel my contract, they answer my call quicker. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?
J, Didcot

If you call for some help, they keep you waiting. However, why do they pick up straight away if you call their sales department?
Alan olive, Leyland, Lancashire

I run a business and offer a very personal and relational service. Get away from all this call centre and automation culture!
Richard, Reading

I'd rather pay more for goods and so on and have a better call centre service. What goes on now is convoluted and raises everyone's blood pressure.
Trevor Peacock, Southwick England

Why does everyone blame the call centre staff? The companies who under staff, under train and outsource should be the ones taking the flak. Call centre staff are (in general) treated like cattle.
Brendan Johnson, Northants

My advice is to do your research before buying and consider aftercare service seriously Simon, Guernsey

My advice is to do your research before buying and consider aftercare service seriously. Interestingly after years of mass high street branch closures in favour of call centres, the major banks are now putting more customer facing staff in branches.
Simon, Guernsey

Call centres work for me the inability of operators to action simple procedures means that I have had free electricity since December last year when my meter was changed! Despite numerous calls to the call centre concerned at my own expense. The last call promised me a bill in two weeks that was on July the 16th! The list is actually endless.
Christine Sanders, Camborne England

Before I use a call centre I usually try and sort things out over the internet. I only need to speak to a human being when something goes wrong or can't be done on the online system. It's really frustrating to then talk to people robotically giving scripted responses who can't help either, they may as well be machines! I don't mind the waiting so much, it's waiting half an hour, being told you've called the wrong people and being redirected, waiting another half hour, being told you've been redirected to the wrong people, etc.
Andy, London, England

Waiting on the phone when it suits me for a minute or two and in comfort is much better Paul Carroll, Dundee

We can all whine about call centres but we also did about going to our banks in our lunch hour and only two tills out of five were open and the banks closed at 4.30pm. Waiting on the phone when it suits me for a minute or two and in comfort is much better
Paul Carroll, Dundee

I work for a company supplying these call centres with the different systems that are used - the requirements from our customers are always changing to try and remove the problems people have complained about here. The main problem is expectations, 10 years ago everybody dealt direct with the department they needed, then they wanted to centralise everything so it was easier for them - so the call centre was invented. Now everybody wants access back to their branch or department, so we are going back to old systems - I too get annoyed when being put on hold, or told to enter your account/phone number - but I know that if you do nothing, all systems will route to the next agent available, although some will put you in the normal queue a lot of systems put you in a priority call queue so you get answered next! My biggest complaint about call centres is being told that my request is handled by a department that are unable to take customer calls - I don't think the monkeys in the back office can be trained to answer calls!
Anon, Northampton, UK

What annoys me is that the first thing you have to do is either key in your credit card number or mobile number (to help them prioritise your call) plus your security number etc, then when you finally get through the first thing they do is ask for this info again!
Ruth, West Yorks

Having recently had to report my mobile stolen, I called from a landline to my network operator. After 5 attempts and a total wait on hold of about 2 1/2 hours I finally got through - only to be told that I would have to call back the next day as all the systems were down. Upon calling back I was rudely told that the systems had been fine and I would be charged for my time spent on hold. Apparently this provider has won customer service awards - I dread to think what the others are like!
Claire, Bristol

If the customers that actually call through to these call centres listen to the available options on the IVR they wouldn't get through to advisers that can't help them Jamie, UK

I don't really find call centres annoying. If the customers that actually call through to these call centres listen to the available options on the IVR they wouldn't get through to advisers that can't help them. This is what half of the problem is, customers then have to be transferred to other areas. If they just listened in the first place then there wouldn't be a problem. That's the whole point of the IVR, so you get through to someone that specialises in your query.
Jamie, UK

Call centres make me sick. If I can get through within 10 minutes, then I have to fight a losing battle trying to understand what the person on the other end is saying. Lower spending costs maybe but higher blood pressure definitely
Sergio

I have worked in a call centre before and I know how frustrating and hard a job it can be. Like someone else said be polite and understanding and you are likely to get better service. As for the automated queuing, at least you are in your own home and not waiting in a queue in Post Office or bank. I personally think the whole call centre thing is a good idea. For those who tire of waiting try calling at off peak times. i.e. 3 in the afternoon or something.
Shivas, Aberdeen, Scotland

All I had to do was leave my name and number on an answer phone, hang up and wait for someone to call me back Al, Staffs UK

I hate call centres. However, when I recently called a company to pay a bill one of the options was "queue-buster". All I had to do was leave my name and number on an answer phone, hang up and wait for someone to call me back - and it holds your place in the queue! I was pleasantly surprised!!
Al, Staffs UK

I recently had the joy of going through the myriad of options and then waiting on hold for the customary 15 minutes only to be put through to a girl in India who could not understand a word I was saying. Eventually she informed me that I should have known that it was a bank holiday in the UK and shouldn't have tried phoning! I then told her it was a bank holiday in England but not in Scotland - she hung up! Enough said.
Kenny, Glasgow

They should be abolished or better trained to cope with a number of customer queries Emily, London

Annoying - what an understatement! They are unhelpful, with badly trained employees (not their fault but management need to give staff more authority and development), staff can often only deal with their set answers, and can't cope with anything outside their remit which must be very narrow. They should be abolished or better trained to cope with a number of customer queries. If they could actually provide a service there probably wouldn't be so many complaints and being kept on hold listening to an irrelevant menu is not a good start for a customer who is already not happy with the service or product.
Emily, London

Call-centre staff are often just voice-operated keyboards. I prefer to avoid the wait and language problems and use a company's web-site directly.
Colin Soames, London

There are ways of getting round the delays. I've found in many cases that if you just ignore the prompts to select a number, or put in one that it doesn't recognise, the system gets confused and transfers you to a real flesh and blood person almost straight away. Another way, when dealing with banks and building societies, is to select the "card lost or stolen" option. You normally get transferred to an operator immediately. They have no idea which button you pressed to get through to them and they will deal with whatever your real query happens to be.
James, Cambridge, England

It's the automated system you have to fight through to get a human that is so frustrating. One normally ends up pressing the emergency option to get you to a person fastest not following the path you're instructed to follow. The other main problem is that people on the end of the phone have absolutely zero authority to solve problems or action anything. Whatever happened to customer service?
Rupert C, Hammersmith, London

It's not easy taking abuse from customer after customer Hayley Larkin, Plymouth, UK

People are always extremely quick to have their say about call centres, but how many of these people have been on the other end, and have tried to do their best with the customer? It's not easy taking abuse from customer after customer.
Hayley Larkin, Plymouth, UK

If I am unable to get an answer I call the number for new accounts or to transfer my account to another utility company. My call is always answered more quickly and often they are able to help or transfer me through which seems to aid queue jumping. I also make a point of asking why, as an existing customer, my call is not as important as for a new customer.
Tim, London

When all I want is to ask a simple question, why do I have to wade through a maze of options that take far too long and don't lead me directly to the department I need? It's so annoying. I've even changed a supplier because of the ineptitude of their 'menu' system that prevented me talking to a real person!
Mike P, Wiltshire, UK

Unfortunately most of the organisations that have put these systems in are more interested in "controlling their costs" than in improving customer service. If you have any doubt then consider that many companies have very efficient call centre operations to deal with pre-sales enquiries. Once you have bought or become a customer then you get left to the mercy of their very different "customer service" departments. I would not put such systems into the businesses I own. Satisfying customers is far to valuable an objective to give up to an outsourced supplier.
Tony Armstrong, Newcastle UK

Call centres are very useful if you need to find out basic information about your account Martyn, London

Call centres are very useful if you need to find out basic information about your account. Where many tend to fall down is when you have a more complex query or complaint. This can mean making several phone calls and reciting the situation several times over to a different representative each time who usually have no interest in your problem. I used to work in a call centre which would assign customers to an individual representative in a separate department with a reference number if the query was more involved or complex so you could call that person directly until the matter had been resolved. More call centres should adopt this approach to make them more favourable with the public.
Martyn, London

What I find most annoying about call centres is the ethos that spawned them. No employee ever chose to work in one and, no consumer ever chose to do their business via one. We've all been forced into this situation as a consequence of business obsession with profits.
Harry, Thanet UK

Quite simply, every time I encounter a call-centre approach to handling any query I, as a customer might have, I resolve to find someone else to give my business to. Recently it took me an hour before I could speak to someone at a mobile phone company and all I wanted to do was purchase a top-up for my phone. I was wanting to give them my money and I felt they were putting barriers in my way! 'Frustrating' doesn't begin to describe the experience!
Chris Jones, Wakefield, UK

I find that despite being too busy to take my call, the call centre always has enough staff to ring me up and offer me additional services that I don't want!
Josie, Lancaster, England

A little tip. If you get through to one of those irritating recorded systems with a list of options, hitting the 0 button repeatedly generally confuses the system so much they put you through to the human operator. Not that they are always more helpful.
Paul, Reading, UK

Has it occurred to any of the people complaining about call centres that improving the service and recruiting more staff would cost money? I suspect that these same people who lament the poor service would also be the first to complain if their bills went up. Sometimes you just have to accept that you get what you pay for.
Robert, Cambridge, UK

My experience of call centres has had me crying with frustration Cecilia, London

My experience of call centres has had me crying with frustration. I was passed from one operator to the next, each time having to patiently explain my difficulty, only to be transferred again to another operator for the madness to continue. It's not necessarily the operator's fault, but there needs to be someone in charge to stop the merry-go-round!
Cecilia, London

Working in a call centre myself I know it can be frustrating being held in a queue or being placed on hold but you have to remember these call centres are very stressful places to work. We do not put customers on hold for the sheer fun of it but because we need to check information. A bit of understanding from both sides would make the experience more pleasurable. So the next time you are placed on hold don't get angry, just remember the advisor is trying to help you, and as an insider I know a nice customer will get far more help than an angry one.
Andy Crawford, Thurso, Scotland

Automated call centres should be banned outright. A leading phone company is the worst - their automated menus are a joke, and you rarely get put through to the right department. And for people who don't have touch tone phones they're impossible to use! Give me back real people, and preferable people trained to know what they're doing!
Michelle, UK

What annoys me is when you ring a UK company get speak to a person in a call centre outside this country who you cannot understand, and they can't understand you in return. I now refuse to do business with any company with call centres outside the UK.
Gary, Cardiff, UK

It's all a pendulum. Wealth causes the lowly jobs to go overseas which ultimately causes poverty which causes the lowly jobs to be attractive again - and so it goes.
Richard Dawes, Swansea, Wales

If you get through to an automated response, do nothing. Press no buttons. Wait. Be patient. Make a cup of tea. Eventually you should get put through to a human because, if you'd had a touch-tone phone, you'd surely have responded to one of their options, wouldn't you? (The danger of this method is that they end up just cutting you off, of course. But that at least gives you grounds for official complaint and cancelling your service.)
J-P Stacey, Oxford, UK

As a travel agent part of our day to day work is to ring and book holidays direct with tour operators, it is frustrating when you are trying to book a holiday and have a queue of customers to find that you are on hold for sometimes an hour at a time, to then be told that you are in the wrong department! Sometimes from a customer point of view it can seem very bad customer service. But in contrast I understand from the operators that are on the other end how hard most of them work to answer you call and give you all the information you need.
Laura, Devon

I called a call centre a few weeks ago, got told the usual "your call is important to us etc...." In the end they provided me with the service I wanted. Although when I checked by bill they charged 50pence per minute for a 42 minutes call. That's £21 for one call just to obtain a PIN number for my "phone".
Ibsy, London UK

The secret is not to press any digits on your phone when prompted to do so. Just wait a few seconds and the call centre assumes you don't have a tone dial phone and you get put through to a human being. This works every time I have tried it so far. If everyone does this the automated services will be dropped as they are redundant if we refuse to use them.
Simon Lunn, UK

There is zero accountability with these call centres Lawrence Horan, Coventry

There is zero accountability with these call centres. No-one is prepared to "own" the customers problem. When calling a mobile provider the other day I was passed through to 12 different staff all of who claimed it was another dept that should deal with my query. When I lost patience after 40 minutes! I asked to speak to a manager and was told "Sorry, we're not allowed to pass you through" "Why not?" "That's the rules" Yes, the rules which they invent to deny the customer access to those who should be accountable. Ridiculous, frustrating, Infuriating. And all on the end of a phone so no problem. Typical of today's Britain. Selfish, apathetic and rude.
Lawrence Horan, Coventry

I work in a call centre, and while I do agree there are a lot of call centres which do keep people hanging on the phone I must say it's very rare to happen in the one I work at. I can understand people becoming frustrated while on hold but do the have to take it out on the poor soul who happens to answer? I'm sure we've all lined up at a checkout, waiting for an advisor is no different. If you got a complaint ask for a manager. Sarah from Reading is correct. We're human too, and we have a right to expect manners from the people calling us.
Anon, Clacton

If I get an automated response from any company I hang up and buy the product elsewhere. Simple as that.
Gordon Brown, Prestwick, Ayrshire

I work in a call centre as well as use them regularly on a personal level. As a customer I find the service offered is generally poor, and I detest automated systems. However, I can assure you that as an employee the general public are far more annoying.
Rob, Bristol, England

Call centres make customer service cheaper for companies but make life worse for customers. I remember when I could ring a store up direct to find out the closing time, for instance. Total time on the phone less than 30 seconds. Now the same query takes around 3 or 4 minutes as you are taken through a system you wouldn't have chosen to use if you had a choice.
JP, Rochdale, England

My Credit Card Company operate an excellent call centre. Waiting times are not long, and the quality of service is always good. The same is true for my Bank, my utilities suppliers and most other call centres that I use. There is of course the odd one every now and again that doesn't seem to work properly, but I can live with that.
John, England

I think anyone with a problem should work in a call centre for a day and see how long they last Marianne, Bristol

I work in a call centre and it is not our fault we are busy, the options are there so they can get the right answers to their questions as certain people have more training then others, we work really hard to meet your demands and we are nothing but polite to you, and we get shouted at, I think anyone with a problem should work in a call centre for a day and see how long they last.
Marianne, Bristol

Like many here it's the automated "pick a number, any number, as long as it's irrelevant to what service you need" thing that gets my goat. I know it's cheap but why oh why can't companies understand that most people want to talk to a human and not have to wade through endless and time-wasting automated menus before being dumped in a queue for 10 minutes? This one thing would make the whole experience a lot less annoying and frustrating, certainly to me at least!
Caroline, London, UK

I don't want to listen to a machine, I want to talk to a human. A human who has been properly trained and given the freedom to deviate from their script. The problem is that humans are fundamentally difficult things to predict. Call centres don't like unpredictability, it means they have to try and come up with a script for every eventuality, which of course they can't. Stop relying on technology and start relying on people's initiative. Lastly, has it occurred to call centre managers that if you deal with the customer's query in one call, rather than trying to get them off the line as quickly as possible, they won't ring back the next day clogging up the lines?
Howard, London, UK

Having just had to speak to a certain cable company's call centre I can now see where their priorities lie. I rang to cancel a contract with them originally pressing for the option to do just this; I got an engaged tone. I then rang back and pressed the option for "I would like to become a new customer" and guess what?! I got straight through to a person! Same number, different responses - funny that...
Chris Malpas, London, UK

I've experienced intense frustration navigating arcane menus and sitting in endless queues, but I've never had a bad experience with the person on the other end of the phone once my call has finally been connected. This applies equally to call centres based in the UK and India.
Oliver Mulvey, Cambridge, UK

My bank, do a really good job at running a high-quality call centre operation. There's no automated answering service, just a human being who (apart from sometimes in the wee hours) always answers the call very quickly. And I've always found them really knowledgeable and helpful. If you're not happy with the customer service you need to change service provider. That's what competition is all about. I'm happy with my bank and I've no intention of leaving them. My mobile phone company on the other hand!
Paul, London, UK

Although I dislike call centres, I carry out all of my banking and bill payments online and over the phone. This is following a recent experience with one of the major high street banks, whose branch staff are nothing more than a human front to the same decision-making computer software. I think this is the real problem. But if I have to deal with a computer, I would rather do it over the phone than have to take a trip in to town and queue up.
Alex, Stamford

The main benefit of call centres is that they are generally available outside normal hours when a shop or office may be closed. I am happy to use a call centre when they do not offer too many levels of button pressing before you get to a real person, especially when you find yourself going down the wrong options and have to start all over again. When you do get through to a live body I generally find them to be very helpful. A real improvement would be the facility to leave a number and message when my "valued call" is likely to be held for more than say ten minutes.
David, Malvern UK

It's not the waiting so much as the uncertainty of how long one has to wait! Peter Mash, Cambridge, UK

It's not the waiting so much as the uncertainty of how long one has to wait! I don't mind so much waiting in a queue when I know how long it is! Some call centres have an indication of where you are in the telephone queue. I'm much more likely to stay on the line if I know where I am!
Peter Mash, Cambridge, UK

I recently moved to study in Australia where many more call centres and services than I had been used to in the UK use a computerised voice recognition system which can be intensely frustrating. I have never been through such a system yet where at least one mistake has not been made by the computer: you can get deep into a menu system and then get stuck when the computer has no idea what you are saying. When at last I am able to speak to a person at the end of the line I am always understood so it's certainly not me! It's a reasonable enough idea, but companies should wait a few years so the technology can have a chance to develop into one which works properly.
Nick Bate, Sydney, Australia

I do get annoyed when I try to call my bank which is 10 mins down the road from where I live & I have to speak to a call centre in India.
Sonia Kelly, Isleworth, Middx

I find it amazing that the banks who are making so much money are sacking their staff to export the jobs to make even more profits.
Peter, UK

Yes, the use of multiple layer menu voice mails can be rather annoying, especially when they are supposed to "help us answer your call more efficiently" but don't!
Steve, UK

I get annoyed when I have to spell commonly used words to people, such as "Close" or "London"!
James, London

I have no objection to them when they work, but this is infrequent Martin, High Wycombe, UK

Press 1 if you find call centre's annoying
Press 2 if you don't.
Press 3 if you are not sure
Press 4 if you want to hear these options again.
Press 5 to go back to the main menu.
Press 6 if you want to think you're on hold only to find out you've been disconnected.
Press 7 if you wish to be connected to a trainee who hasn't a clue what you're on about.
Press 8 to be transferred to the wrong department.
Press 9 to be ignored while you are forced to listen to electronic music while being repeatedly told that your call is important to us.
Press 0 to be transferred to a foreign call centre who have no clue as to who you are, where your account records are, or why you should be calling them.
Andy, Leeds, England

Due to the ineptitude of our UK bank we were nearly made homeless when they 'forgot' to send over the deposit we needed for our new flat. Despite many phone calls and promises of 'someone' getting back to us we had to get our bank at this end to contact them. They would not give us the phone number of our branch to find out what exactly was going on so we could contact them ourselves. Help desk? Don't make me laugh.
Wendy, Oslo, Norway

I have no objection to them when they work, but this is infrequent. I do object to the ones that use a national rate number and then keep me hanging on at my expense. I also think there should be a legal requirement when in a queue that either the estimated waiting time or position in the queue is given on a regular basis.
Martin, High Wycombe, UK

Have you tried ringing numbers for a company's specific services only to discover that, whatever number you ring, you end up with the same list of general options! BT is an obvious culprit. It's like ringing a car tyre centre when you have a puncture and being offered an automated list of car parts from A-Z.
Ken Lane, Wokingham UK

Generally speaking they are a massive step backwards, inflicting mental torture by the bucket-full to people on both end of the phone. They are of course very cheap and quick to set up, and there-in lies the explanation for their existence. Especially over-seas.
Carl J, Oxford

I get annoyed working in a call centre!
Lea, Leicester

In the US, firms usually give a toll free number, though, in my experience, you can end up waiting for tens of minutes for a response. In the UK it is more usual to be charged at a local or national rate. This is acceptable, provided the call is dealt with quickly, otherwise it is a double insult to the consumer.
Jonathan, Surrey

I rang a call centre, over a period of two days to no avail, until I eventually stayed on the line and waited my turn. I was waiting for 50 minutes, listening to a message saying how busy they were. I was very angry at this poor service from BT.
Kathleen Corrigan, England

My blood pressure goes through the roof every time I have to use one Andy, Manchester, England

My blood pressure goes through the roof every time I have to use one. First I have to choose a number which is closest to the service I want (there is never one exactly matched to my needs) then I get a message saying 'our lines are very busy at the moment, you will be connected to an operator soon'. Ten minutes later I'm still waiting while my ears are assaulted by a toy electronic version of Mozart. If I had a way of zapping them I would!
Andy, Manchester, England

I hate call centres with a passion and avoid them wherever possible. Most of the time you end up sitting on the end of a phone for 30 minutes to an hour, only to be told that you need to call some other number, or that the department you need isn't open. If a company has a call centre they should empower the people on the other end to take whatever action the customer asks. If you queued on the high street, at least you could be sure that at the end of the day things would be done.
Rachel, Oxfordshire, UK

Accents can be quite a barrier. I had some trouble with an Indian accent recently whilst phoning BT with a query. North Country accents are sometimes difficult too - but operators probably have trouble with mine from the West Country. Local call centres would be better - we could at least all understand one another.
Paul Smith, Bridgwater, Somerset

The first automated option should be: "Press 1 to talk to a human or press 2 to use the automated service." I would always choose 1!
Peter, Cardiff

Call centres have increased waiting times not decreased them. A culture of "wait management" has been generated which is simply not being run effectively. It should be made illegal to site call centres in third world countries as it is exploitation pure and simple as well as usually not providing an appropriate service for UK consumers.
Neil, London

I work in a call centre and feel we do a very good job, sometimes going out of our way to help someone when they have a query we can't answer. It all boils down to the individual - get a good person on the line and you're OK. The same is said of customers - be nice to us and we will help you, get rude and aggressive and we won't!
Sarah, Reading

With regard to Sarah's comments: "be nice to us and we will help you, get rude and aggressive and we won't!" That is exactly the problem! Call centre staff don't have the right to decide who they want to give good service to! The same good service should be given to all customers, regardless of whether they come across as rude or polite. Call centre staff represent the company that they work for, therefore that image must always be professional and helpful under all but the most extreme circumstances. There is no excuse for customers to be aggressive and offensive, but call centre staff have to realise that very often customers have only rung up because they have a problem (sometimes serious) that cannot be solved by themselves, and they are bound to be agitated. The last thing they need is a call centre agent deciding whether or not to be helpful depending on their perception of the customers attitude.
Andrew, Reading

The worst experience I had was waiting 20 minutes in a queue to be cut off just as I got to speak to someone. Grrr!
Madeline Cox, UK