Plot to drive us crazy

There's a lot of it about!

If you want to phone your local Tesco, when you ring the number listed for it, it actually goes to a call centre somewhere in Scotland. They answer with the branch location, but they aren't there really!

See, you need to go to your little local place.

Oh wait a minute! They are probably twice as expensive. Can't win can we?!

A lot of companies do this now but if you can go into your local branch they will sometimes give you their direct number. I did this with my bank, got fed up of getting through to a call centre so asked one of the cashiers for their direct number.

Our local "should have gone to" seems pretty good, and promised me that, if my specs should fall to pieces (should they if they are well made?) when I am overseas, that any of their branches will mend them free of charge.
And have never had a problem getting through to them on the phone.
However, Tesco, banks, M&S etc can drive you mad with their press 1 for whatever, 2 for thingy, 5 for whatsit - then DH asks something and I have to start all over again

I actually looked up the number and it came up with the address of the local store and a local phone number too! But it was a call centre masquerading as a local number! I'm still irritated by it all, because something that should have been dealt it in a single phone call is still on my list. Gr.

And it's way too cold to venture out today!

My branch of the deservedly much-maligned RBS has a direct number and if I want to get hold of them, there's rarely even a queue.

annodomini that is also my bank and years ago I asked for their direct number and to date I have not needed it. S*d's law I think.

We changed banks because we could not get a direct line number to our branch, had all our letters to them directed to the 'South London Correspondence Office' and when we rang the call centre kept insisting that we had to tell them all the details of our query before the Call handler decided whether to put us through to the branch or not.

My personal account used to be with RBS, it was the best bank I have ever been with, no call centres, you rang your branch direct, you gave your name and your call went to the right member of staff. It was bliss. Then there were all the revelations about what Head office and the corporate banking division was up to - and then forced to sell all their English branches as a result of buying NatWest, they decided to sell them to Santander, the bank with the then reputation for being the worst bank in Britain for mix-ups and poor service, so I decamped to Nationwide.

It happens all the time. It is no longer possible to phone your local station.

It's the same with our local library. It is only 10 minutes' walk away but I just had a quick query. The phone number is the county headquarters and they have to put you through. I was told that they weren't answering their phone so I decided it would be quicker to walk up there!

Little old lady phones her bank, goes through all the options, press 1 for this, press2 for that, then although her call is important she is put on hold and listens to Greensleeves for 20 minutes, finally gets through to a call centre in India, clerk says How can I help you?
Little old lady says I was in your bank this morning, did I leave my red umbrella on the counter?

mrsmopp
Sometimes the website Saynoto0870 has the real, actual, genuine local number for companies that do this. (Tautology or what? )

Crossstitchgill, I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago with a library.
Daventry library was advertising what was basically a story time session for young children (though it went by some other name such as Story Romp). All their ads said that it was held fortnightly, but nowhere did it give any specific dates.

When I tried phoning "their" number, after pressing a dozen buttons I found myself speaking to someone in the council offices. When I explained why I was ringing, the first thing she tried was what I had already done myself, i.e., look online. When that didn't provide an answer, she said she would put me through to the library but surprise surprise, the line was busy. She took my number and said she would leave them a message to phone me. In their favour, they did call me back and quite quickly, but what a palaver for something that could have been sorted in seconds on a direct line!

mrsmopp serves them right.

Sorry, failure of sense of humour, but I find Mrs Mopp's story ageist and sexist. I am sure she didn't mean it, but wouldn't it just as good a story if we said 'Yummy Mummy' or ''City type' or other group?

Yummy mummy would also be sexist,
City type would be inverted snobbery, it's a joke for Pete's sake!
I'm a little old lady myself and I'm not offended.

Precisely

I thought Mrs Mopps story quite amusing actually !
in actual fact that is the sort of thing that happens nowadays , as we cannot get through to the branch of XYZ.