...But a bit of fun on a sunny afternoon.
Three local taxi firms have merged into one, recently, and now use some kind of automatic ordering system. It may be more efficient for them, but not necessarily as seen from the 'customer service' side...hence the following ditty.
Taxi?
These days when I order a taxi.
there's an automated voice
that gives me several options -
some of which get offered twice...
It registers which phone is calling,
then asks 'Do you want a cab now?'
But should I be booking one well in advance,
the silly thing doesn't know how.
Another push button is needed
to request human contact, you see,
then eventually somebody picks up my call -
once they've finished drinking their tea...
N.B. I've now linked this to Poetry Pantry Go there to read a plethora of poets work.
Fear amalgamation of anything, businesses especially no good comes out of it for the client/user for it is all about profit for them
ReplyDeleteAs some old song lyric once said 'Money is the root of all evil- take it away, take it away, take it away'...
DeleteSigh... I know exactly what you mean. I miss simpler times :)
ReplyDeleteWhen the world was young, perhaps?! ♥
DeleteI despise all of the telephone automation. So hard oftentimes to decide which button to choose. And if one makes a mistake one has to start ALL over again. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteIt all adds to the gaiety of nations! :-)
DeleteHa.. these days even the automated phones have been replaced with an app.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for thought transference to be perfected...♥
DeleteTechnology sure can suck the life out of things. Clever poem!
ReplyDeleteTa muchly for stopping by. ♥
DeleteMy goodness you must be back in civilisation if you are writing poems about telephones. The last I heard,you were running amok in the wilderness of Borneo with a butterfly net. LOL. Are you still in contact with Dr Footsie ?
ReplyDeleteNot only but also, you could say, Rall - He actually arrived on my doorstep in person last year, to help me celebrate my birthday. The butterfly net has had to go into cold storage!:-)
DeleteThat would drive me crazy! I so hate automated messages at the other end of the line. Usually they take one in circles. So frustrating.
ReplyDeleteEver increasing circles sometimes, eh? :-)
DeleteSo glad I do not have to order a taxi. Indeed, it has been years since I ordered one and it was always a live dispatcher at the other end. I dread the day when I must become dependent on others or services for a ride!
ReplyDeleteAs a non driver all my life, I've had little choice, but thank goodness somebody invented the wheel - and cars - and busses - and don't even get me started on boats and planes and trains.... LOL
DeleteP.S. Space ships may be next on the list?!
I loved this....a clever fun way to express the frustration of these automated 'services' indeed!
ReplyDeleteDonna@LivingFromHappiness
It's best to look at life on the funny side. :-)
DeleteHow thrilled I was to see your name here Jinksy – I remember you well from those wonderful Magpie Tales days. Glad to hear your absence is explained by wonderful adventures.
ReplyDeleteOf your words, the taxi firm I use has a similar automated response if you contact by mobile – landline you speak immediately to a real flesh and blood person.
Returning to the mobile, the automated voice asks if you want a taxi ASAP giving you the choice of your three most used pick-up points. The first time I encountered this I pressed the appropriate key, little knowing ASAP was forty minutes as there was no way to inform me of this. Now I listed to the message and then press zero – to talk to a real person.
Anna :o]
Sometimes when I leave a comment/reply, I wonder if I'm talking to a real person - hehehe?! Blogger can't always be trusted... :-)
DeleteThis reminds me of my husband's current fascination with the self-ordering screen at McD's.
ReplyDeleteI hope it works better than the one at my local surgery?!
DeleteLol! That's why i stick to Uber-cabs...clicks on my phone...and my ride arrives!
ReplyDeleteI may have switch from BT's landline booking to my iPhone, one day - but not yet! :-)
DeleteOops! Typo alert - 'to' switch! Silly me...
DeleteWorks for me... robots are only as smart as those who program them and you have found out some are not the "sharpest tool in the shed" : )
ReplyDeleteZQ
There's an app now, so mercifully there's no more need to call and select options!
ReplyDeleteYou'd think they might realise that what's bad for the customer is also bad for business.
ReplyDeleteNothing is easy anymore. I'm hearing Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi while sipping my tea.
ReplyDeleteOh, that annoying inhuman voice we seem to be pushed to talk and it never understands us.
ReplyDeleteOh these automated voices . . . they drive us all mad. I sometimes press 00 and I get a human being and say, "Thank God I've found a person . . . lol
ReplyDeleteTrust you are well Penny . . :) x
A lovely poem with all your usual understated humour. I am so glad to see the muse still moves you, it's been a while since I came and visited here. On my own blog I just found an unanswered comment from you that you made 9 years ago! (yes, I answered it at last!)
ReplyDelete