Phone Frustrations
Anyone old enough to remember when a government agency, a private company or doctor's office had a live, human being -- once called a switchboard operator -- on duty to answer the telephone? These days in the name of saving money (another way to be seen keeping taxes low or to pad the chief executive's bloated salary) the switchboard operator has been replaced by an expensive piece of equipment generating recorded voice messages. We're usually guided through a menu of directions to "press 1" for this and "press 2" for that. We're instructed to pay attention because "the menu has changed." Stock images from Pixabay.com Then, there are the responses you get after reaching the correct extension. 1. "Leave message" -- In too many offices, returning phone calls is a low priority and is done at the end of the work day. What about the guy who calls at 8:30 in the morning and is in Tucumcari to help his sister at 4:45 in the afternoon, u