_of Customer Service Lines

Do you know how "movie trailers" work? Yes, they are the ones that show you the interesting scenes in a movie and yet when you watch the real movie, it doesn't show you any of the scenes in the trailer.

  So, the image above is a mobile phone. Like the principles in a movie trailer, I will NOT talk about the "awesome" mobile phones we have out there. Enough of everything that begin with the letter "i".

Note to self: Facebook -> "iFace". As in, "I Face U in Facebook." Makes a whole new meaning of "interactive".

Back to main point.

  Let's talk about "Phone Calls/Lines" today. No, it is not the kind of activities you and your beloved dear ones do every other day. Neither it is the one that you do with your beloved friends every few days weeks months. 

This kind.

  The other day on a Thursday, I called Airasia to ask some information for my mom's travel itinerary. If you are not familiar with its Customer Service Line, here it is.

+603 2171 9333 (Self Help Menu)

Operating Hours : 8am - 9pm (GMT+8)

  To cut things short, I called and the operator told me to call its new Customer Service Call Centre.

600 85 9999 (Premium Customer Service Line)

Operating Hours: 7am - 7pm

Available from Malaysian telco – Telekom, Celcom, Maxis & DiGi

Charge: RM 1.95 per minute

(At this juncture, you have a feeling that things were going to be SO MUCH FUN, don't you?)

  Please note that it is called the Premium line, which charges around RM2 PER MINUTE. I called them at 2pm. No one picked up the phone line. And I went on (followed the instructions) trying. For. Almost. Three. Damned. Hours.

  You see, I don't lose control easily. In fact, I often wonder why I don't do that. The first few times were okay, although they already charged me for more than RM5 (because the "Automatic Operator Instructions" have taken up for nearly half a minute, and adding the time you insert the required number "Press one for this... etc", you have already taken more than a minute. This happened EVERY single time).

  Now, I remember why I continued calling them. I have faith in humanity, that's why. I reckon that when I called them at 2pm, maybe they had their lunch and was rushing back to the office to pick up phone lines. So, I kept calling.

  Like usual, my imagination was somehow rather wild. My faith in a PREMIUM line was crushed. 

-insert an image of "being crushed" here-

Let's make it easier for you. This is me, "feeling crushed".

  And after the few times, it started to sound like this TO ME:

  I would press "3" just to get someone, anyone, to pick up the line. On second thought, I would even admit and press "2" voluntarily.

Later, it got worse:

  Unfortunately (for them, that is), the one calling them was me. If it was Q.L., they would get plenty of "amusement" from the colourful languages that she uses. Me? I would only do this...

ARRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~

For. Three. Freaking. Hours.

  Talk about being amused.

By the time the clock struck 4:45pm, I could only imagine this was what happened:

  

  Let's face it. This is what actually happens, isn't it?

  

  So, as you can see (from my tone of frustration), I gave up on the call (calls, I mean). And prayed very hard that everything was going according to the plan (without the information). Luckily, it did. Thank God!

  I've learned my lesson, though. 

But since I am a girl, this is not going to happen AT ALL.

Back to calling Customer Service, then. Yikes!