LONDON (AFP) - A customer trying to call telecoms operator BT Group was left hanging on the telephone for a total of 20 hours, The Times newspaper reported here on Saturday.

Hannah King, 51, called a company helpline after a BT engineer failed to turn up to install a telephone line at her new flat in Milford Haven, according to the paper.

For eight hours in a row, she endured the sound of piped music. She gave up and tried again the next day -- and waited another eight hours before putting the phone down.

The following day, she spent a further four hours on hold before hanging up.

That took the total time wasted to almost one day, the paper said.

"I was so frustrated and angry I broke down in tears," she told The Times.

"It is a helpline for goodness' sake, surely a company as big as BT can answer their phones."

BT admitted that a new calling system had left some customers in the lurch.

"BT would like to apologise for the length of time this customer was left on the phone," the paper quoted a BT spokeswoman as saying.

This woman was a bonehead for hanging on as long as she did. :rolleyes:

This woman was a bonehead for hanging on as long as she did. :rolleyes:

i understand what you mean, but because the engineer didn't turn up she had to ring them up but yeah, to remain on the phone as long as she has done is far-fetched. i wouldn't have been able to hang on for 6 hours, never mind 8- i would've probably lost it by that point. mind you, british telecom (BT) didn't do themselves any favours either

Psh. My mother would have hung up in like five minutes. That woman is the dumbass for staying on as long as she did. Idiot.

I would have hung up within, like, 3 minutes. She has the ENDURANCE.

Psh. My mother would have hung up in like five minutes. That woman is the dumbass for staying on as long as she did. Idiot.
agreed.

I can't say I'm liking the name calling directed toward the woman.

Indeed, I would have stayed on the line 30 min. tops. Usually no more than ten. But hey, it's her time to use as she feels most productive. And if it was important to her, well, direct the anger toward the company that simply couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone.

This woman was a bonehead for hanging on as long as she did. :rolleyes:
*the sound of a horsewhip in the background* BONEHEAD OF THE WEEK AWARD GOES TO: STUPID LADY WAITING 20 HOURS ON A PHONE!!!!!!!!!

I would hope thtat she had it on speaker phone and at least got something else accomplished during that time.

Have to love the era of the new automated "help lines"

This reminds me of an episode of Friends when Phoebe stayed on hold for like 2 days straight :lol:

This woman was a bonehead for hanging on as long as she did. :rolleyes:


Lol I agree:lol:

BT admitted that a new calling system had left some customers in the lurch.

"BT would like to apologise for the length of time this customer was left on the phone," the paper quoted a BT spokeswoman as saying.

Wow.......that sounded like SUUUUUUUUUCH a heartfelt apology! :rolleyes:

This woman was a bonehead for hanging on as long as she did. :rolleyes:
Word! :lol:

omg 20 hrs wow she's so stupid! Does she want some money for that or an award! If your on the phone and you hear the hold music for more than 15 mins you know there's something wrong durrrrrrrrrr:eek:

This woman was a bonehead for hanging on as long as she did. :rolleyes:
:yeahthat

I can't say I'm liking the name calling directed toward the woman.

Indeed, I would have stayed on the line 30 min. tops. Usually no more than ten. But hey, it's her time to use as she feels most productive. And if it was important to her, well, direct the anger toward the company that simply couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone.
yeah, really....how do we know that she just sat and did nothing but wait for the operator the whole time? she could have easily had the thing on speaker phone and gotten things done in the meantime. lastly, since when did one's amount of patience determine their level of intelligence? judgmental people are funny, especially the ones who are so rude about it. :)

I would hope thtat she had it on speaker phone and at least got something else accomplished during that time.

Have to love the era of the new automated "help lines"

I agree. I cannot imagine that she did nothing else while waiting. :crazy:

I agree. I cannot imagine that she did nothing else while waiting. :crazy:
Even if it was speakerphone, I would not have waited more than 30 minutes MAX. If no one comes back on the line to at least acknowledge you at least ONCE while you are on hold (as we were supposed to do when we had customers on hold when I once worked for the phone company) THAT IS TELLING YOU SOMETHING. HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :crazy:

Even if it was speakerphone, I would not have waited more than 30 minutes MAX. If no one comes back on the line to at least acknowledge you at least ONCE while you are on hold (as we were supposed to do when we had customers on hold when I once worked for the phone company) THAT IS TELLING YOU SOMETHING. HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :crazy:

I didn't say what I would have done, I commented on what I couldn't imagine her doing during that time. My max is 15 minutes - if I am doing something else. It's five if I'm doing nothing else. Live people are a rarity on customer service lines these days, especially when you are trying to get on. :)

I am sorry brie, I actually meant to just post my comment, not actually quote yours, I don't know why I did that. Sorry. :lol:

I am sorry brie, I actually meant to just post my comment, not actually quote yours, I don't know why I did that. Sorry. :lol:

It's okay. The board has been acting funny, so let's just blame it on the board. :lol: :)

yeah, really....how do we know that she just sat and did nothing but wait for the operator the whole time? she could have easily had the thing on speaker phone and gotten things done in the meantime. lastly, since when did one's amount of patience determine their level of intelligence? judgmental people are funny, especially the ones who are so rude about it. :)

but she didn't have it on speaker phone. nor by the sound of it, on the answering machine at the time.

I wouldn't have lasted a fraction of that time. The longest I have ever had to wait was probably fifteen minutes, and that felt like an eternity.

Sometimes a recorded voice tells you how many minutes are remaining until someone will be available to speak with you.

I guess this poor woman was on her own.

;)

Sounds like my last call for repairs through good old Bell Canada (where you usually also get ahold of some clown with the thickest East Indian accent you've ever heard calling himself, "Mike". All I can picture is a sweaty call centre in Bangladesh and I'm sure Mike has "Steve" and "Dave" sitting there next to him.......yeah right!

(No wonder they can keep you on hold for 20 hours - when they're earning 30 cents a week they can tie anyone up for days!!) :rolleyes:

Sounds like my last call for repairs through good old Bell Canada (where you usually also get ahold of some clown with the thickest East Indian accent you've ever heard calling himself, "Mike". All I can picture is a sweaty call centre in Bangladesh and I'm sure Mike has "Steve" and "Dave" sitting there next to him.......yeah right!

(No wonder they can keep you on hold for 20 hours - when they're earning 30 cents a week they can tie anyone up for days!!) :rolleyes:
Sounds like the times when I used to call AOL for tech issues. The accents were theeeee worst. :crazy:

Sounds like the times when I used to call AOL for tech issues. The accents were theeeee worst. :crazy:
You should have heard my last eye Doctor :cool: < I decided it was easier , just to go blind

Hearing the music for 30 seconds is bad enough.

Hearing the music for 30 seconds is bad enough.
:rofl:

You should have heard my last eye Doctor :cool: < I decided it was easier , just to go blind
:eek: :lol: Maybe that is what he was telling you but you couldn't understand him.