Automated Phone Systems And Internet Systems...

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I don't like phoning as I have to think quick... But what I find worse are those automated thingies...
First one is trying to remember why one is phoning so one has it all mapped out in ones head so one can think quick enough when phoning a person... But then one dials and one gets a minute or two of an automated message (With car insurances it will be saying a new law or something) and that message wipes out all I have prepared in my mind.
Then worse still one has a few levels of "If you want.. press 1"... But I can't think fast enough to recall what has just been said before the system repeats it, and as I am still processing the press 1 or press 2, etc, the repeat of the questions puts me off and I end up pressing anything!
And then before one even has a hit and miss chance to get to the right department, I have a "You are in a queue of (Another automated voice) "Six" (Back to origional automated voice) "People"... And then the loud Bathoven music comes on where one can't put the phone anywhere near ones ears....
So by the time I get to speak to a person who before one can say muc other then "I want car insurance..." the person says "Wrong department and they press a button before I can speak to tell them... " and I get in yet another queue and I hang up as my anxiety levels have hit the roof and even though I am nearly there... I can't cope with speaking to anyone!

Ok, yesterday I was able to do it... But in the past due to these systems and my inability to think quick enough...Many times I have not got through to anyone before I hang up.

Online? Well, I find onlie worse. I can't trust the payment methods as years ago I tried it and was hacked into big time from Africa. And also, lots of tick box questions where none of my answers fit the "Yes or no" answers, and there is no where to write my circumstances and their system does not allow one to progress with leaving them blank. So online hits anxiety and frustration worse which is a strange thing to say!
I know I gwt nurvous coping one to one, but I find I can cope better one to one then the other methods.

Some customer service lines are atrocious. I have to stay on the line for almost an hour sometimes to resolve an issue. Some you will wait a long time and just as you enter the final queue someone answers the phone on the other end and then automatically hangs up. In today's world many customer service lines are manned by people from foreign countries such as India who have strong accents and many times little knowledge at fixing my particular problem. So I suspect the frustration levels are high for both NTs and Aspies alike.

Mountain Goat, I would suggest you write down what you wish to discuss before you even try and call. That way, the words will be right in front of you when you forget the purpose of the phone call.

I have found that computers have become my friend. So generally when I want to buy something, I generally order it over Amazon and it arrives in the mail a few days later. Also the other useful tool is that parts list are available on-line. So rather than talking to a service repair folk, you can figure out the exact part you need easier at home. Almost all the service manuals are available on line today even on equipment that are no longer in production. Also there are YouTube videos on line that show individuals walking through the repair of many items.

The best customers at banks get special numbers to call to bypass those systems and talk directly to a customer service person.

Wouldn't it be great if people with autism were given similar service?

It would be great. The only downside would be everyone could do with it too! Haha. Especially people like me who don't know if I am on the spectrum... (So I can't say I have autism as I don't know... My Mum said it was "Mid life crises"). But it is an excellent idea.

Regarding the internet etc, I just don't want to take risks. I only use a few sites and am doing all I can to avoid any transactions as I don't really know the ins and outs, which is probably why, when I tried Ebay going back about a decade ago, I had planned to sell some bicycle spares I had so I could use the money to buy model trains. I only sold a few items, was scammed out of one where I sent the item and had to give the other person his money back and I had to pay all the postage costs on top. So I lost the item I was selling. (My brother said it was a scam where people pray on new Ebayers). I didn't use Ebay for a few months and then hackers from Africa spent a few thousand pounds which I didn't have. Paypal, Ebay and my bank sorted it, but my Paypal has been locked as it won't re-activate without my bank account details, and my bank manager told me never to link my bank account to anything online.
I was concerned when my brother had me pay for car insurance last year via using my card online. (Is why I don't want to do it).

My brother once spent six hours of waiting to get in touch with BT (The main telephone company in the UK). BT is well known for its poor customer service. When I used to have a house, I had a BT phoneline, and I had it dissconnected because I had a bill for 48 hours or repeated phonecalls when I wasn't there. I phoned them and the lady from India told me there must be someone else in my house. I had once phoned 123 for the speaking clock, and it had kept phoning 123 for almost two days. I said I wasn't there and I had only once rang 123, and she said I must have done it without noticing. (If I kept phoning 123 for 2 whole days with no sleep, I think I would notice. She then put the phone down on me. It was a huge bill. I had to pay it and then had my phone dissconnected and went to use a pay as you go mobile, which was expensive, but I had no hidden surprize bills.

I have not had any telephone service for years. I think my VOIP service lost all their technicians soon after I started with them, and now there are only automated replies, programmed to try to squeeze out more money to restore service. It is hard to buy anything these days and have any optimism about it. The procedures for getting a refund, if any, will be a net loss for anyone worth more than a dollar an hour.