Mark Burnett Goldmine

Kerry Howley | January 11, 2005

The New York Times reports that "this call may be monitored for quality assurance" is more than an empty threat:

Most callers do not realize that they may be taped even while they are on hold.

It is at these times that monitors hear husbands arguing with their wives, mothers yelling at their children, and dog owners throwing fits at disobedient pets, all when they think no one is listening . . .

"You'd be surprised how casual it can get," said Mr. Pike, who works at Aon Consulting, one of the nation's biggest third-party call center monitors. "It's like watching TV. There's always something interesting on."

Whole thing here.

Comments

|1.11.05 @ 1:33PM|#

That is so cool because it means that those chumps can hear me using choice four letter words to describe the level of service received from the companies in question including my disgust with their interminable punch-the-number call routing system and my general anger at having to waste my frikking time waiting in que for some victim of LA Unified Schools to completely misunderstand what it is I really wanted.

|1.11.05 @ 1:40PM|#

Ah, yes "quality assurance." The NY Times' has had a rather difficult few years in that regard, no?

|1.11.05 @ 4:41PM|#

Yeah. The inbred hicks who don't understand their phone bills can be great entertainment when you put them on mute. It's never a bad time to beat your kids, I guess.

|1.12.05 @ 12:52AM|#

Damn. I must not discuss my terrorist plots with my housemates while calling to complain about my bill for decadent Western cable service. Those infidel bastards at Homeland Security are too clever for me!

|1.12.05 @ 3:37AM|#

I shudder to think how many phone systems have records of my singing along to the Police on hold.

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing you!

- Josh

|1.12.05 @ 12:20PM|#

Roxxxxxaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnne!

|1.12.05 @ 2:45PM|#

So am I the only one who is sad that they are showing these workers episodes of Seinfield and Friends to impress upon them American modes of speech? Personally, I wouldn't want to wait on hold for 20 minutes just to get a rep that sounds like a bad imitation of Joey...

|1.12.05 @ 8:30PM|#

I was thinking something along the same lines, only regarding the catchphrase-rich Seinfeld.

Dell tech-support guy (thick Indian accent): Hello, this is Vondelay Industries! What is the nature of your problem? ... Very well, this is what you must do: Restard in "safe" mode, 'yadda-yadda-yadda,' problem fixed!