When calling my bank, a car dealership or placing an order by phone, I have tried to show (at least a little) tolerance for the Interactive Voice Response systems that ask you to press 1 for English. The fact that an American corporation finds it necessary to offer their American residents an option to proceed in another language annoys me, but so long as the system allows me to proceed by default, without my having to press 1 for English, I do not complain. At least not much. I draw the line however, when REQUIRED to press 1 for English. And such was the case yesterday.
I contacted my cell phone provider to discuss upgrading the four phones on my commercial account. I called the Nextel main number and was greeted by the obligatory IVR system. The voice system offered two choices. Press 1 for English or 5 for Spanish. I did nothing and was disconnected about a minute later. I called back two additional times just to satisfy myself that the system was indeed programmed to disconnect if neither option was chosen. I personally do not care if American corporations offer options and/or services in French, Swahili, German, Mandarin Chinese or Latin. I do object to being REQUIRED to press 1 to proceed in English in America!!
On my fourth attempt to contact Nextel, I gritted my teeth and pressed 1 for English. I endured the myriad options and menus and eventually reached an actual live person. Once connected to a very polite customer service representative, I calmly voiced my extreme displeasure with regard to Nextel’s “press 1 for English” policy. The customer service rep on the other end of the line was very well trained and extremely professional. Yet he could only address my complaint with the stock response that they are “catering to a “multi-cultural” audience“.
At the conclusion of the conversation, the customer service representative asked the industry standard obligatory question “Have I resolved your issue today?’. I responded that he certainly had not. After a few more questions, he determined that I was not displeased with him personally and only then agreed to transfer me to a supervisor. I was then connected to senior supervisor Danielle who gave me the same spiel. Again, well trained, but only provided the standard PC response “We are catering to a multi-cultural base”.
I could only hope and pray that my concerns will be escalated up the proverbial chain, but realistically, why would they? I am but one voice among many who care not. Who will stand with me? Stand with me against this storm of political correctness that is threatening the core values of our nation? Or am I just another proud but intolerant, misdirected, God fearing American now representing a mere fraction of the U.S. population?
A footnote:
I estimate that I have paid Nextel a whopping $38,000 over these past years for their cell service, to say nothing of all the equipment purchases that I have made. I will be scrutinizing the other cell phone providers serving my area before deciding upon whom to choose as my new cell phone company. The first qualifying criterion? Require me to press 1 for English and you are scratched off the list. Period.