Darwin's California Cat : Where the Unemployed Could Profitably Be Put to Work

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Where the Unemployed Could Profitably Be Put to Work

That is, as phone operators who would actually be standing by when you call state or federal offices. Today, even as I speak, E. is on the phone sorting out some things with social security.

I should say trying to sort out. Menu after menu seems designed to discourage callers from persisting in their query. Sometimes it almost seems *as if these bottlenecks were designed*.

Well. Anyway. E. was battling her way through this maze of What Did You Say? and Press Five for Other when her frustration mounted to the point -- some little trick question had knocked her back to the first menu -- that she laughed heartily.

At which point the mechanical voice said: "I don't understand.," which allowed E. to say, "That makes two of us."