(800) 853-4169

Identified themselves as HSBC Bank and provided a call back number of 800 853 4169. Wife said they were rather rude. Hmmm. I did try calling the number back.
::: NOTE ::: When asked, do 1 of these options:
1) DO NOT enter anything when asked each of the 3 times or 2) you can speed up the process by pressing the # key 3 times, 1 second apart. Either way, you get routed to a “customer care specialist”. Instead, you get "Thank you for calling customer service. Currently our systems are updating and we are unable to assist you at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and request you call back at a later time. Thank you."

It’s odd for call centers to update systems in the middle of a workday. Really?? During your highest potential of callback opportunities your running system updates and took all inbound calls offline?? Stretching here, but let’s say I’m in denial and believe I really need to talk with them. Perhaps a network outage? Either way, I’m sure a company ‘expecting’ calls would complete updates quickly OR correct issues ASAP to ensure calls keep coming in. Right??? Let’s see.

6/17/2009 / Called @: 12:45 PM / 1:00 PM / 1:30 PM / 2:00 PM / 3:15 PM / 3:22 PM / 3:27 PM / 3:42 PM / 4:00 PM / 4:15 PM

6/18/2009 / Called @: 9:21 AM (then I went I got board calling them)

All the same message. I used to hear an 800 # costs ~$1.00 per call. For a company who wants me to call them back, did I just cost them $11 in call fees? Perhaps not, but what if the thousands of people they call everyday did the same thing? I certainly don’t condone calling anyone who does not want your call (ironic, huh?), but these guys left me a number to call them back and I’m simply trying to get in touch. Perhaps you need to get in touch with them too. Perhaps you’ll get through quicker than I. Or perhaps you’ll run up charges on their 800 # service due to “systems … updating”?

Hope you find this post as helpful as it was fun to write.