“Wait times maybe be longer than usual due to higher than anticipated call volumes.”

We’re all familiar with that little phrase, right? We have all be stuck on hold with companies that play this over and over while you sit and wait for someone that isn’t a robot recording to pick up the actual phone and talk to you. In times of an emergency or in times when your system isn’t working as designed, I can see a legitimate reason for getting this message.

What is irritating is that you don’t have the ability to answer a high call volume should it happen or you have purposely caused your system to be overloaded because you caused it to be by your actions.

Case in point:

You send an email to all your subscribers with an offer to add something to their account for free for a limited time.

BUT, in order to take advantage of this offer you have to have your customers actually call you, thus clogging up your phone system.

NOT, make it available to be done on your website with a special code to make the discount apply when it would normally be done there in the first place.

Yeah, that’s good marketing!

Who came up with this idea? Why would you require an action be done over the phone when said action could be done on the website you have for doing said action? Makes no sense.

Irritating and takes advantage of your customer’s time.