Hold On A Minute!

I had to make a phone call to Adobe customer service today. I'm selling old software and I needed to transfer the license. I called their 1-800 number. After 25 minutes on hold, I started getting a little worried. Of course, I was working on things, so listening to hold music wasn't terrible. I even made and received a few phone calls while waiting.

1 hour. I still haven't heard from a person yet. I didn't have to go through a complex menu such that I'd be worried my call was lost. I had pressed 1 button at the first menu and waited 1 hour, and 10 minutes now. I didn't want to hang up and lose my place if the line was that long. I got out my cordless phone and dialed the same number, pressed the same 1 button at the phone prompt. Now I had hold music playing through 2 speakers.

Why not make things more interesting? I found the non-toll-free number of Adobe Headquarters and called that on my cell phone. I pressed 1 for an operator and got right through to someone. They were shocked by the time I had to wait. They said they would transfer me to customer support themselves, and that I may or may not hear hold music. I heard nothing but silence, but I stayed on the line.

6 minutes, 34 seconds. The cordless phone comes to life with a human voice. I heard her ask "Is that our hold music in the background?" I told them yes, and that the phone 2 feet away has been on hold for 1 hour, 18 minutes now. She resolved my problem in 2 minutes and was clueless how I had been on hold so long. She'll tell it to her supervisor, which in the customer service biz just doesn't mean anything.