Could you hold please...Do I really have a choice ...

   Have you ever got one of these calls.  The phone rings you answerer it only to here a mechanical voice say,  “Please stay on the line for an important phone call.  We will be with you shortly.”
   Companies are now calling you up to put you on hold.  It is bad enough when you call them and you get “Thank you for calling.  Please hold.”  If your lucky you just heard an actual human voice tell you that.  It is probably the last human voice you will hear for quite awhile.  Unless you are calling to buy something, then they answer real quick.
   When you are on hold you listen to muzak or a recorded infomercial  for the company.  Then they tease you by taking you off hold only to hear the mechanical voice tell you “Your call is very important to us.  Please continue to hold.” and back on hold you go.  If my call was that important to them they would not have put me on hold in the first place.
   Then there are the ones that threaten you.  They have you on hold take you off long enough to say, “Please continue to hold.  If you hang up you will lose your place.  ALL calls are handled in the order they are received.”  You feel like a kid who is caught misbehaving by the teacher and is sent to the end of the line.
   But I guess that is better than calling someone only to hear this, “All lines are currently busy.  Please hang up and try your call later.”   Click.  Why say please hang up when they are going to hang up on you.  Maybe it so they have the excuses we said please.   This type of call doesn't even hold out a prayer of ever being answered.  You didn't win the lottery.  Better luck next time.  See ya.
   The more important your call is the ruder the hold response is.  These are usually utility companies or government agencies.  They know they have you over a barrel.  They know there is no one else you can call for your problem.  Can you say monopoly. 
   I get so mad with being put on hold.  My time is just as valuable as theirs is.  More so to me because it is mine.   They seem to enjoy stealing your time from you.  Now they don't even wait for you to call to steal it.  They call you. 
   Well in this case I am in charge not them.  You want to talk to me be there when I pick up.  Other wise I send you to back of the line and you will have to wait your turn. 
   All human calls are answered in the order the are received.  Computers calls are happily sent to the twilight zone of the disconnected.  Good luck getting  a hold of a human there.

Please Hold...

Maybe these companies need to make this mandatory reading.