WW#3: Hold Music vs. Hold Muzak
The other day I was on the phone with Amazon. I was having a somewhat complicated issue with my account, it wasn’t just some basic issue and I was having trouble understanding the customer service agent I was trying to relay the problem to. It was very clear to me that she was having trouble understanding me as well.
Two disadvantages of living in America are; 1. There aren’t a lot of opportunities to learn or even frequently hear foreign languages. Some accents are more familiar than others but when Amazon farms out their customer service jobs to other countries despite the fact that, 2. There are loads of people in the U.S. that need jobs, with customer service for almost anything, language can be a barrier.
Two disadvantages of living in America are; 1. There aren’t a lot of opportunities to learn or even frequently hear foreign languages. Some accents are more familiar than others but when Amazon farms out their customer service jobs to other countries despite the fact that, 2. There are loads of people in the U.S. that need jobs, with customer service for almost anything, language can be a barrier.
I always try really hard and am always just as kind to them as they are to me, they are always nice. Perhaps that is why the job is farmed out, in these jobs, for the most part, Americans are rude, lazy and impatient. The people they hire from other countries may be overly enthusiastic but they are always nice. At any rate, the call I was on was taking a serious dive so I told the extremely kind but difficult to understand woman that I really appreciated her time but I was having trouble, my own lack of understanding, and could she please transfer me to a call center in the U.S.
She was happy to oblige and told me she would put me on a brief hold to connect me. So the hold muzak came back on, same as before, that sort of commercial sounding, synthesized, wanna-be muzak that repeats ‘boring’ in a loop. That came on for like a second, and then it changed. Suddenly it was like Live Friday Night in San Francisco with Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin. It was a lovely acoustic guitar party and it was relaxing and was actual music, not muzak. It was almost sad when the woman picked up and said, “How may I help you?”
She was happy to oblige and told me she would put me on a brief hold to connect me. So the hold muzak came back on, same as before, that sort of commercial sounding, synthesized, wanna-be muzak that repeats ‘boring’ in a loop. That came on for like a second, and then it changed. Suddenly it was like Live Friday Night in San Francisco with Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin. It was a lovely acoustic guitar party and it was relaxing and was actual music, not muzak. It was almost sad when the woman picked up and said, “How may I help you?”
I wanted to say, “Put me back on hold.” In reality, the U.S. hold music likely didn’t compare to one of the most famous acoustic guitar trios in history, but when played following that thing they tried to pass as music before that, well, the difference was blaring. I thought it was weird that the hold music for regular customer service was so ordinary and offensive to actual music but when you’re holding for America, it totally changes.
My conclusion is that there are subliminal messages hidden within. Apart from the brainwashing to consume, there is also a hidden message to be excellent to each other and to “party on, dudes.”
My conclusion is that there are subliminal messages hidden within. Apart from the brainwashing to consume, there is also a hidden message to be excellent to each other and to “party on, dudes.”