Not As Bad As It Used To Be?

I had to make two phone calls yesterday. One to AT&T, one to DishNetwork.
I can't stand making phone calls to big name corporations. So normally I put off making these types of phone calls for as long as I possibly can.
Why, you ask?
Because I'd rather scrape out my eyeballs with a melon baller than try to talk to a person with a thick foreign accent over the telephone!
Compile that aggravation on top of the precious time I waste going through the 27 button automated menu, being put on hold for 20 minutes waiting to talk to a real person and you got yourself a woman on the edge there.
I'm sorry, I can't help it! This is one of the biggest pet peeves of mine.
I have nothing against people from other countries. I don't blame them for wanting to come to America. I love it here. I wholeheartedly invite them to join me here in the "Land of Opportunity". Just get their papers in order, start paying their taxes, learn the language and begin enjoying the benefits of democracy like I do.
But......I beg........no, plead......better yet, implore them NOT to get a job talking to people on the telephone.
(Unless they're from England. I love an English accent.)
Who does the hiring at these places? Don't they speak to these people face to face before they hire them? Why aren't they made to take a telephone test beforehand or anything that might give them a hint that this person can hardly be understood when handed a script and left to field incoming calls all by themselves? If I had a nickel for every time I've had to ask someone with an accent to repeat themselves, I'd own AT&T right now.

Luckily, both phone calls resulted in nice, calm resolutions to all my problems. I spoke to several people at AT&T and none of them had an accent. I spoke to one person at DishNetwork and she was as sweet and helpful as she could be and I didn't have to ask her to repeat herself several times before the call was over. Even though I still had to wait on hold for several minutes with each call, I was pretty happy with the manner in how each call went so smoothly after someone finally picked up my line.

Could this be a sign of good things to come in the ever-changing world of customer service? I certainly hope so. I hope the outcome of both of my calls wasn't just a stroke of good fortune.

Now, if Tracfone would just get with the program. That place is a linguistical nightmare!