How many times have you called a government agency or company and instantly found yourself put on hold?

To add insult to injury, you usually wind up serenaded by recorded music that would be totally forgettable if it weren’t so unforgivably irritating.

And every 30 seconds or so a recorded voice comes on to assure you: “Your call is very important to us.”

Have you ever wondered: “If my call is so important to you, why aren’t you answering it?” 

The truth is that most companies and government agencies don’t want their employees speaking with the customers who make their existence a reality.

Having your questions answered by another human being requires the company/agency to assign—and pay—people to do just that.

Most hiring managers don’t want to hire any more people than they absolutely have to. They want to siphon off as much of the company’s profits for themselves as possible.

And assigning people to answer customers’ calls means that many of those calls will take time to answer, because some problems can’t be solved in a matter of seconds. 

Even government agencies like police departments don’t want to spend any more time than necessary taking the calls of those who need to reach them.

Even calls to 911 can leave you talking to no one, with only a recorded message telling you to wait until someone deigns to speak with you.

And you’re no closer to solving the problem that caused you to phone the company/agency in the first place.

What to do? 

For starters, don’t lose heart. There are usually a great many things you can do to obtain the help you need.

• Go on the Internet and look up the company’s/agency’s website. 
• Look for links to their Board of Directors. Often enough you’ll get not only their names but their bios, phone numbers and even email addresses.
• Look at the bottom of the website page. Many companies/agencies put this information there–and usually in small print.
• Look for the names of officials who can help you—those at the top, or at least high enough so that whoever responds to your call/letter/email has the necessary clout to address your problem.
• If you call, don’t ask to speak directly with Mr. Big. Ask to speak with Mr. Big’s secretary, who is far more accessible.
• Keep your tone civil, and try to make your call as brief as possible. Don’t go into a lot of background about the problems you had getting through.
• Give the gist and ask for a referral to someone who can help resolve your problem.
• If the secretary needs more time to study the problem before referring you to someone else, be patient.
• Answer any questions asked—such as your name, address, phone number and/or email.
• State—specifically—what you want the company to do to resolve your problem.  If you want a refund or repairs for your product, say so.

• If you want a refund, don’t ask for more money than you paid for the product. 
• If you want to return a product for an exchange, don’t expect the company to give you a new one with even more bells and whistles—unless you’re willing to pay the difference in price.
• If you want an agency to investigate your complaint, don’t expect them to do so instantly.  Give them time to assess your information and that supplied by others.
• It’s usually possible to get one agency to sit on another—if you can make a convincing case that it’s in that secondary agency’s best interests to do so.  
• That doesn’t guarantee they will resolve your problem. But if you can show that the agency will gain by it—such as getting good publicity.
• If a company/agency official has acted so outrageously that the company/agency might be held liable for his actions, don’t be afraid to say so. But don’t threaten to sue.
• Just point out that the employee has acted in such a way as to jeopardize the company’s/agency’s reputation for integrity/efficiency and that the organization is not well-served by such behavior.
• Whoever reads your letter/email will instantly realize the legal implications of what you’re saying—and, in most cases, will take quick action to head off a lawsuit by trying to satisfy your request. 
• Give the CEO’s secretary at least one to two days to get back to you. Remember: Resolving your problem isn’t the only task she needs to complete.
• If you’re writing the CEO, make sure you use his full name and title–and that you spell both correctly. People don’t get to be CEOs without a huge sense of ego. Nothing will turn him off faster than your failing to get his name and title exactly right.
• As in the case with his secretary, be brief—no more than a page and a half. Outline the problem you’re having and at least some (though not necessarily all) of the steps you’re taken to get it resolved.
• Then state what you want the company to do.  Again, be fair and reasonable.