Community Chat

[gidgetgh]

A scratch your head phone call just now. I called my mail order prescription provider to refill a prescription.  No biggie. Routine stuff. Automated system.   How hard could it be. It asked me to enter my birthdate and I did that. 

Then the automated voice said  "please say or enter your prescription number ONE DIGIT AT A TIME".  

Now, I don't know about you and your talents but I've never been able to say OR enter multiple numbers at the SAME TIME.  I'm a one digit at a time girl.   I mean really, how does one do that?????

I started to giggle and could hardly get the number entered at all!

[chrystaltree]

We have an automated system where I work and it also asks people to give account numbers...one digit at a time.  There is no other way to phrase it.  They don't want people rattling off the 8 digit claim number quickly.  The automated system needs a pause between each number.

[WenGirl42]

I guess if people are speaking the numbers, they might combine them (so 12345 could become "twelve-thirty-four-five")...but it would have made me giggle too!

[gidgetgh]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

We have an automated system where I work and it also asks people to give account numbers...one digit at a time.  There is no other way to phrase it.  They don't want people rattling off the 8 digit claim number quickly.  The automated system needs a pause between each number.

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Quickly or not, you can only say one digit at a time. My voice won't work any other way. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cute.  I do understand about the pause though. 

[Snowpuppy]

My automated system at work can't understand many tones that various cell phones use.

Fortunately after 2 or 3 tries a human will pick up. 

[handygal2]

As odd as that sounds, l figured out what it means. I was giving my credit card number to a live operator this morning, and she asked me to give her "4 digits at a time," and she then repeated each group of numbers. So the robo-operator just didn't want you to group the numbers together. It probably would have confused her, lol.  

[Burnsite]

Hi, gidget, I have this problem when I am paying my UVerse bill over the phone. 

It can't understand the tones on my phone while entering checking account into, even when I do them very slowly.  I've found it can understand my voice instead, but only if I speak in very slow motion and LOUDLY.

1.....2.......3.....4   etc.   If I speak too slowly, it gets mad, too, so I have to keep it to about 2 seconds per digit.

[Mominohio]

I think it means that the number 28 is not to be said as twenty eight, but as two, eight...

It wants single digits only.

[gidgetgh]

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@Mominohio wrote:

I think it means that the number 28 is not to be said as twenty eight, but as two, eight...

It wants single digits only.

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If you're entering them on the phone keypad, one at a time is all you can do!  

I can understand it more if you're saying the numbers. I still thought it was cute though. 

[Isobel Archer]

Um maybe because 16 can sound like 60 if you don't say it one digit at a time.