Touch-Tone Trouble: give us an operator, or we'll give you grief

摘要

I've been spending time calling Southwest Airlines lately, just for the novelty of it all. You dial the 1-800 reservations number, and suddenly, you're having a conversation. There's no touch-tone labyrinth prompting you to decide between English or reservations or technical support, just a bunch of ladies who sound as if they happened to pick up the phone in the middle of baking cherry pie. And they cheerfully answer just about anything: What's for dinner? "Peanuts, maybe pretzels." When do prices rise? "Two weeks before the flight date." Can I bring my hamster? "No, but Delta, Continental and United allow pets - would you like their numbers?"