I’m STILL waiting on the phone
- replies: 2
The Forum often suggests calling well known services when you need help, and by and large they can be a great deal of assistance, sometime with counseling, sometimes with suggestions as what to do next. The downside is that they do a good job -which ... View more
The Forum often suggests calling well known services when you need help, and by and large they can be a great deal of assistance, sometime with counseling, sometimes with suggestions as what to do next. The downside is that they do a good job -which sounds pretty good on the face of it. Unfortunately this is also the reason they are recommended and known by lots of other people too. All organizations have limits on the number of staff or volunteers they can have available at any one time and as a result when you dial in or log on you will be paced in a queue, with calls being answered in the order they came in. You may get on quickly but it is likely you won't. Many organizations may tell you your queue number and some will give an estimated wait time. These can be long times to wait, and some organizations are frank telling you on their website just how long it can be. The Kids Help Line for example says it can be over an hour. This can be both good and bad, true you have to wait a long time, and if you are in distress that can seem for ever and you have been abandoned. On the other side it is a sign that the councilors are not rushing callers but take their time to understand and give the best responses possible. It also gives you time to get your thoughts in order as to what to say. I’d make several suggestions, the first being that you do not make contact with the expectation you will get on to someone straight away and take steps to keep yourself occupied rather than just waiting on the phone. Watch TV, read a book, listen to your favorite music, anything you can think of to make the time pass quicker until your turn comes around. Don't give up, the call will be just as worthwhile, it is simply you have to wait a while to get it There will be a temptation to ring another service, you may be lucky, but it is just as probable you will have swapped one long queue for another. The next is to see on the web site their closing time, perhaps 9pm, and if your estimated call time is longer then do not wait around, try another day. A lot of people ring after work or when school finishes for the day, and that means the highest number of calls will be after those times -in the evening. This means waiting longer, so if you can call earlier, it would be a good idea. Croix
