I couldn't live without hold music.
I've been on hold for a Norstar support line for ten minutes now, listening to the same three bars of some Spanish guitar followed by "we are sorry for the delay in answering your call, please hold the line and one of our specialists will be with you shortly. Alternatively please go to our website as we're too cheap to pay for more than one actual human being's wages"

Over and over and over and over.
( Kroney, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 9:58, 3 replies, latest was 14 years ago)

It might not be so bad
If they were to play a complete tune without any interruption. It's the 10 second loops that make me want to kill.
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:01, Reply)

After all that, they refused to help me because I didn't know whether it was a BCM or a Norstar switch
and they couldn't find any maintenance on the line.

Since the problem was a handset was playing hold music through the loudspeaker, rather than the handset and the phones are so fucking old we can't find an instruction manual anywhere, this isn't really relevant. I tried to explain this to the Doris in Manila but got totally stonewalled.

I just wanted the key combination required to send the hold music through the handset :(
( Kroney, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:14, Reply)

One of the carriers I deal with
has a really fucking great hold tune, it's like a jazz-rock number with a brilliant guitar hook, redolent of a 70s cop show. I found myself humming it in Sainer's the other day.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:02, Reply)

Wait until you start humming advertising tunes.
I feel like chicken tonight...
(The Luggage is haunted..., Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:04, Reply)

I still occasionally hum the Smith's Square Crisps ad from the 80s
that featured Lenny Henry - 'It's Weird'. It was a p-funk style classic.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:07, Reply)

Skyplus advert is using The Professionals theme tune at the moment
gets it into my head every time
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:17, Reply)

That is fucking TUNE

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:28, Reply)

Yeesh you have my sympathy.
Time was you could get past all that by mashing * and #. No more, sadly.
(The Luggage is haunted..., Wed 7 Sep 2011, 10:03, Reply)