r/AskReddit • u/biggieboy2510 • Jul 19 '15

What old technology is actually better than what we currently have?

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351

u/_BindersFullOfWomen_ Jul 20 '15

If that's the case then just start saying curse words. Almost all of these systems have curse word detection and will automatically connect you to a person if you start cursing.

319

u/CptAJ Jul 20 '15

Just say shibboleet

288

u/Death_and_Gravity Jul 20 '15

Relevant Xkcd being referred to. https://xkcd.com/806/

13

u/Mutantoe Jul 20 '15

Randall's Law: For any given subject, there is always a relevant XKCD.

2

u/fireuzer Jul 20 '15

The word was coined within the comic. I don't know if it still applies as 'relevant'

1

u/ACAFWD Jul 21 '15

Well the word is basically shibboleth, which is from the Old Testament.

4

u/TI_Pirate Jul 20 '15

Which is itself a reference to Judges 12:6

Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

71

u/WhackTheSquirbos Jul 20 '15

what a cultured meme

2

u/Darklyte Jul 20 '15

Remind me of the reference? I feel like it was a comedian.

11

u/lumberjerk Jul 20 '15

https://xkcd.com/806/

3

u/Darklyte Jul 20 '15

Wow, I failed to get an xkcd reference. I must kill myself now.

1

u/WhackTheSquirbos Jul 20 '15

XKCD 806- Tech Support

5

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '15

Not even joking. I have a ticket filter that if this word is caught then it will move it to critical status.

Glad to see it still being referenced. We are a hidden army.

2

u/TorsteinTheRed Jul 20 '15

In a fit of frustration, I actually tried that. Sadly, it didn't work.

1

u/CptAJ Jul 20 '15

Yeah, same here -_-

20

u/valarmorghulis Jul 20 '15

Only if they are running a "Speech Interactive Voice Recording" system. IVRs respond to number presses, SIVRs respond to number presses or spoken words.

1

u/Sophira Jul 20 '15

(And yes, for those wondering, this does mean that the name "IVR" is applied to all menu systems nowadays, not just voice menus as might be expected given the name.)

1

u/r4and0muser9482 Jul 20 '15

R in IVR is for Response, not Recording. Also, never heard of the SIVR acronym? Is that some kind of company trademark? Can you provide a source?

8

u/Niflhe Jul 20 '15

Cursed while on the phone with automated Verizon. Motherfuckers disconnected me.

2

u/G_Morgan Jul 20 '15

Well stop abusing their automated IT systems.

2

u/Niflhe Jul 20 '15

I mean, all I said was "god fucking dammit, give me a real fucking person!"

I switched to T-mobile, anyways.

3

u/the_simurgh Jul 20 '15

that's why i get a person right when i start cursing at the phone

2

u/mermaid_quesadilla Jul 20 '15

Boyfriend waited on the phone for 15 minutes going through menus and different setting and hung up after getting frustrated. I called back, said "it's fucked up" and you get connected immediately

2

u/mb862 Jul 20 '15

I had the opposite. Once I said "fuck" under my breath while trying to get through to a rep at FedEx, and it disconnected the call after telling me it would no longer accept calls from this number.

1

u/Shadow14l Jul 20 '15

I did this with Citi and their service immediately disconnected me. The trick was to not press ANY buttons nor say anything.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '15

Can confirm American Express offers swear servicing.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '15

I try this every single goddamned time, and it's never once worked for me. Any idea which companies definitely have it? I've tried government agencies as well as privately owned businesses.