RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We have all been there before, no doubt, calling a service department somewhere, desperate to connect with a human. And then we get caught in a vortex of computer-generated voices.
Well, recently in New York City, there was an actual human being at the end of the line but he pretended to be a computer. According to the Associated Press, the health department employee told callers you have reached the help desk. People complained and the stunt earned the unnamed employee a 20-day suspension without pay. At a hearing, the call center worker said he was just trying to articulate carefully to make up for his heavy Brooklyn accent. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
