Human voice on telephone desperately needed
BY HELOISE
The Automated Voice
Dear Heloise: Please let me SOUND OFF. How much trouble can it be, when calling a place, to have a human answer the phone? I called and got this automated lady asking why I was calling. The choices were not anything I could use. She kept saying, “I didn’t get that.” When a human person comes on the line, I already am angry enough to spit nails.
Companies that value my business should provide a human person to answer questions or conduct other business. — Pat in Ohio
Pat, most people agree with you. However, with the large national companies receiving the huge volume of calls they get, this is the way it is today!
Readers, thoughts on her comments? — Heloise
SEND A GREAT HINT TO:
Heloise
P.O. Box 795000
San Antonio, TX 78279-5000
Fax: 1-210-HELOISE
Email: Heloise(at)Heloise.com
FAST FACTS
Dear Readers: Here are a few ways to reuse cleaned frozen-treat sticks.
* Use them to label different plants in your yard.
* Paint them and make a picture frame.
* Stir coffee with one.
* Use as a straight edge for underlining things.
— Heloise
MEATLOAF FILLER
Dear Heloise: I keep a small tub for collecting the crumbs at the bottom of cracker, chip and bread bags for meatloaf filler and meatballs.
Just remember that most will include salt, so go easy with seasoning. — Gayle in North Carolina
SUPER MARKER
Dear Heloise: Black permanent markers are super for writing on most surfaces, but if you have a dark surface, they obviously won’t show. The solution: Buy a silver permanent marker, and it is perfect. — Annette Taulbee, Santa Maria, Calif.
LACE CURTAINS
Dear Heloise: I am a daily reader of your column. I would like to know how to wash my lace curtains so that they will stay crisp. You printed it once before; would you be kind enough to print it again, please? — Ann T., Fulton, Miss.
Happy to, Ann! Here’s how to get your curtains crisp and clean: Fill a sink with cool water, mix in 1 cup of Epsom salts and make sure the salts are completely dissolved. Put the curtains in the sink, then dip them in and out while being careful NOT to wring or twist them! Hang them either outside or over a bathtub to drip-dry. That’s all there is to it! — Heloise
MELTED ICE CUBES?
Dear Heloise: We have frequent thunderstorms and therefore occasional power outages. When I go on vacation, I place four or five ice cubes in a dish in the freezer. When I return, if the ice cubes evolved into a pond of ice in the dish, I know that the power was off for several hours and I should be leery of anything in the freezer/ refrigerator. — A.P. in Houston
RUBBER GLOVES
Dear Heloise: When I’ve poked a hole in the index finger of a right-hand rubber glove, I turn the left-hand glove wrong side out, and it fits my right hand! — Faye, via email
(c)2011 by King Features Syndicate Inc.