For Frustrating Menu - Press 2

As background, I have been the treasurer for the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library for about 5 years. We have used Quicken all this time and I am very comfortable with it. Because of some added complexities to our accounting this year we have migrated to QuickBooks, a product made by the same company as Quicken but about as different as two accounting packages can be. And finally, one of the features of Quicken I have really appreciated is the ability to download cleared checks and deposits which makes account reconciliation a snap, sometimes literally a one-button process.

While installing QuickBooks a message came up saying that the installation couldn't convert the online transaction download procedure. I'd have to do that after the fact. I looked and looked and looked for how to do that. Finally found a process for adding online services and that led to how to delete services as the conversion process had gone halfway. In any case, I needed to notify Bank of America that we'd changed from Quicken to QuickBooks. QuickBooks even helpfully provided the customer service number. This led to the following transcript:

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[ring][ring][ring]

Thank you for calling Bank of America. For new banking press or say 1; for online services press or say 2; for assistance with Quicken or QuickBooks press or say 3; ...

3

Good afternoon, this is Customer Service. My name is Richard. How may I assist you?

We recently converted from Quicken to QuickBooks...

I'll need to transfer you to our QuickBooks expert.

[ring][ring][ring]

Good afternoon, my name is Vonda. How may I help you?

We recently converted from Quicken to QuickBooks....

What kind of account do you have, sir?

Small business account. But...

I'll need to transfer you to our Small Business Account unit.

[ring][ring][ring]

Good afternoon. My name is Mary. Can I help you today?

I certainly hope so. We recently converted from Quicken to ...

You need to speak to our Customer Service Department, sir.

[ring][ring][ring]

Thank you for calling Bank of America. For new banking press or say 1; for online services press or say 2; for assistance with Quicken or QuickBooks press or say 3; ...

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The fifth person I spoke to listened to my whole story then did a "warm transfer" where they stay on the line until the person at the transferred location answers and agrees that they are the appropriate person to handle the call. This person then had to ask about a dozen questions to verify that I was who I said I was and had a legitimate service request. She was obviously looking at our account and obviously knew what needed to be done. She even helped me find a shortcut to making the QuickBooks change.

Which amends the old saying, "It isn't what you know, it's who you know," to "It isn't who you know but if you know how to contact who you know."