By Brian Fallow
Between the lines
"Kia ora. Welcome to Inland Revenue BusinessDirect. All staff are busy at present. Please hold to maintain your place in the queue and we will be with you shortly"....
"We apologise for the delay. Our staff are still busy. If you wish to wait please hold
to maintain your place in the queue"....
"We apologise for the delay. Our staff are still busy. If you wish to wait please hold to maintain your place in the queue"....
"We apologise for the delay. Our staff are still busy. If you wish to wait please hold to maintain your place in the queue"....
[The hold music changes to Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence".]
"We apologise for the delay. Our staff are still busy. If you wish to wait please hold to maintain your place in the queue"....
"We apologise for the delay. Our staff are still busy. If you wish to wait please hold to maintain your place in the queue"....
"We apologise for the delay. Our staff are still busy. If you wish to wait please hold to maintain your place in the queue"....
"Inland Revenue, Carolyn speaking."
"Could I speak to Bryre Patchell please."
"Did he write a letter to you?"
"It's a media inquiry. I need to talk to Mr Patchell. Can you connect me?"
"What was the name again?"
"P..A..T..C..H..E..L..L."
"It's not coming up. What office is he in?"
"He has been fielding inquiries about businesses having difficulties with e-filing."
"And the surname again is?"
"P for Peter.. A..T.. C..H.. E..L..L."
"OK His direct dial is 04 498 5767 and I'll transfer you there now."....
"This is Bryre Patchell. I'm away from my desk at moment so if you'd like to leave your name and number I'll get back to you as soon as I can. To leave a message press 1..."
It has to be said that the Herald is in something of a glass house when it comes to throwing stones about overloaded phone systems and voice mail.
But unlike the Inland Revenue people are not legally compelled to deal with us.
It is premature for IRD to claim in its advertising "point taken" about the frustrations of accessing it by phone.
Worse is the fact that the helpdesk for firms which are required to electronically file PAYE returns cannot cope with the load.
The tax simplification project has been in the works for years and it is not a surprise that over 10,000 employers would be trying to connect to the system now.