"switchboard"

In mid July I contacted the hospital and even though I phoned Northwick Park's direct number I still had to go through that nonsense of pressing 1 for Northwick Park and 2 for Central Middlesex. Anyway, the switchboard operator was terrifically useless. She twice gave me the wrong number and sounded annoyed that I asked for the number of the restaurant because as it was not actually part of the hospital but a separate company, the number was not easy to find.

First, she gave me the wrong number, then I phoned back to explain this and she gave me another number - which was also wrong, with the person I spoke to telling me he did not know how I got this number. I phoned back a third time hoping to get someone else and not hear the rude, blunt tones of the lady again. But, when I finally got through, all I managed to say after a long, long hold was hello and then was cut off. This happened when I phoned again.

The lady recognised my voice, decided she did not want to deal with me again and hung up. I made a complaint to the hospital and they are looking into it, they said. How do these people get the jobs in the first place when there are many out there desperate for work who could do so much better? At central Middlesex the person there is equally as hopeless.