With the advances in technology over the years, many contact centers have employed automated attendant functions to answer and route calls. However, what we are finding is that if a caller ends up talking to say the customer accounts department, the first thing he/she is often greeted with is “Can I have your account number please ?” Sometimes, although the call is not related to an account – it may just be the available options on the automated attendant don’t match the needs of the caller and they end up picking an option that may sound relevant. It is therefore better to ask the caller how you can help or have a ‘for all other enquiries’ option. I know from personal experience that trying to explain you don’t have an account or that you want to talk about something else takes time.