Imagine trying to get help from your telecom operator, and they tell you to wait… 46.56 million minutes! Yes, you read that right – that’s about 88.5 years waiting for a customer support response from the French giant SFR after a massive network outage. Is this a joke or reality? Sadly, reality often beats fiction.
It all started when SFR’s network suffered a major outage, leaving users without service. One user, Eliz, tried to contact support via chatbot, but instead of a quick reply, she was told the wait time was an unbelievable 46.56 million minutes! To put it in perspective, that’s longer than an average human lifetime – 88.5 years waiting for a response! Naturally, Eliz couldn’t resist replying ironically: “That’s gonna be a long wait.” The chatbot, apparently missing the joke, responded, “I’m fine, thank you.”
This hilarious exchange between the user and the automated system went viral and sparked a flood of comments on social media. People laughed, but also got mad – who wants to wait almost a lifetime to get help from their telecom?
The network was finally restored after 12 hours, but the damage to SFR’s reputation was already done. This incident exposes how telecom companies are often unprepared for major outages and how their customer support systems can be utterly ineffective.
Is this a sign we need a revolution in customer support? Or maybe it’s time we all learn how to survive without phones and internet? Either way, if you ever thought waiting for support was long, now you know it can be way, way worse.
So, how long have you waited for a customer service reply? Share your wildest stories in the comments – maybe together we’ll crown the king of waiting!
