Hunglish.orgTake a number, please, in Hungary you may be waiting a while, in fact, you may not even be in the right line.
Written by Scott SavoieIt works like this: You take a number based on your problem type. Then when someone is available, they post that same number on a board.
A good system, in theory.
But what happens is you just get some random number, say 879. Then Ping! Up pops something like 291. "Jesus,” you think, "this could take a while.”
Then you notice some poor bastard with a crumpled wad of paper in his grizzled hand reading something like "17.” "How long has this old man been here?” you wonder.
"He’s doomed,” you think. "He’s never going to make it. Even if they ever do call his number, the excitment of it all would probably kill him.”
This is perhaps the Hungarian philosopy for customer service: Sooner or later, the customer will die or simply go away, but I need to be here until 5.
Ping! 476! The gathered would-be costomers look up hopefully at the electronic board then double-check their little papers. Everyone hangs their heads as nobody seems to have that number, either.
Eventually you get through to someone who can tell you that they cannot help you but they can say where you were supposed to have waited and which number you should have taken and where the next number board awaits.