Surviving the phone menu in Spanish

1. 1
   opción/opˈsjon/

   optionnoun

   Each thing you can choose from.
2. 2
   menú/meˈnu/

   menunoun

   A list of actions a machine gives you to choose from.
3. 3
   grabación/ɡɾabaˈsjon/

   recordingnoun

   A sound saved so you can hear it later.
4. 4

   esperawait

5. 5

   representanterepresentative

6. 6

   quejacomplaint

7. 7

   repetirrepeat

8. 8

   contestaranswer

9. 9

   escucharlisten

10. 10

    colgarhang up

The sentences3 of 10

1. Ninguna opción del menú sirve para mi problema.

   None of the menu options fit my problem.

2. Me perdí en el menú y tuve que empezar otra vez.

   I got lost in the menu and had to start over.

3. Llevo tres minutos oyendo la misma grabación.

   I've been hearing the same recording for three minutes.

Pronunciation

• opción/opˈsjon/

  The c sounds like an s.

• menú/meˈnu/

  The stress falls on the u: me-NÚ.

Good to know

menú telefónico

Almost every customer service line in Mexico plays a recorded menu before connecting you to a person. It often asks for your account or phone number before giving you the options.

tiempo de espera

Waiting several minutes is normal, especially during busy hours. Some lines offer to call you back instead of making you wait on hold.

número de reporte

When you file a complaint, the representative usually gives you a report or case number. It's worth writing it down in case you need to call again.

Questions

What does espera mean in this context?

Espera is the time you spend waiting until something happens, as in being left on hold.