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Delta customer on phone to airline for so long she performs French horn jam to hold music

Call wait times reached three hours last month

Travel Desk
Friday 12 May 2023 13:41 BST
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French horn player jams to Delta Airlines' hold music

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We’ve all been there: you call up a company’s customer service number to speak to someone, only to be left listening to unbearable hold music on repeat for an inordinate length of time.

Delta Air Lines customers have been particularly hard-hit by this affliction in recent months, with wait times hitting the three-hour mark in April 2023.

Numerous travellers have shared their frustration with the US carrier on social media, with one user tweeting: “I guess Delta can only find one person to work the phones - customer service rating is 0 stars, two hours holding already, how many more hours on hold?”

Another posted: “Been waiting on hold for Delta for over an hour and a half. I’ve probably been on the phone with them 5-6 hours over three calls involving an upcoming trip. This is frustrating!”

However, one caller decided to use the lengthy wait for something decidedly more constructive.

Maria D’Ambrosio, a French Horn player, took it as an opportunity to flex her musical skills.

Having called the Delta customer service line and been greeted by the strains of “My Time to Fly” by Harriet Goldberg, Ms D’Ambrosio cracked out her horn and started playing along.

She uploaded the results of herimpressive impromptu jam session to YouTube, alongside the caption: “When that Delta Air Lines hold music hits just right”.

A professional French horn player for the past 16 years who currently plays with the Bozeman and Helena symphonies in Montana, she told Miles Quest: “I’ve done a lot of arranging in the past, and have also done a lot of transcribing be year, so this was a fun way to pass the time, and it was fun to share that with an online audience.”

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