It was Saturday afternoon when the Problem Solver opened his phone bill and discovered a minor billing error.
No problem, he thought. He’ll just call the phone company and clear things up.
Silly him.
After dialing the toll-free customer service number, it took him 12 key prompts just to get to a computerized voice that allowed him to scream into the phone a verbal command: “CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT.”
Of course, by then it was past 4 p.m. and all the customer service agents had left the call center.
“Sorry,” the computer told the Problem Solver. “This office is currently closed.”
It took considerable restraint not to slam the phone against his kitchen wall, but after a few moments, his calm returned.
The reality is, getting through to an actual person at many companies’ customer service departments can be a little like discovering the lock combination to a bank vault. Hit the right numbers, and the world is your oyster.
Thankfully, there are ways to game the system.
Websites like GetHuman.com and DialAHuman.com list hundreds of companies along with their phone numbers and instructions on which phone prompts to punch to more quickly get to a human being.
GetHuman.com, the more elaborate of the two sites, lists multiple phone numbers for many of the largest companies, and includes average wait times on hold, along with user ratings — from “horrible” to “good.”
Roland Via, the former mayor of Holly Hills, Fla., started DialAHuman.com five years ago in a fit of aggravation after calling several companies and having trouble reaching a living, breathing person.
“Time, to me, is valuable,” he said.
Wading through the dial prompts just to get patched through to a recorded message is a terrible waste, Via said.
Both GetHuman.com and DialAHuman.com are monitored by actual callers, who contribute tips on how they got through to a human being, along with warnings about particularly bad phone numbers or uncaring companies.
“Sometimes the companies find out (about a number being on the site) and then they’ll change the mechanics of the number,” Via said. “The viewers of the website will let me know.”
While each automated phone system is designed differently, Via and Walt Tetschner, GetHuman.com’s founder, said there are tricks that often work across all systems.
If you’re dialing in circles and can’t break through the computerized system, try playing dead. Many automated systems rely on input, so if you don’t punch a key, they get confused and transfer you to an operator. Some systems also include a default for folks who still have old rotary-dial phones. After a certain length of silence, the call is automatically transferred to an operator.
If waiting doesn’t work — and the system accepts voice prompts — try speaking complete nonsense. Blather on in words the system can’t identify and it might just think you’re crazy. Turns out, most automated systems can’t handle crazy, and many of them will forward you directly to an operator.
If neither playing dead nor speaking gobbledygook work, try the most obvious move: hit zero. Some systems use another number, like 2 or 6, so try all 10.
You can also do an end-around and avoid the automated system altogether. To do so, search for the company’s corporate headquarters, then find a number for the main offices. By avoiding a call center, you often can reach an actual employee. Even if that person is not qualified to help you, often they will patch you through to a customer service agent, if for no other reason than to get you off the phone.
Once you do reach an actual person, ask him or her for a direct line to get back in touch. Getting a direct-dial phone number is worth its weight in gold, allowing you to avoid the endless prompts and automated directions.
“I do believe, nowadays, people want personalized service,” Via said.
Unfortunately, in many cases, it’s up to you to find it.
