Beat the Recorded phone messages!
 

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http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/30/pf/s...sets/index.htm

1-800-Annoy me now

12 ways to get out of recorded-message hell and get a live customer service rep.

October 30, 2003: 4:35 PM EST
By Nicole Zeitzer, CNNfn Smart Assets Producer



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It's safe to say we've probably all been victims of automated customer-service hell. I mean, of course, that maze of choices we're forced to listen to when we call a bank or an airline before, hopefully, being connected to a live voice.

The live operator has increasingly become the target of corporate cost-cutting efforts. Push-button phone menus or virtual agents are replacing human beings.

You might be thinking, "Can't I just press 'zero' and be directed to a real person?" Many companies have dropped that option, leaving the caller no choice but to listen to that dreaded automated menu.

Sometimes, however there are escape codes; a combination of keys that will open the gates to a live voice.

The banking industry

• If you're a Chase customer you could skip the automated menu by pressing 5 then pause and hit 1-4-star and zero.
• Bank of America's escape code used to be hitting zero twice, but they may be on to us. Now you must hit zero three times.
• You can still just press "zero" to get an operator when you call Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual.
  

The credit card industry

• American Express customers can hit zero to bypass the automated menu, but be patient. It will ask for your 15-digit card account number, which you may ignore. It will then say "We do not recognize your input," which you also ignore, and you will soon be connected to a live operator.
• MasterCard holders can hit zero three times for a live voice.
  

The airline industry

• You can bypass American Airlines' menu by pressing zero twice, then when the virtual woman says she will need some information, just say "Agent."
• For a Continental airline live operator press 3.
• Northwest Airlines press the star key then zero.
• Southwest Airlines actually has live operators answer every call. If they're busy you'll be put on hold, but there's no automated menu.
  

PC support

• If you want to reach a live voice at Gateway, hit zero twice, but be prepared to wait on Hold for a little while.
• For Hewlett-Packard say "agent" when you're first prompted to speak.
• We found no magic bullet to bypass Dell, Apple, or IBM's automated voice menus.

On 99% of those, all you have to do is pretend you have a rotary phone and dont hit anything. If the co. you are calling does any type of sales, they will want to get to all calls. Just hang on, dont hit any buttons, and you'll generally get a live person.

if any of you use us bank and call the 800 number, i know of a way to get a live person without going through all the steps, but i cant remember. ill find out at work tomorrow for anyone interested

With Sprint PCS, when it asks you to enter your phone/ESN#, just press 1 eleven (or ten if it's a phone number) times.

Your SSN is also 111-11-1111.

Works like a champ.

Yeah, I figured this one out. Since my cell phone us under my mom's name, when I call, I usually enter 9999 when it asks for the last four digits of SS#. It says it doesn't match and will connect met to a live operator. Works every time. :)

--OR--

Those of you who have Sprint, I am sure you all know Claire, the automated operator who asks, "How can I help you?" and they expect you to talk to her as if she were real. Anyway, after her prompt, say, "I'd like to speak with a representative." Been using that one for a while.

I like to scream obsenities at the automated operator and see where it takes me.

I also cross my fingers that my call will be the one that is recorded for testing purposes

That's exactly what I do when I call Charles Schwab!!! I always wonder if the rep I reach hears any of my cursing.

OH PLEASE DO.

I spend for-ever on hold with them. I am on the verge of walking down to their building and saying "I just walked a mile and half down here, can I have a person now?"

I had to call this company that processes magazine subscriptions. It was so frustrating. I kept pushing zero a bunch of times and nothing worked. I started screaming into my phone "I want to talk to a REAL person!!!!!!!" After about 20 minutes of screaming at my phone, I started pushing random numbers that eventually connected me to a real person.

The worst is the companies that outsource their customer service department. Many will outsource these departments to foreign companies where the wage is much less than American income. So, you get connected to some guy in India who can't speak English.