Dealing with Automated Phone Answering Systems

I'm sure you've had the same experience I have had — calling a company's phone number, only to hit an automated switching system (e.g., "press 8 or say Eight for Technical Support").

Longtime reader and friend Sam Boggs wrote about a web site that he found which can guide us through the maze to actually talk to a person...

I thought this was an interesting web site:
Check it out:
www.get2human.com

Sometimes if all you need are the store address or hours, or your current balance, the automated phone systems are fine. But if you've ever been frustrated by inumerable phone prompts to press this or that button when you call customer support, and you know your question will not be answered by the standard tips on the recordings, and need to connect to an actual person, this website gives shortcuts. In some cases they are as simple as the handy pressing of "0" a bunch of times.

It also gives quality ratings, and even gives red flag ratings to companies that have a high number of employees who have serious language/ pronunciation challenges. It gives you a chance to add your comments to the feedback on individual companies.
Sam

The web site gives general tips, too, for when you call and encounter an automated phone system, in addition to providing the ratings and comments.

Their system makes it easy to search by company name, to restrict the search to the U.S., Canada or the U.K., or to find the company alphabetically.

I like this last feature, the alphabetical listing, because it provides a lot of related information at the same time, not just the company's name.

Copyright © 2009 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.