Welcome to F.Y.I. Friday!!!! Here we'd like to take this opportunity to briefly detour from our normal informative posts about title insurance and focus on things that affect our everyday lives. With this feature, we will try to pass on tidbits you may find useful.
Today, we are spotlighting an interesting problem many of us have faced before. It concerns all the 1-800 hot lines we call and the annoying automated system they put us through. We all know, sometimes you have a problem that only a human can solve...not a recorded message. But how do you bypass the automated system?
Well the people at Dial-A-Human and Get Human have the information to do just that.
Take Dial-A-Human, they have an extensive data base filled with an overwhelming number of companies and the information you need to reach a live representative. The listing for U.S. Bank, for instance, has the real working phone number along with the 'Dial A Human Directions.' For U.S. Bank this means pressing '0' at each prompt. Some are complicated, others are really simple...either way, the answer to reaching a live person is only a few clicks away.
Here are a few basic tips listed on their website:
1. Dial O, or try multiple zeros
2. You can add the # key or the * key before and after a 0
3. Dial multiples of other numbers 1111, 2222, 3333, 4444, etc.
4. Being silent sometimes works (believe it or not some people still have rotary phones)
5. Speak non-sensible phrases to confuse computer
6. Try speaking and repeating "Operator" or "Customer Service"
7. If there is a company directory, press just one letter and then try to connect to that person
and then may transfer you or give you an inside phone number
8. Make sure once you get a human, ask for the direct line to call (and then email us with it!)
2. You can add the # key or the * key before and after a 0
3. Dial multiples of other numbers 1111, 2222, 3333, 4444, etc.
4. Being silent sometimes works (believe it or not some people still have rotary phones)
5. Speak non-sensible phrases to confuse computer
6. Try speaking and repeating "Operator" or "Customer Service"
7. If there is a company directory, press just one letter and then try to connect to that person
and then may transfer you or give you an inside phone number
8. Make sure once you get a human, ask for the direct line to call (and then email us with it!)
Then there is Get Human...this website has a little more detail than Dial-A-Human, but still serves the same purpose. Get Human lists the basic company contact information, sometimes listing multiple numbers, along with the instructions to bypass the automated system. They also include the businesses hours and average wait time. Get Human also has an option to vote on the usefulness of the number and instructions you used so that future readers can see what others think of this hot line.
So what are you waiting for? Call now! There is a live representative out there just dying to take your call!
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