Talk to a human instead of a robot
Mon Jun 22, 2009 | | Posted in Finances
We have all come across this scenario on an almost daily basis:
Call customer service of an establishment like Verizon and we are put on hold by an automated system for, in some cases, close to an hour. At least, on some occasions, that has been my own experience. To talk to a human is extremely difficult if not outright impossible. A few times, I just hung up the phone without talking to anyone because they put me on hold.
Have you called a business and gotten stuck in an endless loop of automated computer messages? Are you tired of hearing “Your call is very important to us” when you have been put on hold for the upteenth time? With the advent of interactive voice response, or IVR, came the criticisms and frustrations from people who felt their needs weren’t being met and that their phone time was being wasted. If an IVR system is giving you the runaround, there are ways to make it clear that you need to speak to a real, live human being.
Now some websites have started to emerge to help us talk to a human directly without going through the automated system. When you need to talk to a customer service person, you call directly to their desk. Isn’t that sweet?
No more electronic voices when you call customer service. Websites such as Get-Human and Dial-a-Human provide shortcuts, codes, and phone numbers that connect you with real people.
You can find information on almost 1,000 companies and counting – Amazon, Bank of America, and State Farm Insurance among them. The sites encourage users to send in new numbers and prompts – or an alert when the numbers and codes don’t work.
In a Nutshell
So go ahead, use these services and instead of talking to a robot, talk to a human without the system putting you on hold.
You might also like...
- Talk for free with your loved ones overseas
- Let’s talk personal finances, shall we?
- To Verizon President: You need to work on Customer Service
- Ever wonder about the numbers on your personal check?
- Be ready for digital TV
Information contained herein is general in nature, and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Talk to your financial adviser.
Read more articles in Finances
