How to Get Transferred To A Real Person In Customer Service

You call a company to get information and you hear the dreaded - "Please choose from the following menu".

Oh Great! It's an Interactive Voice Response! IVR - Otherwise known as voice mail jail. Every one hates it and so do I.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience
• Patience
• More Patience
• Possibly an audio book to help pass the time

1. Keep pressing numbers like 0# or #0 or 0* or *0 repeatedly and quickly. Many IVRs will connect to customer service after a few "invalid entries", especially if they ask for your account number and you enter it incorrectly. Be prepared - some IVRs say Sorry, Please Try Your Call Again Later and hang up on you.

2. Keep saying Customer Service or Representative if you have a voice activated menu and they've asked what department you need. You can also shout or be indistinguishable. The IVR will often connect you to a person if it doesn't hear a key phrase or can't understand you.

3. The IVR might have the option to hold on for a Customer Representative if you have a rotary phone so try to be patient and listen to all the options. I do have one - in a drawer, for emergencies.

4. Use the menu option to connect for a new account - they usually answer right away. "Oh wrong place? Could you please connect me with customer service?" Ask them for their name and rep number - again, if they already told you, so they think you are writing it down and thank them for their help. They might have to send you to the department you needed in the first place, but sometimes you get through to a real person.

5. After getting the option to talk to a Customer Service Representative, if the expected wait time is going to be long, just grab a book or, better yet, an audio book, and try to be patient. If you have internet access while on the phone, go cruising while you wait. If you don't have a speaker phone or head phone plug in on your phone, remember that calling their non-toll-free number might end up costing more than a new phone with a speaker feature on it.

6. Selecting Spanish sometimes gets you to a bilingual customer service person sooner. Use this only if you are really desperate - it isn't fair to tie up the line for people who must use it.

Tips & Warnings

• Get toll-free numbers for any US-based company by calling 1-800-555-1212.
• Your phone company charges a fee each time you call 411. Call 1-800-FREE-411 for free information.
• Go to http://inter800.com/ for the Toll Free Phone Book
• Try to remember that the Customer Service Representative is only an individual who has that particular job. Who knows who talked to them before you or what awful thing that previous customer might have said. Put yourself in their place and be patient! Stay decent!

[dkrunner]

on 2/8/2009 Excellent! This can be such a pain! 5*

[aew4]

on 1/30/2009 If it's voice activated, you can start saying "Operator Operator Operator" and it will usually get you to a real person in under a minute. 5*

[alienangel555]

on 1/4/2009 yes, I do it all the time. 5

[krazigirl79]

on 10/19/2008 AWESOME tips! I was trying to call somewhere for an entire week and all we got was the standard "too many callers" message then got booted- great tips, thanks,.

[soaringeagle]

on 10/18/2008 Modern challenge of the times