Prefer humans? Give this a try.

Deepdale

Deepdale

macrumors 68000
The majority of people nowadays are required to deal at least occasionally with an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system when trying to contact various business and government agencies, and many of us have had our last nerve ending frazzled before hanging up in frustration. Paul English provides steps which should enable you to speak with a person and bypass the IVR. Be sure to click on Paul’s info page and the other tabs for some very helpful info.

In the hope of alleviating some of that torment, I would ask you to check out the following website: www.paulenglish.com/ivr/
 
Shame they are USA only , but very usefull for our US members :cool:


any one have UK/Europe numbers like these ?
 
It's often 0 for many services like this in the UK.

If I'm at home using something like this and want to speak to a person, I normally just put the speaker on the phone on and wait, not responding to any of the instructions. 9 times out of 10 you'll get switched to an operator.

Mind you, I also like the automated services for paying certain bills by debit card. It's fast and I get a small kick out of some of the robot voices reading your details back to you. :eek:
 
Some years ago, I worked briefly (for a period of about six months) with coding IVR systems, and we always used "0" (albeit as a hidden option) for directing to a human.

However, that was a requirement of our customer (I only worked for one during that time) so isn't necessarily always available.
 
Next time I need to fix my digital cable this will help. It breaks like every month and the stupid machine always goes crazy on me.
 
Neat list, I don't have to deal with that many companies (as I am only 17) but the fiew I have had to deal with, something like this would be nice to use at times.
 
rdowns said:
I posted this on 11/23 and got no replies. No one loves me. :(
Click to expand...

I never noticed when you did that back on 11-23. It can be a very helpful and handy item and I gladly give you credit for having posted it as a reference guide for all members.
 
rdowns said:
I posted this on 11/23 and got no replies. No one loves me. :(
Click to expand...

I remember seeing that :)
However, since I'm not in the US, it didn't really apply to me so I didn't say anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top