Just start swearing at it and it will usually connect you, the nastier the better.
Dropping n-bombs to get to customer service
Oh my god… the other day a Kroger pharmacist left a voicemail about what turned out to be a scam which got averted, but to get back in touch with her, I had to keep yelling at the Kroger robot that I wanted to speak to a pharmacist until it finally let me. And then it suddenly put me directly in touch with her no problem.
Infuriating.
I just hit zero as soon as I hear a robot voice
That’s such a long word to shout. I go with “Human”
or the good old FUCK
I swear to God swearing makes it work better. I think they may legitimately have swearing filters to gauge customer frustration.
Press 0.
Haven’t had that work in years.
Press
When answering machines want me to speak out loud despite how long I wait to hear the number prompts, sometimes I yell fuck you and hang up.
This is giving me flashbacks to my last job doing medical billing. Sometimes pressing 0 would not work.
Cussing also works
It’s so stupid too. All they offer to help with can be easily looked up online. I never waste my time calling some dreaded hotline unless it’s a special case.
Sounds like its working, then.
Ha, sure sounds like it. But you had to wait also before there were only answering machines. Hotlines have always been awful.
Sure thing! But to get you to the right representative, I need to know a little more about your issue. In a few words, could you say what you’re calling about?
Me IRL
It doesn’t work on all systems, but you can try spamming the zero button. My bank has the most annoying robot assistant I’ve ever had to deal with, but I’ve learned if I hit the zero button everytime it asks me something after about 4-5 times it gives up and just transfers me to a person… I have had this work for other companies, but it’s hit or miss.
Seems like people have been doing this enough that companies have started to disable the functionality. Comcast will just hang up on you nowadays if you spam zero.
My trick lately to speed things up with Comcast is just go straight to cancellations. I always immediately get a human on the phone. I them tell them what I’m actually calling about, and they will then transfer me to the correct department.
This can also backfire because they might transfer you back to the queue, losing your previous spot.
