Web sites help callers fed up with automated phone systems

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MCT) - Press 1 if you've ever been trapped in phone-system purgatory. Press 2 if you've ever yelled at an automated phone system or given up in frustration before reaching a real person.

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To help consumers escape the bondage of automated phone systems, a couple of Web sites _ www.get2human.com and www.dialahuman.com _ list hundreds of company phone numbers and ways to reach a real person when calling them.

Some companies are praised for their automated phone systems, while others are criticized for things such as long call-wait times.

AT&T's wireless service was criticized for having a customer go through several voice prompts before being told that the customer service department was closed.

The company is always evaluating its practices to identify opportunities for improvement, said AT&T spokesman Rick Fox in Chicago.

Mostly, the Web sites are a cheat-sheet offering tips for getting around automated phone systems.

After that, you're on your own.

Just because you reach a real person on the phone doesn't necessarily mean they can help you, said Walt Tetschner, the project leader for get2human.com, based in suburban Boston.

Get2human is a place where consumers can exchange information and vent their anger about automated phone systems of large companies and some government agencies. Starting this month, the Web site expects to add a feature allowing consumers to rate whether a company's customer service agents are communicating well.

That's become more of an issue as U.S. companies contract out customer service to countries where language and cultural differences sometimes create communication barriers.

Otherwise, get2human offers a plethora of tips and tricks such as pressing 0000000, and then 0 at subsequent prompts, to reach someone at Sears Credit Card services.

The site was developed to fill a need. Many companies aren't doing a very good job with their phone systems, said Tetschner, an engineer by training and now a consultant and consumer advocate.

"The frustrations that consumers have are usually pretty basic but are mostly ignored, despite the fact that most enterprises will tell you how important calls are from their customers," Tetschner said.

"There's a serious problem when 95 percent of the users of an (automated phone system) absolutely dislike it," he added.

Tetschner has spent years poking and prodding phone systems to see how effective they are and what's really meant when a robot voice says "your call is very important to us, so please remain on the line for the next available customer service agent."

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Some things that he has learned include:

An automated greeting that says "Due to unusually high call volumes, wait times may be longer than normal," really means the company is too cheap to hire enough customer service agents.

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It's misleading when a system says "your call will be handled by the next available representative."

"Think about it. The next available representative will handle the call from the guy who has been waiting the longest," Tetschner said.

When the system says: "Your call may be recorded for training purposes," what it means is: "We can use this recording against you for any future purpose we want," according to Tetschner.

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As frustrating as automated phone systems can be, technology isn't always the enemy.

Most people don't object to other self-service systems, such as automated bank teller machines, and they wouldn't mind automated phone systems so much if the companies using them made a few changes.

Giving customers accurate wait times and having the option for customer service to call you back can greatly improve automated systems, Tetschner said.

"The technology is available to do it right. And you don't need 15 system menus and long, wordy prompts," he said.

Some systems can detect whether someone is ranting or cursing at the machine and will quickly send that call to a live person. But it doesn't get customer service off to a good start, and it requires expensive technology and enough people to accept the calls.

"In the world of customer call centers, companies never staff to peak calling times," said Steve Konavaluk, a telecom engineer with Black Box Voice Services in Waukesha, Wis.

"And when you press '0' for an operator, you are fooling yourself if you think that person can always help you," he said. "Often you have reached an overburdened switchboard person or secretary, and even then there aren't enough of those people to pick up the phones."

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Automated phone systems can be used to sort calls and get people the help they need quickly.

"There are a lot of Gen-Xers who live in a world of text messaging and cell phones. I don't know if that generation really wants to talk to a real person. They just want to get the job done," Konavaluk said.

Automation also can save you money. Midwest Airlines, for example, charges $25 if you call and book a flight with the help of a live human.

Customer service comes with a price. "But if there's a consequence for frustrating your customers, such as losing business, it changes the game. All of a sudden those companies get it right, and the old arguments against changing the system disappear," Tetschner said.

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The purpose of get2Human isn't to embarrass companies or to mess with their automated phone systems.

Rather, the work-arounds are given to help consumers and, in some cases, improve a company's customer service.

"We are doing companies a favor by pointing out what's wrong and how it should be fixed," Tetschner said.

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Get2Human uses 10 standards for rating automated phone systems:

1. The caller must always be able to dial 0 or say "operator" to queue for a human.

2. An accurate estimated wait time should always be given when the caller arrives in the queue.

3. Callers should never be asked to repeat information (name, account number, description of issue, etc.).

4. When a human is not available, callers should be offered the option to be called back.

5. Speech applications should provide touch-tone fall-back.

6. Callers should not be forced to listen to long, wordy prompts.

7. Callers should be able to interrupt prompts.

8. Systems should not disconnect for user errors; instead queue for a human operator or offer the choice for call-back.

9. Default language should be based on demographics, with the option for the caller to change language.

10. All representatives of the organization should be able to communicate clearly with the caller.

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© 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.