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AR15.COM
12/12/2005 3:05:15 PM EDT
here's a cheat sheet to talk to a LIVE operator with several businesses. Click the link.. its a lot less jumbled up.
I personally hate all these automated systems.

www.paulenglish.com/ivr/print.htmlThe IVR Cheat Sheetâ„¢ by Paul English
   

  finance phone steps to find a human
America First Credit Union 800-999-3961 0 or say "member services"  
American Express 800-528-4800 0 repeatedly  
Ameritrade 800-669-3900 3, 3, 0. (Former Datek Clients: 800-823-2835)  
Astoria Federal Savings 800-278-6742 9  
Bank of America 800-900-9000 00  
Bank of America 800-622-8731 *  
Bank of America 800-432-1000 Say "operator" or "associate" at any point in the menu.  
Bank One 877-226-5663 00  
Capital One 800-903-3637 0000  
Charles Schwab 800-435-9050 3, 0  
Chase 800-CHASE24 5 pause 1 4  
Chase Credit Card 800-945-2006 0  
Chrysler Financial 800-700-0738 Select language, then press 00  
Citi AAdvantage 888-766-2484 Ignore prompts and wait for a human.  
Citi Card 800-967-8500 0,0,0,0,0  
CitiFinancial 800-643-5607 0,0,0,0,0  
CitiMortgage 800-283-7918 ###  
Citizens Bank 800-922-9999 0,0,0  
Coutrywide Loans 800-669-5864  *0 repeatedly  
Diner's Club 800-729-5309 2  
Discover 800-347-2683 ****  
e*Trade 800-786-2575 #### (4 pound signs)  
Exxon Mobil Card 800-344-4355 000 ignoring message  
Fidelity 800-544-6666 ignore prompt for social security number, just enter ###  
Fidelity NetBenefits 800-581-5800 1,#################  
GE Finance CareCredit 866-893-7864 1, 6, 5, 0, 0  
HSBC 800-477-6000 1, 3, 0  
ING 800-464-3473 Direct to human.  
MasterCard 800-MC-ASSIST 000 on each menu  
MBNA 800-421-2110 00 when menu starts  
Mellon Investor 800-649-3593 Wait through initial recording finishes, select nothing--wait--you will be connected to a live customer service rep  
Paypal 650 864-8000 0  
Sovereign Bank 800-SOV-BANK 1 english; 1 personal; 3 then social#; passcode, #; then 0 (1-3x)  
US Bank 800-US BANKS 0000  
Visa 800-847-2911 000 (ignore prompts saying that it's an invalid entry)  
Washington Mutual 800-756-8000 At any time after the announcement(s) press 0,0.  
Wells Fargo 800-869-3557 0,0,0 or when asked for account number say "I don't know"  
Western Union 800-325-6000 * then ##  
government phone steps to find a human
INS 800-375-5283 After selecting English, (with a 2 second delay between) 2 6 2 4  
Social Security 800-772-1213 00 will confuse computer and send you to an agent  
Veterans Affairs 800-827-1000 1,0  
insurance phone steps to find a human
Aetna 800-537-9384 2, then say "operator" (check this)  
Aetna 800-680-3566 * then 0 anytime  
AFLAC 800-99-AFLAC ***  
CIGNA 800-516-2898 REGARDING A BILL  
Cigna 800-849-9000 ##  
GEICO 800-841-3000 Wait for prompt then 6, 1, 5  
Humana 800-4-HUMANA After entering insurance number and details, 0.  
Medicare 800-633-4227 After the opening prompt say "agent".  
Principal Life 800-247-4695 1 for english, 2, then 0 several times.  
pharmacy phone steps to find a human
CVS local store Press 6 to connect to store manager.  
Eckerd 800-eckerds 0 for pharmacy, 8* for manager  
Rite Aid local store Press 3 to speak to the pharmacy  
Walgreens local store 0 for a pharmacy employee  
products phone steps to find a human
Bose 800-444-2673 Direct to human.  
GE Appliance 800-626-2005 000  
Kodak 800-235-6325 *7 or *28  
Konica Minolta 800-285-6422 0  
NetFlix 888-638-3549  0  
Playstation 800-345-7669 0  
Sonos 800-680-2345 1 sales; 2 support  
Sony 800-222-7669 When prompted, just say "Agent".  
retail phone steps to find a human
Advance Auto Part 800-314-4243 Press 0 when the automated message begins.  
Amazon Visa 888-247-4080 Press 0 twice. Ignore invalid account message.  
Amazon.com 800-201-7575 0  
Apple Stores local store 5 as soon as you hear the automated menu  
Banana Republic 888-277-8953 0  
Barnes & Noble local store Press 1 or 0 during greeting.  
Best Buy Card 800-365-0292 00*  
Buy.com 949-389-2000 Dail 0 and direct to rep  
Circuit City Visa 888-363-8001 Press 0 a lot.  
COMCAST 800-266-2278 dail 0 3-4 times or be silent  
eBay 800-322-9266 dial 0,0  
Gap Credit Card 800-887-1198 Dial 0 2-3 times  
Home Depot 800-793-3768 # 2-3 times  
Home Shopping Net 800-284-3100 Dial 0  
Ikea 800-434-4532 Press 0 many times quickly!  
JC Penney 800-222-6161 Press 0 twice, ignoring error message.  
K-Mart local store 0  
Kohl's Credit 800 564-5740 After providing account info, press 0 three times  
Lowe's 800-445-6937 Dial 0 as the recording kicks in to get to the Operator  
Old Navy 800-653-6289 Dial 0 direct to rep  
Overstock.com 800-843-2446 At the main menu, 0 three to four times to bypass the menu  
Petco local store 3  
QVC 800-367-9444 0  
Safeway local store As soon as voice prompt starts type 1200 to get human  
Sears 800-4-MY-HOME Be silent to be put in queue for human.  
Target local store 0 during greeting.  
Toys "R" Us local store 0  
Wal-Mart 800-925-6278 1 for directory  
shipping phone steps to find a human
DHL 800-225-5345 press 1, press 5, press 0, enter your phone number.  
FedEx 888-GO-FEDEX At message say "Representative"  
UPS 800-pick-ups 0,0  
technology phone steps to find a human
AOL 800-827-6364 0  
Apple 800-275-2273 000; if virtual rep answers, say "operator"  
Compaq 800-652-6672 No easy escape  
Dell 888-560-8324 2 order; 3 support; 4 purchase help; or 00 to human  
Dell Service 800-624-9897 option 1, xt 7266966, option 1, option 4, option 4  
Earthlink 888-earthlink 1 find a dialin number; 2 billing; 3 sales; 4 support  
Epson 800-922-8911 yes  
Gateway 800-846-2301 00#  
HP 800-474-6836 Say "agent".  
HP 888-560-8324 00  
IBM 800-IBM-4YOU You go into a hold queue immediately  
Microsoft 800-936-5700 Always 0. This is true for just about any MS number.  
QuickBooks 888-729-1996 1 purchase; 2 billing; 3 registration; 4 tech support or 0 to human  
Symantec 800-441-7234 00  
telco phone steps to find a human
AT&T 800-222-0300 #### then 1 if for current phone, else 2 to enter other, else 3  
AT&T Wireless 800-888-7600 No easy escape  
BellSouth 877-678-2355 *0  
Cellular One 888-910-9191 4, say "agent", then #  
Cingular 800-331-0500 Try the option to close your account; same people but quick answer.  
Nextel 800-639-6111 0 five times  
SBC 800-585-7928 Again, an (intelligent, this time) IVR wants YOUR phone number first.  
Sprint PCS 888-788-5001 If live person does not answer, 00, then say "agent"  
T-Mobile 800-TMOBILE Say "representative" at any time.  
Verizon DSL 800 567 6789 Say "I don't know it" then "technician"  
Verizon Wireless 800-922-0204 #00 or enter phone # then 0 then 4  
travel phone steps to find a human
American Airlines 800-433-7300 00, then say "agent"  
Amtrak 800-872-7245 0 or say "agent"  
Delta 800-221-1212 say "agent" four times - every time it asks for a response from you  
Kayak.com 203 899-3120 0  
National Car Rental 800-227-7368 Direct to human.  
Northwest 800-225-2525 Star, 0,0 after initial greeting  
Southwest 800-435-9792 Calls answered by operator; during busy times you might have to hold  
United 800-864-8331 Do nothing, wait for human.  
US Airways 800-428-4322 4, wait, 1  
Walt Disney World 407-824-4521 Direct line to Magic Kingdom Guest Relations  
tv/satellite phone steps to find a human
Comcast 800-266-2278 Customer service, but an IVR wants your number first.  
Direct TV 800-347-3288 0 repeatedly  
Sirius 888 539-7474 0  
TiVo 877-367-8486 Say "Live Agent"  
Xm Radio 800-998-7900 Direct to human!  



12/12/2005 3:06:32 PM EDT
[#1]
Dupe.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If enough people do this, it will have the unintended side effect of increasing hold times in queue.
12/12/2005 3:08:31 PM EDT
[#2]

Quoted:
Dupe.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If enough people do this, it will have the unintended side effect of increasing hold times in queue.



Speak English man
12/12/2005 3:11:23 PM EDT
[#3]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Dupe.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If enough people do this, it will have the unintended side effect of increasing hold times in queue.



Speak English man



My response in the other thread:


I design IVR and ACD systems for a living (Cisco IPCC). If information like this becomes too prevalent, you will all be biting yourselves in the ass. IVR ports are alot cheaper than call center agents. Believe me when I tell you that most companies would LOVE to connect every last caller with a real live person. Then reality hits. Unfortunately, like it or not, companies must take steps to resolve common requests by using IVR. Not doing so effectively means LONGER hold times for people who wish to speak with a real person.

I don't think alot of you realize how expensive it is to answer 50,000+ calls in a day while keeping hold times reasonable without an effective IVR in place.