Press "1" for Yes...

Ever been trapped in automated-customer-service-phone-menu Hell?

Press "1" for Yes...

Well, maybe Purgatory is more accurate, but it feels like Hell. especially when you really, really need help.

Well, the same native human intellect that came up with such a brilliant idea has been used by another person for the forces of good* instead.

Not a new story, but a really really useful story...

Last summer, fed up with too many aggravating run-ins with awful customer service, Mr. English posted a blog entry that reverberated around the world: a "cheat sheet" that explained how to break through automated interactive voice-response systems at a handful of companies and speak to a human being. He named the companies and published their codes for reaching an operator — codes that they did not share with the public.

And here are the cheatsheets.



*jer,uh...ME!'s version of the "forces of good" involves ideas like: iTunes, pre-paid cash cards for iTunes, truth-in-advertising, consumer reports, ingredient lists as complex as a Tabasco sauce label...