Worktowander

Folks,

The good people at Cheapflights.com have posted a list of phone numbers and tips for various airlines that purportedly allow you to skip customer service hell, e.g., "Press 1 if you ..."

I can't vouch for how long it will take the airlines to change these numbers, but until then, here's the link:

http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/travel...heatsheet.html

Hope it comes in handy.

Worktowander

BTW, hotels and tour companies are also included. Handy tricks include "How to talk to a real person: Press 2, then press 2 again."

Worktowander

Here's a link to a U.S. version. Scroll down for the airlines, etc. Lots of other useful contacts and tips to defeat the phone bots, as well.

http://paulenglish.com/ivr/

Send this around, share the love!

DeborahAnn

Worktowander, thanks for the paulenglish website.

I wish I had the hint of how to reach a live person at CapitalOne earlier this week. My blood pressure was close to boiling by the time I talked to a living person and I still don't know how I got there .

Your post here just might be a life saver =D> thanks, Deborah

sandi_travelnut

Normally, in the US, if you're on a system that requires you to speak your choices all you have to do is say "agent" or "transfer" and it'll take you to a live person.

DeborahAnn

sandi, wonder if that would work at CapitalOne, it makes too much sense. I think they must have a secret word

While I was going through all the motions at CapitalOne I was remembering the commerials by a credit card company currently running on TV about trying to reach a live person. It's no so funny when you are being put through all those hoops. Deborah

Intrepid1

At CapitalOne (yes, I have felt your pain in the past) you EVENTUALLY get to a menu that allows you to press "0" to reach a real person.

DeborahAnn

Intrepid, this was my first experience calling CapitalOne. Due to their no conversion fees we took one with us to Italy this November. We ran into some problems when it came time for them to credit our payment and I was rather stressed when I called the only number they listed.

I know I tried many ways to get to a human, following all their prompts, being the rule-follower that I am . I never was offered anything close to human contact. Finally I requested a service I didn't want just to get to someone. If there ever is another call to them (heaven forbid) I hope I can remember the suggestions here. Deborah

tomboy

When I encounter a phone "bot" which doesn't take a zero (0) to get to live people, I just say, "Szombathely". I may have to repeat it 2 or 3 times, but never a 4th, before I get a human. Wouldn't work in Hungary, of course, but works like a charm in the US.

sandi_travelnut

It is frustrating but when you look at the data, most customers inquiries can be handled by an automated system than by a human, which saves the company your calling a large sum of money per year. All companies build in to the IVR (interactive voice unit) or VRU (voice response unit) the ability to bypass the system to get to a live person...you just have to find it.

Robespierre

This is something I've been railing about since the late '70s. If companies would wise up and provide their customers with the tools to access the information they need quickly and easily, the overhead spent on "live bodies" could be slashed dramatically.

Think about it. What happens when you finally get through to a Customer Service representative? S/he accesses information that's in the company's computer and reads it to you. Don't you wonder why YOU can't see the same data on YOUR screen?

At minimum, this would require the re-creation of most IVR systems and implementation of web sites that most people don't have the skill to design. Most companies have only done the staff-reduction part - but not put enough resources into improving the user-accessible systems.

But the greatest impediment is that doing so would reflect badly in next quarter's results...

Worktowander

<you just have to find it.>

It's been found via these links.

sandi_travelnut

worktowander,

I wasn't implying that you didn't provide it, it was just a statement that the companies don't tell you how to bypass it and that the customer has to find it.

Worktowander

I hear you. It's all good.

gailw

The worst automated system I've ever encountered was the CapitalOne. I plan to change my credit card (I only have one) to a company that has easier-to-access human contact (my old USAA mastercard being one). I spent a total of almost 3 hours on the phone, being placed on hold when I finally did reach a human being, and then disconnected automatically after about 15 minutes, repeatedly, trying to resolve an unauthorized charge with them. AARRGGHH!

sandi_travelnut

The worst I've encountered was Delta. My son was sitting on a plane for a couple of hours, waiting to take off from DFW to Chicago. Because of the delay he was bound to miss his connecting flight. He called me from the plane to let me know. I called Delta to see if they knew whether the connecting flight was still on schedule and I waited to talk to an agent for over 35 minutes before I hung up. I called back and waited on hold again for over 40 minutes. My son called on the other line once they landed in chicago and I told him to just run as if the plane was not waiting for him, he did and barely made it. I was still on hold as he called to say he was at his connecting gate.

Robespierre

You mean Delta won't let you find out on-time information on the web?

Do they know that's how grown-up airlines do it?

sandi_travelnut

Silly me, I thought that I could get more up to the minute info by talking to an agent. What I didn't know if that they had a drunk programmer put an endless loop into the IVR and I wasn't really in queue to talk to anyone. There's no way they could have been that busy or that understaffed.

sandi_travelnut

Off the subject even more...Has anyone ever used the online flight tracker? Where you can see the take off and landing, air speed etc? I was watching one of my son's flights and saw it veer way of course, extremely off course. I was completely panicked as I tried to get an agent on line to find out what was happening. They had no updates for almost an hour. I had far more update info via flight tracker than they did. Apparently his flight was diverted and landed many hundreds of miles off course because of a major storm. It was frightening to see, you felt so helpless.

prr761

Here's another good one...ATA's auto info for arrivals tells you at 8pm, that the flight you are inquiring about arrived at 10 pm. Guess that must mean it will be on time, but they could stand to use the English language "more better".