can you catch a human?

so this week i was trying to reach a company to discuss a charge they had made to my credit card that I wasn't expecting.

I needed to call back several times to try to re-navigate my way through their automated phone system, since I wasn't able the first few times to find the exact right combination of buttons that would get me a live, breathing human.

haven't we all been there?

and what a coincidence... i ran across this site shortly thereafter: http://www.gethuman.com/us/

you can go to this site and get phone numbers (sometimes unreleased) and detailed instructions for how to get ahold of an actual human.

I have to laugh at some of the instructions on the page... my favorite is:
SUNOCO- 800‑278‑6626- Press 0 five times, then mumble when prompted for an account number.













it's such a frustrating state of customer service affairs in america, when companies decide to bury their human support.

my other favorite is the statement- 'i'm sorry, it's our policy'

roughly translated, that means 'someone way high up in the company made a decision to fuck you, and i'm the front person who is completely unempowered to do anything more than listen to your complaint and pretend like i care.'