INDIANAPOLIS -
When you call a business, does a real human pick up the phone or do you get stuck in automated wasteland with a series of prompts that can leave you on hold forever? Face it. We spend much of our life waiting. Waiting for food. Waiting for the signal to change. Waiting for service. But there are few experiences more irritating than calling a business and waiting a long time for a real person to answer.
My Facebook fans vented about getting stuck in automated wasteland.
"The automated phone is not service! It is the worst thing companies have ever done," said Barb Parker. "People wonder why kids have no social skills. Everything is so automated and the calls from the people from India are the worst. Please treat me like I mean something to your business!"
"It seems like no matter who I call it's that way; my son's school, my satellite company, the IRS, my cell phone company, even the 411 operator most times won't give you a real person. Very, very frustrating," said Belinda Carpenter.
"Anyone ever try to call a health insurance company?" asked Julie Walker. "It is insane."
Carol Stepp is a Channel 13 viewer and a former customer of AT&T. She canceled her phone service after being frustrated by the customer service. She agreed to participate in a Channel 13 experiment. With the camera rolling, how long would it take Carol to call AT&T and reach a real person? She called the number on her bill and became trapped in automated wasteland, spending 13 minutes on hold before a real person answered the phone.
"If you're on the phone more than five minutes, it's too long," said Stepp. "It's just a nightmare."
We found a website that promises to shorten your wait by getting you to a live person. It's called Get Human. Type in a company and the website gives you the "best number to call." Carol gave it a try with AT&T. We put a clock on her desk to time how fast it would take to reach a real person. Her call started at 3:37pm. By 3:38pm, Carol got through to a human being.
"Wow," laughed Stepp. "That's amazing. Makes you want to go back to AT&T."
Get Human boasts phone numbers for over 8,000 companies. A self-described "diehard New England Patriots fan" is the company's Chief Operating Officer.
"Who hasn't called and been angry or upset?" said Adam Goldkamp. "Why should I wait 45 minutes for someone to answer? Most of the information on our website is user submitted. We are a website/app where users give us the phone numbers that work. I check everything to make sure it's accurate," said Goldkamp. "It's meant to be as simple as possible."
Channel 13 viewer Nita Koehl has spent long afternoons on hold waiting for someone to answer her business calls. As a busy mother of three, there are other things she could be doing. Koehl says a five-minute wait would be reasonable after getting through the voice prompts.
Nita agreed to participate in our experiment by calling the phone number on her bill.
"I was on hold for twenty minutes during the first call when I was disconnected by the company. The second time I called, I was on hold for almost forty minutes," said Koehl.
In all, she spent one hour waiting on hold.
But when she typed in Get Human and used their "best number to call" it took her one minute to reach a real person at AT&T. In Nita's case, it still took some waiting and transferring. She waited a total of three minutes for a real person to answer her call.
"I don't know that I would necessarily suggest Get Human because it did direct me somewhere else," said Koehl. "It was certainly faster than using the number provided on my bill."
Get Human offers another option for consumers. The website partnered with LUCY PHONE to create a widget that goes through the automated system in search of a real person. It's a "Call Backs" feature that asks the company to call you back.
"Eventually when a live person answers, your phone will ring," said Goldkamp. "It's such a great tool. Everybody is busy. This puts the ball back in the company's court so you don't have to waste your time."
Waiting is part of life. You can't eliminate it. But Get Human may shorten your wait.
