Sometimes, you crave a human connection, especially when the alternative is listening to a soulless robot reciting a menu of telephone-tree options. That's never more evident than when you need to call the customer support number of your wireless carrier. When you're already frustrated by your phone, do you really want to take your chances with an automated service menu if you could just jump ahead to a living, breathing, helpful person?
Reaching out to us via email, an anonymous reader certainly wanted to ditch a robot helper for a human one on a recent call to Verizon but was frustrated to find a prior method for circumventing Big Red's automated phone menu now causes the call to hang up.
"There is no way to reach a human anymore! Maybe someone needs to report they cut out humans altogether?"
I'm pleased to inform you that we needn't bow down before our robot overlords just yet. You can still reach a human tech-support rep at Verizon, though the method has changed and you'll need to have an account PID handy when you call. (More on that later.) That's becoming a standard practice with wireless carriers, which want you to prove you're actually a subscriber when you're calling about your wireless account.
Talk to a real person at Verizon
Here's how I breeze through Verizon's automated phone system to get straight to a person.
1. Call Verizon's service number at 1-800-922-0204.
2. When the automated system begins talking, press zero.
3. The automated system will ask you to say why you're calling. Press zero again.
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4. At this point, the system will promise to connect you to an operator, but it will ask you to enter your account PID. (That's a four-digit number you set up on Verizon's website.) Enter it, and press #.
You'll soon find yourself talking to an actual human.
Or, at least, I found myself talking to an actual person. Our anonymous reader tried repeating my steps and not only heard a different set of menus from Verizon's automated system but also got hung up on. We’ve reached out to Verizon to figure out why the two of us had such different experiences. My best guess: I'm a postpaid customer, and our anonymous reader has a prepaid account. We will update this story if we get a definitive explanation.
MORE: Cellphone Carriers: Best and Worst Customer Service
Customers who want to skip straight to the talk-to-a-person part of the proceedings may balk at having to enter an account PID. But it's a decent security measure, and even with that step, it took me only 45 seconds to go from the start of the call to conversing with a helpful Verizon rep.
"That's great for Verizon subscribers," customers of other major wireless carriers may be muttering. "But what about my needs?" We've got you covered there, too.
Talk to a real person at AT&T
1. Call AT&T's service number at 1-800-331-0500.
2. When the automated system alerts you that your call may be recorded, press zero. (Don't try to jump the gun on AT&T by pressing zero the moment the automated message starts playing; that robot keeps talking until it says what it's planning to say.)
3. You'll be asked if you're calling from the phone number associated with your account. Press zero again.
4. The automated system will ask what service you're calling about. Once again, mash that zero button.
5. After all that, you'll finally get through to a human operator.
Talk to a real person at Sprint
1. Call Sprint's customer service number at 1-866-866-7509. As of this writing, Sprint greets you with a promotion for the newly launched Galaxy S9. No matter how many times you mash zero, the sales pitch will continue, so you’ll just have to sit through it.
2. You'll be asked if you want to conduct the call in Spanish. Press 2 (unless you do want the call to proceed in Spanish, in which case you'd press 8).
3. The automated system will begin to recite menu items. Just press 5 to skip all that.
4. Assuming you're calling for customer support, press 2. (Pressing 1 takes you to sales at this stage.)
5. Here's the part where Sprint will ask for the phone number associated with your Sprint account. Again, this is how Sprint guarantees that it's talking to an actual subscriber.
Talk to a real person at T-Mobile
1. Call T-Mobile's customer support line at 1-877-746-0909.
2. Wait patiently while the automated system asks you if you prefer to speak Spanish on this call.
3. When the automated system starts asking you questions, just say "I don't have one." (One what? I don't know, either ... I'm just trying to get you to a human operator.)
3. The automated system will start talking again. Press zero to put a stop to that and get connected with an actual person.
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