How to: Reach a human in customer service

Frustrated with pushing buttons and listening to recordings when you need help? This site provides phones and more to help you reach a human to solve customer-service issues.

1 Go to gethuman.com to find phone numbers to bypass automated systems, e-mail addresses to contact companies, Web forms, etc. There are 1,527 companies listed for the United States.

2 Type a company's name in the search window to find consumer-provided phone numbers and techniques to reach a human (e.g. press 5 at each prompt), as well as average waiting time to reach a person.

3 The site allows users to rate businesses for their customer service, discuss experiences and share tips for getting better service. Read comments and suggestions before buying a service or product. - Ronnie Gill