By Scott Ronalds

We’ve all dealt with it and it drives us insane. Calling a toll-free number and following an automated voice prompt. Just give me a damn human voice!

Pretty much every big business uses them. Yet, I don’t know of a single person who likes responding to synthetic voice instructions or let alone finds the process helpful and efficient. A website now exists that lets you enter a company’s name to find tips and shortcuts to speak directly with a human. Check it out, www.gethuman.com. If you enter United Airlines, for example, you’re told to “ignore the talking voice and press 0 at each prompt – three times”. The search results also tell you that the average wait time to get through to a human at United is 6 minutes.

Somewhere along the way, something went wrong with customer interaction. The fact that gethuman.com even exists proves just how far we’ve fallen. According to the financial decision makers, it’s all about costs and scale. But are costs and scale more important than human interface and an efficient client experience? The banks, airlines, cable companies, utilities, etc., sure think so.

Here’s a tip if you’re trying to get through to a human at Steadyhand. Call 1-888-888-3147. Press nothing else. Average wait time: 2-5 seconds. Chris, Sher, myself, or if need be, Tom will pick up.

Get human.