Have you ever needed to contact the customer service department of (insert any big-chain store/company here) and blocked off a significant portion of your day because you just know you’re going to sit on hold with a machine for an hour? Yeah, me too. It seems as though whenever we need to “speak to a representative,” we’re really just transferred to yet another robot who clearly cannot help us with our refunds/complaints. Side note: we’re just one step closer to living in a real-life version of The Terminator. But, of course, Twitter is here to share some pro tips for all of us sick and tired of speaking to absolutely no one on the other end of the phone. Instead of endlessly screaming “PLEASE LET ME SPEAK TO A HUMAN BEING,” there is a much simpler way to get a person on the other line – swearing.
We’re serious. Instead of slamming your phone against the wall and screaming into a pillow over your aggravation, you can simply use any of your favorite swear words and, apparently, the machine will automatically transfer you to a representative.
Life hack: I called Walgreens to check on something and got a lengthy ad for flu shots and I shouted “fuck OFF” and it took me right to the main menu
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) November 18, 2017
How f*cking brilliant? And, according to Twitter, there is one very special person to thank for this miracle.
My friend created and patented this technology! If you swear at an automated system, many will redirect you to an operator. That is a legit way to shortcut automated menus. https://t.co/47yl2iUbDG
— annebot (@annebot) November 18, 2017
God bless your friend, @Annebot. People were obviously glad to learn this new pro tip and couldn’t wait to try it out for themselves.
Haha! This is the sort of thing I like to fact check. TRUE! https://t.co/XHXvztSkkK
— Brent Logan (@blogan) November 18, 2017
Can confirm. I once swore at an automated marketing call and it removed me from their call list and never contacted me again.
— Christina D ??? (@akasha111182) November 18, 2017
Holy shit I thought she was joking that’s incredible
— Ben Cartwright (@Astro_Adept) November 19, 2017
I'm going to try this every time I use an automated phone system from now on
— James Bareham (@Happicamp) November 18, 2017
But, someone pointed out the scary moment when we do swear to a real, live person.
It’s gonna be great when someone on the line goes “excuse me?” And you realize it’s not automated
— Kimberly Mas (@QueKmas) November 18, 2017
And, of course, it actually happened to someone.
I tried this and then someone on the line said "ma'am please calm down"
It wasn't an automated system
— Jennifer Finley ? (@JigsawFirefly) November 19, 2017
OOPS!