Elevator jazz, assurances of "unusual call volumes," having to leave your phone on speaker mode—waiting on hold stinks. Free service LucyPhone can listen to the hold music for you, then call you back when a real human picks up.


Head to LucyPhone's site, look up the number of the company you're calling (or add it to their database), then hand over your own number. LucyPhone calls you and rings the company, Google-Voice-style, and you then navigate the company phone tree the way you normally would. Want to quickly connect to an actual human? Try GetHuman's database of phone shortcuts.


When you inevitably get put on hold, hit the star (*) key twice, and LucyPhone will take over and you can hang up. When a human picks up on the other end, LucyPhone rings you back. There's a chance that if you don't pick up fast enough, the representative might throw you back on hold—hit "**" again, and LucyPhone jumps back in. Services like the previously mentioned (and now defunct) Bringo have tried this setup before, and it'd be nice if LucyPhone implemented the same kind of skip-ahead-in-the-tree service of apps like Fonolo or Dial Zero. Still, if you've got a service call to make that can only happen during business hours, LucyPhone could be a real time saver.

Avoid phone trees with Bringo Web site Bringo calls customer service for you, navigates the automated phone tree, and then calls… Read more

G/O Media may get a commission Subscribe and Get Your First Bag Free Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20

LucyPhone.com [via Consumerist]