Break through the Phone Tree and Talk to a Human Being

Getting in touch with an actual human person to dispute a bad charge or to get tech support for a computer that has burst into flames on your desktop can be pretty difficult. The old rule of thumb to just keep pressing zero only works some of the time. Thankfully, I've got a new weapon in the war against the (phone tree) machines.

Next Mobile Web has released another great, free app for devices like the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry: Dial Zero is a huge database of customer service numbers and specialized instructions for reaching a human at hundreds of companies nationwide.

Just search by company name or browse the expansive database. You'll be rewarded with a phone number, relevant instructions (like "Press 0, then 0 again at the next prompt, and then say "agent."). There's also a crowdsource element to the app; you can scan user comments for additional tips or corrections to the connection advice.

The iPhone version of Dial Zero is very nicely done, which doesn't surprise me -- I also use their Phone Flicks and Craigslist apps. But if you'd rather have something like Dial Zero in Web page form, be sure to check out Contact Help and GetHuman instead.