We've all experienced it -- calling customer service only to be put on never-ending hold, or, worse, having to listen to the numerous prompts, pressing all the appropriate keys only to be disconnected.

Paul English, founder of Gethuman.com, figured out a better way.  He and his core group of supporters tracked down and have published the shortcuts that cut out the computerized telephone middle-man and get you to a human operator.

English's site allows you to jump to specific categories (e.g., Insurance) as well as sort individually through the more than 500 companies to find both toll-free telephone numbers and the shortcuts that get you off hold and connected to a live person.  The site also has a link if you prefer a printer-friendly format rather than electronic version of the information.

In a corporate world dominated by impersonal, unhelpful, computerized interactive voice response, English's site is much-needed relief for an all-too-human frustration.?