Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Does telephone customer service annoy you? Sick of being kept on hold waiting for someone to serve you. We’ve all been there.
This is especially costly if you are using a mobile phone in Australia to call a 1800 or 13 number. Those numbers incur expensive rates.
The Daily telegraph recently complied a cheat sheet on how you can get your call answered quicker by an operator.
The full list is available as a PDF from their website. You can download it here.
Examples for some of them are below.
| Company | Phone Number | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Bank | 132 221 | Ignore menu. Press # three times |
| National Australia Bank | 132 265 | Ignore menu. Press # three times |
| NRMA | 132 132 | Ignore menu. Press # at least six times |
| Apple | 133 622 | Press 9 for reception |
| Sony | 1300 137 669 | Ignore menu. Press 0 three times |
| Optus | 133 937 | Ignore menu. Press # at least five times |
| Telstra | 132 200 | Press # after each prompt |
| Qantas | 131 313 | Press # at least seven times |
| Singapore Airlines | 03 9254 0300 | Press 0 twice after listening to the menu |
| United Airlines | 131 7777 | Press 2 |
| Virgin Blue | 136 789 | Press 1, then 4, then say “no”, then say “something else”, then hold |
| Medibank Private | 132 331 | Press hash. Ignore the “invalid” message and press hash again. Then wait |
