Nowadays, connecting with a human operator instead of an AI bot for any product or service query is quite challenging. However, Chicago-based digital creator Alexi (@artsialexi) has shared a hack to help people bypass this issue. She posted a TikTok video, sharing a simple trick to skip the annoying chatbots and get directly to a human operator while calling customer service.
“I literally cracked the code on how to speak to a human when you call customer service and it is too good not to share,” Alexi said. Her video, titled “Customer Service Hack,” has garnered around 9,000 views. She called this hack “easy” and “smart.”
She first experimented with this hack while ordering snacks from Chipotle via its online app. While placing her order, she often noticed that there was no option in the app to add the sides from the menu. “Whenever I order Chipotle for delivery, I do it through their app, and since I get a bowl, there is no option to add, like a side of vinaigrette,” she explained.
She urged Chipotle to add this option to their app. “Chipotle, if you are seeing this, update your app so we can do that.” However, since the option is not available currently, she usually calls the store to tell them in person the requests for her order. “I always call the store to tell them, like, ‘Hey I just placed an order under this name. Can you throw a vinaigrette in my bag?’”
Alexi said that it was a “timely” thing because she needed to get hold of someone in the store before the driver reached there to pick up her order. But each time she called, she found it difficult to speak to a human operator, “When I’d call, it was always a struggle to get to a human.” She explained that she finally figured out a hack to overcome this scenario and get in touch with a human representative. “Well, I figured out there are three words that you need to say, and you’ll get to a human,” she revealed, adding that the hack is valid not just for Chipotle’s customer service, but also for any physical store, restaurant, or likewise.
“This is how you get to a human,” she said, “Lost and found. That’s it, lost and found.” By uttering these three words, she said the call would take the customer to someone who was in the building. Alexi said she wasn’t sure whether the simple trick had been employed by other people or not. She questioned in the caption, “Is this a known hack?” Still and all, she urged her viewers to remember this trick for the next time they call customer service.
“Well now I’m curious and want to put vinaigrette on my bowl,” quipped @heathergarcia730 in the comments section. Speaking about the hack, @ashleyhappened said, “It depends on how their IVR is set up. Every telephony system is different,” to which Alexi replied, “True, but this trick seems to work a lot of the time!!” Several people also tagged Chipotle, anticipating the news of their app update.
Adding to Alexi’s hack, @trashingtrumpkins and @nancydavisnassereddine suggested “dialing zero” to speak to a human on customer service. This particular customer service hack has been shared by a lot of people. TikToker Liz (@LizTheMusicManager) explained in a video that all one needs to do after calling any customer service line is hit the keys “0# 0# 0#” over and over until the automated recordings take them to a live operator.
According to AARP, dialing 0 is indeed a hack that redirects a customer’s call directly to the human operator after a brief hold. The Daily Mail even tested this, and the trick proved successful at five of the eight major U.S. companies they tried, including Chase Bank, American Airlines, and Amazon. Another tip, the website explains, to speak to a human operator, is to speak gibberish or provide nonsensical voice recognition answers. These little tricks, including Alexi’s hack, perhaps, will bridge the gap that AI has created between human interactions and automated interactions.
You can follow Alexi on TikTok and Instagram for snippets of Chicago life, pop culture, and random thoughts.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 4, 2024. It has since been updated.
