June23
You’re busy, right? Too busy to wait on hold while a computer voice tells you which number to push, only to have to sit through another message to get the next command, when all you really want to do is to is have some fun, AND speak with a real live person! We call it the “Voice Mail Jail.” Have you noticed that you can’t just press “0″ any more to get to a real person? It’s like they’re onto us.
Well, we’re onto them, too. Worth bookmarking, GetHuman.com gives you the short cuts to get through to a humanoid. The guys behind this site are on a mission for consistent standards, among other things.
That’s it for today’s tech tip. I’m going to try and post these once a week on Tuesdays so come back and let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see us tip-i-fy.
June10
Let’s say you’re craving Indian food at 2:30 and can’t remember if that restaurant you like closes at 2:00 for lunch. You’re in your car, you’re pre-menstrual, and don’t have the number. What do you do? It’s simple, Nancy Drew. Simply send a text message to Google (466453) with the restaurant name and city and they will text you back the phone number. (Which, if you’re on a smart phone, you can probably just click on to dial.) Or let’s say you’re out and about and in the mood to see a movie but don’t know what’s playing or even what theaters are nearby. Simply text Google with the word “movies” and your zip code or city and they’ll kindly text you back the theaters, movies, and times. Oh, and Google SMS (Short Messaging Service a/k/a “text”) is FREE.
OK, but let’s say you’re pre-menstraul, craving Indian, AND your thumbs hurt too much to text. That’s o.k., Princess. Just CALL Google: 1 (800) GOOG-411 and tell them what you need. It’s like the old directory service 411 call, only it’s free. They’ll tell you the number, or connect you directly, and they’ll even text you the number for future reference.
You literally have the world at your fingertips.
–Sherean