This was going to be a comment on Cat's post, but it turned into a story.

My cable company has a voice-activated service system that wants to talk to me for half an hour every time I call.

I discovered something interesting one day while complaining to the computer about this (technically it's listening to me, which I think makes that less weird.)

The system responds to a number of terms like "service representative," "person," and even "human being." I think the last one was the one I inadvertently discovered, but I've since branched out. It never tells you that you have the option of asking for a human being, but it will transfer you if you pester it enough.

So the conversation goes like this:

Jim: (puches a bunch of buttons to get to high speed internet tech support)

Computer: Thank you for calling, sorry you're having problems, yada yada.

Computer: First, let's try a few steps to see if we can fix your problem. Can you see your cable modem? It has several lights on the front of it.

Jim: Human being

Computer: Did I hear you say "human being?"

Jim: Yes

Computer: We haven't finished

Jim: Human being

Computer: But...

Jim: Human being

Computer: Alright, I'm transferring you to a customer service representative.