Executive Has an Answer to Phone System Cheat Sheet

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff

Paul English can add this to his cheat sheet on how to reach a human on a computerized phone system: have a story in the newspaper.

English, the subject of a Nov. 6 Globe article, has caught the attention of Michael Zirngibl, chief executive of Angel.com, one of the leading makers of automated voice systems.

Zirngibl, whose McLean, Va., firm's clients includes Adidas, Kellogg's and the US Army, applauded English's efforts on behalf of consumers but said there were a lot of things wrong with his approach. English, a 42-year-old Arlington software engineer, made headlines with his personal website,

which houses a cheat sheet that tells people how to reach a human on the voice systems of more than

100 companies. Zirngibl said such systems often help consumers more efficiently than live agents.

To show that automation can be good and turn English's assault into a business opportunity, Zirngibl put out his own cheat sheet for businesses on how to create customer-friendly systems. Among the tips: never hide the option for speaking to a live agent and never require callers to repeat personal information once they reach a human being.