| NUMBER | ESCAPE ROUTE | |
| Banks | ||
| Bank of America | 800-900-9000 | Hit zero twice, after menu choices play |
| Chase | 800-CHASE24 | Hit five, pause, then hit one, four, star, zero |
| CitiBank | 800-374-9700 | Zero |
| Wells Fargo | 800-869-3557 | Zero |
| Travel Reservations | ||
| American | 800-433-7300 | Press zero twice, then say "agent" |
| Amtrak | 800-872-7245 | Zero or say "agent" |
| Continental | 800-523-3273 | Three – but sometimes calls go straight to an agent |
| Delta | 800-221-1212 | Zero |
| Northwest | 800-225-2525 | Star, zero, after initial greeting |
| Southwest | 800-435-9792 | Calls answered by operator; during busy times you might have to hold |
| United | 800-864-8331 | Say nothing (but you have to listen through lots of menus) |
| US Airways | 800-428-4322 | Hit four after initial greeting, then hit one |
| Wireless Providers | ||
| AT&T Wireless | 800-888-7600 | No easy escape |
| Sprint PCS | 888-788-5001 | Zero twice, then say "agent" |
| T-Mobile | 800-937-8997 | Enter your phone number |
| Verizon Wireless | 800-922-0204 | No easy escape |
| Credit Cards | ||
| American Express | 800-528-4800 | Hit zero, pound, three times over (ignore prompts that it's an invalid entry) |
| MasterCard | 800-MC-ASSIST | Hit zero three times (once on each menu) |
| Visa | 800- 847-2911 | Hit zero three times (ignore prompts saying that it's an invalid entry) |
| PC Tech Support | ||
| Apple | 800-275-2273 | Zero three times; if virtual rep answers, say "operator" |
| Dell | 888-560-8324 | Hit zero twice |
| Gateway | 800-846-2301 | Hit zero, pound |
| HP (Compaq Products) | 800-652-6672 | No easy escape |
| HP (Hewlett-Packard) | 800-474-6836 | Say "agent" |
| IBM | 800-IBM-4YOU | You go into a hold queue immediately |
*Many of the companies listed have more than one customer contact number. In addition, some companies give faster service to customers who take the time to type in their account number or phone number. Companies change menus frequently.