The Vine

Ann Oliveri has previously blogged about get2human.com, a web service that provides shortcuts for reaching a live person at hundreds of different customer support call centers. (Sometimes it’s dialing 0, sometimes it’s saying “support,” sometimes it’s saying nothing at all.)

If I may tag on, what I love most about this story is that the shortcuts are provided from within. The organizers of get2human don’t spend all their time hacking phone systems trying to find the magic code at each one. Instead, call center employees—whistleblowers, if you will—voluntarily offer it up. If the company switches its system (“please listen closely, as our menu options have changed”), the new shortcut will be posted within a day or two.

A business builds a fortress to keep people out; its citizenry lowers the drawbridge to let them in.

There’s an interesting parallel to community development. It has nothing to do with your phone system, and everything to do with the places you make.

Your communities are full of whistleblowers. When you create (or better yet, co-create) delightful places that make it easier for people to “get human,” they will tell others about it. Conversely, if you build this, someone will take a picture, post it online and condemn it. And they’re doing you a favor (hear me out).

Why do call center employees post their shortcuts on the web? Well, I’m sure there’s some satisfaction in undercutting convoluted corporate systems. But the larger motivation, I believe, is the same as people who rave about (or rail against) their community—we enjoy helping one another. We want to share with others the pleasurable things of this world, and steer them clear of the painful.

The mission of get2human is not to stick it to The Man. They simply—and genuinely—want to help businesses provide better service. And so it is with your constituency, fans and detractors alike. They want to make your communities better (read: more human). In the process, they’re helping you become better (read: more human).

[Disclaimer: I realize there will always be unreasonable hotheads, serial complainers who cannot be placated. They are miserable curs. I'm not talking about them.]

Yes, empowered consumers and citizen journalists can be a pain. Business was much easier when we made stuff and they purchased it.

But this is a different time. A (hopefully) more human one.