(KRT)—I’m not sure whether to call Paul English a business iconoclast, a technological guerrilla warrior or a latter-day industrial saboteur.

But I’m sure of this: He’s a bona fide consumer hero. And if you ever spend time in voice-mail hell, he’ll soon be one of your heroes, too.

English navigates the tortuous labyrinths of corporate “interactive voice response” systems, helping callers find the Holy Grail: a real live human being.

He has recently launched a new web site featuring his cheat sheet: www.gethuman.com.

How easy is it? Well, it depends on the company. Click on the “Cheats” link at gethuman.com and you’ll see. As of Friday, the site listed numbers for 327 companies—some are unadvertised or secret—and a dizzying array of techniques for getting a person on the phone.

With some companies, Gethuman’s numbers make it a cinch. At least 34 route calls directly to operators—not just upscale merchants such as L.L. Bean and Bose, but also mass-market companies such as Beechnut, Anheuser-Busch, Cingular and T-Mobile.

Unfortunately, “Press 0” is so far from being a standard nowadays that many people don’t even bother. That’s why English’s site is so valuable.

As you’d guess, English’s efforts aren’t received well in the corporate world. “Infamous” is how one trade journal recently described his cheats.

English says he’s gotten his share of hate mail, but so far no harsher response. More likely is the kind of cat-and-mouse game English said he’s had to play with Dell Computers, which disabled an extension he listed that connected customers directly to tech-support for home computers.

Gethuman has 16 volunteers trying to keep it up to date and there is no guarantee that every cheat works—timing is sometimes a key. The site invites feedback if you find errors.

But I’ll vouch for this: English has single-handedly drawn attention to one of the worst aspects of today’s customer service. I like to think, as he does, that he’s started a movement.

© 2006 The Philadelphia Inquirer