NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Just when you thought you couldn't possibly spend another minute holding for the next available representative, corporate profits hit the wall, and pink slips rained down on customer service call centers across the country.

"Customer service is often the first area to fall under the knife when a company is cutting costs," said Robert Johnson, executive director of Consumers' Voice, a telecom advocacy organization.

"With fewer people answering the phones, you can expect longer wait times," said Mark Czarnecki, president of the consulting firm Customer Service Benchmarking.

Unfortunately, marathon waits aren't the only thing that send customers' blood pressure soaring when they call their health insurers, phone companies or any other service that puts them at the mercy of a 1-800 number. Poor information, broken promises and unsympathetic ears seem par for the course.

"If you're dealing with regulated industries, there is an obligation to provide customer service. But with less-regulated industries, it's a buyer-beware world," said Johnson. "Consumers have to be persistent and willing to advocate for themselves more than ever."

The service part of customer service varies according to where you call and why. If you're calling to sign up for a new long-distance carrier or place a catalog order -- in other words, make them money -- a real person will probably pick up the phone after the first couple of rings.

When your call is related to billing or technical support, it's an entirely different story. There is little incentive for the company to take your call. It is, after all, costing them money.

Some companies know how important customer service is to their reputation, if not their bottom line. In fact, they spend a lot of time and money trying to improve the customer experience. But training representatives is no small feat, and the effort is often wasted on employees who stay on the job for only a few months before moving on.

Just as banks have reprogrammed customers to go to the ATM instead of a teller, companies in all industries are steering customers to the self-help sections of their sites or automated phone systems in an effort to limit contact with customer service representatives.

Survival strategy: The trend toward virtual customer service is likely to continue. Before you knock it, try it. In many cases you'll save time and frustration if you go through the automated system, access your accounts online or e-mail your questions and complaints.

There was a time when pressing "0" was an easy way around the maze of options standing between you and a real live person. Now more companies are removing this shortcut from their systems. Pressing "0" may get you little more than the computerized retort, "That is not a valid option."

This is just another product of companies' efforts to streamline the process and cut costs.

Training a representative takes anywhere from one week to several months, depending on how much they're expected to know. Rather than spend months training reps to answer several kinds of questions, Czarnecki says, companies are increasingly giving them a crash course in a specific area, at least initially. They rely on the phone options we hate so much to funnel calls to the right representative or to an automated system that attempts to answer our questions for us.

Of course, the system isn't foolproof. If you choose the wrong option or have two unrelated questions, you may have to talk to two different representatives. In some cases, you'll even have to call the 800 number again, decode another combination of options and spend more time on hold. (You can try asking to be transferred, but for some reason this isn't always possible.)

Survival strategy: Don't try to fight the system. Instead, listen to all of the options before you make any hasty moves. The last resort offered is, invariably, the one that gets you to a person. When faced with no appropriate options, then try "0." While it may not work on the first round of choices, it may put you through during the second or third round of choices.

Considering all the other cost-cutting measures companies are taking, it should be no surprise that most companies want their customer service representatives to handle calls quickly.

"You are judged largely on the number of calls you take," said Steve, a former representative for a telecommunications company who asked that his last name be kept private. He said he handled 80 to 100 calls a day.

At the same time, companies expect their reps to be empathetic, helpful and impervious to the personal insults they hear on a daily basis. To make sure this is the case, supervisors randomly listen in on calls and score the representative. Together, a rep's call volume and score determine whether or not they get bonuses, raises and promotions.

Survival strategy: Because they're expected to get through calls quickly, representatives may not volunteer any extra information. It's often up to you to ask the right questions while you have them on the line.

When a representative pulls up your account information, they typically see far more than last month's statement. They often know how long you've been doing business with them, how much you spend in a typical month and how many times you've called recently.

In fact, according to Emma Hitzke, a former call-center manager, most call centers use software that scores customers. Representatives can see if a customer is considered a high-profile customer and are told to act accordingly. They're also able to see if the caller has been flagged as a problem customer.

"We knew if a customer had called in 17 times asking for credits or if they'd been rude," said Steve.

"There are some really awful people calling in," said Czarnecki. "It is not entirely uncommon for companies to cancel service with these customers."

Survival strategy: Realize that loyalty has its perks. And regardless of whether you're customer of the year or just a regular Joe, keep a lid on your temper, lest your reputation precede you.

One of the most frustrating aspects of customer service is telling the same sob story to several different representatives or, perhaps worse, thinking that the problem has been solved only to open next month's statement and see that it hasn't.

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While customer service systems allow reps to keep notes on you, there is no guarantee that the rep will make a record of your conversation or that the system will track what customer service representative last spoke with you and when.

Survival strategy: "Take notes of the conversation and always take the name of the customer service rep you talked to," said Hitzke. "At the end of the call, ask the CSR to take notes of your conversation in your files... it can save you time for the next call."

In fact, by asking for reps' names or some way to identify them, there is more incentive for them to do what they've promised to do. "If they just give me a first name, then I'd ask for the name of their supervisor," Steve added.

Now that more companies are training their reps to deal with specific issues, you may have a harder time finding a rep who can walk you through more complicated issues. While you'll want to be as patient and respectful as you can, don't be shy about asking to speak with a supervisor who -- you hope -- has more universal knowledge of the product or company procedures and autonomy to credit your account or make good on a promise.

While working as a rep, Steve was trained to try to handle problems on his own rather than pass the call on to a manager. But as a customer, Steve says he frequently asks for a supervisor. "I learned that there are some things a rep can do for you, but there are things only a supervisor can do," he said.

Survival strategy: Give the rep a chance to take care of you, but realize that their authority may be very limited. When it's appropriate, ask to speak with a supervisor and even the supervisor's supervisor. Keep in mind, however, that just because a supervisor has more authority, doesn't mean he or she is going to bow to your every demand. They are still beholden to policies and contracts.