You hit one for help with your account.

You hit three as an existing customer, five to pay your bill, then one again when the automated system takes you all the way back to the very beginning. Now your life is on hold as you sit, listening to a string quartet play Madonna’s Like a Virgin and a recording assures you that your call is very important.

Calling then waiting – it really pushes your buttons.

Don’t get all dialed up. The LucyPhone will let you off the hook.

The invention of two Stanford University engineering graduates, the LucyPhone program eliminates your phone waiting time.

Here’s the 411. Enter the toll-free number and your phone number on LucyPhone’s website. The program will then call you and patch you through to the company. As soon you’re put on hold, hit ** and hang up. LucyPhone will hold your place and call you back once an actual human is on the line.

The program even keeps tabs of the time so you can see how long it takes for your car insurance company (2 minutes and 42 seconds of new age pop music) or your airline (12 minutes and 25 seconds of contemporary Hawaiian music) to pick up.

LucyPhone also comes as an app for iPhone and Android.

So there’s no longer a reason to hold the phone.

You have an easy wait out the next time you face the Muzak.

LucyPhone can be accessed through its website. You can also download it free from the Apple Store or through the Android marketplace.