What do you do when you get "No" for an answer?

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I am finding more and more that people who answer telephones for businesses are trained to be robots. Quite often they do not, or are not allowed to, think beyond the typed script they have in front of them. I find this true for call centers as well as receptionists. When I call to ask a simple question or to get some quite reasonable thing done that makes perfect sense based on my situation, I reach a pre-programmed robot whose brain was left on the spare parts table. I used to swear and sputter and reach for my blood pressure meds. Now, after a couple of minutes of going around in circles, I escalate the call to a supervisor. Sometimes I have to go a couple of levels up the ladder, depending on how many robots have been promoted. It is still frustrating as heck because it usually takes quite a bit of time to cut thru all of the red tape to get to the right person that can help me. I should not limit this just to telephones. Often the people who sit out front and should give a good impression of what a company is about do just the opposite. They can be rude and have no knowledge about their company's business; however they are quite willing to provide an opinion on what you cannot do. If I find the policy of the entire company is unreasonable and they are unbending, I try to find a way to change the place where I spend my money. How do you handle unfavorable business experiences? If you are one of those people I am calling a robot, I do not mean to offend. Let me hear your side of the issue. Help me understand.