terrible customer service

Customer service is bad. I have a really hard time understanding most of the reps who are obviously struggling with English. But even worse is the fact that no matter what question you ask them they have to put you on hold while they chat with someone else who can answer the question. This is an absurd way of handling customer service and takes way longer than it used to take when calling Homestead for help with their products.

Why aren't the people who answer the phones already trained in how to answer our questions? It seems that this doesn't happen when I get native English speakers on the phone. It feels like there are two completely different customer service operations going on and rarely am I lucky enough to get somebody from the US who speaks english and knows most of the answers to my questions. 

Is there a number to call for customer service that goes directly to the US and not overseas? How do I get a rep on the line who doesn't have to put me on hold for every single question?