Tips for Small Businesses
Reach a Live Customer Service Representative…Hassle Free
Monday, August 15, 2011
Typically when you hear “don’t call us we’ll call you” it’s not a good thing. But, a new free application for your iPhone or Android phone turns the tables on that phrase. It takes the hassle, frustrating automated voice and key entry menus, long hold time and excruciating hold music out of calls to customer service lines.
It’s called FastCustomer and the concept is simple. Download the application, locate the company you need to contact—they have thousands of them from airlines, to phone companies, to utilities, to financial services, to manufacturers of everything from computer games to electronics to food products—and click on it to request a call. FastCustomer places the call, navigates the menus, endures the hold music, and calls your mobile phone when a live person is available. You take it from there.
An additional handy feature is its customer service line database—that you can use even if you don’t have a compatible mobile device. Simply search for a company, and if it is in the database you’ll get helpful information such as the customer support phone number, hours of customer support operation, average overall hold time, and a chart that displays hold times by day of the week—so if you do need to place a call yourself, you can pick a relatively slow time.
If your provider isn’t listed, you can contact FastCustomer and they’ll attempt to add it. Of course, not every company likes this approach, and some have even blocked it. So, you can use the list to pick new providers based on who participates and who doesn’t. For example, Comcast cable isn’t on the list nor is Dish Network, but DirectTV and Cox Cable are there. See the current, and fast-growing, list here.
The site’s homepage has a real-time counter that claims to have saved 293+ thousand minutes on hold with 2558 companies as of this morning. Need customer service without the hassle? Give FastCustomer a try.
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