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Show HN: "Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio

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21–30 of 88 posts

Re: Show HN: "Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio

#25
post #23

Do you play an automated message when the tech comes on the phone? How many phone service technicians will actually sit there and wait to be connected to the actual user?

Yep. Most customer service folks don't mind waiting (they hear a phone ringing while we get you on the line) and they end up talking to happier customers, who are also much less likely to switch to another company than someone who's just been sitting on hold for 20 mins.

Re: Show HN: "Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio

#27
post #22

Are you A/B testing already? I like how the heading subtitle changes on every reload

More likely, they're just giving you a random subtitle each page load for fun or as an easter egg.

Yeah, we're just having fun there.

Re: Show HN: "Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio

#29

Did you build the database of phone tree options yourself, or is there another place you're getting it from? Building such a database seems ridiculously time consuming.

We originally looked at GetHuman, who really pioneered this space a long time ago. Their database is copyright so we would have needed permission, but one downside to crowdsourced data is that sometimes the crowd doesn't come back through and clean it. The result is that you have (for example) 9 different numbers to reach customer service, but what you really wanted was the best number. In the end we just did it from scratch.

Re: Show HN: "Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio

#30
post #23

Do you play an automated message when the tech comes on the phone? How many phone service technicians will actually sit there and wait to be connected to the actual user?

Also, a lot of phone service reps are literally not able to end a call. Often, the customer has to do it.
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