Hats Off

Since more often than not the companies that are supposed to serve us don't, it would be very easy for this blog to degenerate into a critical whinge.

To break way from that I want to celebrate in this post a start-up company in the US (well Canada actually) who is potentially turning a typical consumer whinge into an opportunity.

Hands up everyone who enjoys dealing with an IVR (Integrated Voice Response) System in the companies we contact. You know, the phone systems all big businesses hide behind - "to be marginally driven mad, press 1"; "to be almost pushed to the limit, press 2"; "if you didn't think it could be worse, press 3 and be introduced to an entirely new set of maddening sub-menus". I know no one is holding up their hand because we all hate IVRs, but businesses all use them because they 'streamline the customer handling process' (in other words they save money).

www.fonolo.com is a new business which, rather than joining the rest of us to whinge about it, is trying to turn this frustration into a business opportunity. They have built a 'spider' which phones the IVRs and builds a database of their menu structures (in much the same way a web search engine 'spider' builds a search index), which they visually display for you on the web. You can have a look at the menu structure and dive straight into where you want to be. They call it 'deep dialling'. You press the 'call' button at the point you want; fonolo goes through the hassle of calling the company and traversing the IVR structure and then they call you to put you through when they have the customer service agent you need.

What a cracker of an idea!

You can even 'bookmark' frequently used 'deep dial' locations AND you can record and store the calls so you have a record if, for example, you are involved in a billing dispute with the company concerned.

Where was this service when I was having my run-in with my ISP telco provider???!!

I really hope this works for the team behind fonolo - it should. They have spotted an almost universal consumer frustration; knowing that companies are unlikely themselves to respond to these frustrations, instead of waiting around for that to happen, they have seen an opportunity and created a solution.

The most powerful new businesses in my view are those that overcome an evident customer frustration.

I'll be watching this one with interest.

And whilst I am handing out plaudits, let's take our hats off also to our own AAMI who seem to have recognised that we all hate IVRs and have come up with their own solution - get rid of it. As far as I can tell every phone call to AAMI is answered by a real person who solicitously asks how they can direct your call. Yay! That is a point of difference upon which to build a great customer-centric insurance company.