Deep Dialing Revisited – How-To Avoid Phone Menus [Review]

How many times have you called a company to speak with a customer service agent only to be greeted by the sweetest computer voice – “Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed”. Arrgghhh!!! You patiently keep pressing 1s or 2s only to be lost in the ever so complicated phone menu. I am sure this has happened to each one of us more than once.

We provided some alternatives on how to avoid the phone menus completely and speak directly with a human specie. But the problem with most of such services like Get A Human, Dial-A-Human, etc. is that you have to go to their site, find out the menu sequence and press the appropriate sequence to be connected with the operator. That is so 70′s!! Today we review two great options that use the power of your smart phone do deliver the same result. Although I discus the options currently available for the iPhone or iPod Touch, similar options may be (or may soon be) available on other platforms.

App Name	Phone Tree Navigator (v. 3)	Connect (v1.1)
iTunes Link	iTunes link	iTunes link
Developers	Michael Schneider	Crowded Road
Cost of App	$0.99	$0.99
Database of Companies	>1000	>1000
Internet Connection required	Yes	No
Features	Dialing the contact Updated database every time Searchable database	Additional dialing options (Manual dialing) Searchable database
Visual Appeal	Can do better	Nothing to complaint

While there is nothing much to choose between them at this point. However, since the Phone Tree Navigator requires the Internet connection and because of its “not so good” interface, I am leaning towards Connect. However, if you prefer an always updated database, then Phone Tree Navigator is the clear choice. Although the developers of Connect promise that the next update will have auto update feature. I would have loved to see Phone Tree Navigator operate without the Internet connection (and update whenever Internet connection is available). The screen-shots will make some of the points clearer.

Phone Tree Navigator Direct Line Screen Shots:

Connect Screen Shots:

Basically, these apps are nothing but an implementation of an old trick – Smart Dialing – that I mentioned earlier. All they do is pass on the numbers automatically so that you do not have to manually enter them.

While Fonolo pioneered this concept of “deep dialing”, others are taking the lead in providing a richer experience. But before you draw any conclusions, there are some points that I would like to highlight. Both these apps do a good job at connecting you with a human operator, but they may not connect you with “the” human operator you want to speak. For example, if you want to speak to a technical support representative, the receptionist may not be able to help much. In that case, the human operator will forward your call to the technical support, i.e. you still will have to wait before you reach the desired person. Fonolo actually provides you the transcript of the phone menu so that you can choose exactly where you want to connect. It also lets you choose the exact spot where you want to be connected and then navigates the menu for you and then connects you only when the desired spot is connected. Thus, in terms of wait time, Fonolo is probably still the best option.

That said, I still feel the smart phone app may be worth a try. I am hoping that Fonolo is also developing something similar to these apps. Fonolo has the richest database and the most sophisticated technology. I would love to see Fonolo extending its technology to smart phones. Meanwhile, try these apps and share your experience!!

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