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"My team within Area 120, Google’s workshop for experimental projects, conducted testing and found that small businesses receive an average of 13 phone calls ev
by Twirrim 8y ago
"My team within Area 120, Google’s workshop for experimental projects, conducted testing and found that small businesses receive an average of 13 phone calls every day."
That's really not many phone calls. I'm not surprised they had to try and scale it up to suggest it's a big issue.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- erlangNewb 8y agoIt is if you have a small team and each call can be upwards of 30 mins.
- abraae 8y agoA 30 minute call will not be dealt with or even shortened with this product though.
- Twirrim 8y agoHow would this solve that problem? I can't see anything in what they've suggested that will actually reduce the amount of time spent on the phone, other than eliminating a small class of short simple phone calls, e.g. "what are your opening hours". It's also weird they're presenting this as if it's innovative and offering a product in a space to which solutions don't already exist, when they do.
- willio58 8y agoMaybe not a big issue, but every phone call takes your attention away from what you’re doing. For some small businesses, this can be a problem.
- imglorp 8y agoI have a refinement to suggest if someone is looking for a business. How many contractors (lawn, roof, carpenter, whatever) have you ever dealt with that are wizards at what they do but don't have the cycles to return a phone call or keep you updated on your appointment to save their life? If you're lucky, their spouse/nephew/etc is a part time coordinator? Maybe they call you back at the end of the week when they do all their calls? Ick. These guys need someone to keep track of their schedules and appointments and keep customers well communicated. THAT'S IT. I've abandoned so many engagements because of not doing this one thing.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- derefr 8y agoThat's usually called an agent. Honestly, I'm surprised "agents for sharing-economy freelancers" hasn't taken off yet.
- drivingmenuts 8y agoisn’t that basically a temp agency?
- notatoad 8y agoIsn't that essentially the role that all the apps powering the "sharing economy" are providing?
- mikepurvis 8y agoRight, but I think the idea would be something where the person providing the actual useful service enlists the help of the app/agent and is in control of the relationship, rather than the other way around.
- brianbreslin 8y ago^ this 1000%! I've had to change repair crews because they won't call me back. I've had so many not follow up either. It's like you WANT to give them money but they can't squeeze in the time to manage the customer service aspect.
- toomuchtodo 8y agoMost likely they're swamped with work. The problem isn't their time management, they're just crudely shedding jobs they don't need. You may want to give them money, they just don't need it. Another indicator would be a high outlier quote (which is less a quote and more a polite way to communicate they don't need the work). Disclaimer: I own properties in high growth geographies and face these issues with subcontractors.
- fwip 8y agoIt's only $40/month, though. $40 to avoid (up to) 260 phone calls seems like a bargain. Sure, most phone calls are quick, but it's also an interruption to at least one worker, who might have to ask a customer to hold, or interrupt cleaning/restocking. I wouldn't be surprised if $1 per avoided call was a reasonable price to pay for a busy restaurant.
- baxtr 8y agoMost younger people I know don’t want to call anyone in the first place. They have a smartphone but they use it almost entirely to chat/social stuff etc. Calling is what old folks do
- derefr 8y ago> Calling is what old folks do One might think this is why calling has become unpopular, but that's just an excuse people use when they don't want to reveal the real reason: huge numbers of people in the younger generations who have social anxiety that makes itself known—among other times—when they realize they have to talk on the phone. As soon as it was an option, these people switched to asynchronous communications media, and never looked back. Everyone else in their social circles got pulled along, if they didn't want to give up talking to these people.
- baxtr 8y agoI think there is a high probability that your explanation is true. People often chose the easiest path (in this case the one with least psychological strain)
- ethagknight 8y agoSide note, your comment probably sounds ridiculous to some readers here, but I can vouch that, as a young engineer, I absolutely loathed, was borderline terrified, at having to pick up the phone and call someone, whether its a client, consultant, or even a coworker. Basically I was terrified of not knowing answers and people knowing that I was a fresh-out-of-college engineer and get mad, or I was scared of. I'm not antisocial and not even afraid of public speaking, but for some reason, I had a thing about the phone. It was a personal shortcoming that I've worked through and thankfully overcome (the hard way, I might add, via hard knocks).
- drusepth 8y agoYeah. I stopped calling businesses years ago unless I knew I'd only ever get a robot on the other side. This is particularly unfortunate because there is (usually) value in calls, but the idea of having to talk to a human is so offputting it's enough to lose that value. (As an aside: for whatever reason it's way more common to go from machine --> human on calls, but asking to go from human --> machine is often 1. impossible, and 2. "rude"). Likewise, I also stopped answering my phone for calls other than my own contacts shortly after starting a company. Everyone else can leave a voicemail, and I will either text or email back.
- pkaye 8y agoI'm curious how they determined this? Surveys?