App cuts waiting out of call centre queues
No charge, apparently
A free app that takes away the frustration of being kept on hold during phone calls to corporations has launched in the UK, saving mobile users a pretty penny in the process, its developer claims.
Matt King's WeQ4U promises to do all the waiting for you. The patent pending app allows you to hang up without losing your place in the call-waiting queue.
The free app is available for Android and iPhone users. It first looks up the number you want to dial, including 08 numbers, to make sure it's compatible.
The minute you're placed on hold, press 9* to disconnect the call. When the company finally answers, the app immediately calls your phone to re-establish the connection.
King insisted that while WeQ4U holds your place in the call queue, you won't be charged, nor will your airtime minutes be depleted.
King said WeQ4U makes no profit whatsoever, despite the fact it costs money to run. The only benefit it receives is "Great Karma".
"The pain of getting through to call centres is frequently cited as the number one annoyance of modern life," he told Reg Hardware. "We want to take that away for people."
A similar amenity is available for landline callers. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Re: Security of information
Matt King also assured us "We take privacy very seriously and don't pass on any personal information or caller details, just in case you're wondering - there really is no catch."
Re: Security of information
Or, put another way, if a similar app asked you to give your online banking password so it could log you in, would you let it?
Fundamentally this is no different.
Personally I'd be OK with something like this as I'd never use it for something sensitive. For waiting on hold for Vodafone/Sky/British Gas and the like it seems a good solution.
Security of information
Assuming the voice path is routed through a centralised infrastructure offered by the provider of this service the implication would be that the audio could be intercepted / recorded by that provider. Based on the published information it is reasonable to assume that throughout the duration of the whole call (queuing and talking to the remote party) the audio remains routed through this solution.
If you consider a lot of contacts to call centre environments are to organisations (e.g. your bank) where you go through identification and verification procedures disclosing personal information including security details this raises interesting questions on the security of your information and consequent liability if the organisations in question were to blame the caller for disclosing the information through the use of an intermediary service i.e. could the consumer become liable for the loss / fraud as a result if the details are compromised.
Note - There is no suggestion that the provider is doing anything malicious or that there are any security issues with regards to the solution itself just a question on the technical architecture and how it may fit with data security and legal frameworks
THINK OF THE MONEY.....
that the big boys with their expensive call charge numbers will lose if this works.
I salute the creator!
I stick two fingers at those expensive rip you off phone numbers!
Until Apple patents this it will be available for all.
