If you have ever called any customer support number in the past, you may have noticed that to reach to the correct department, you have to jump through hoops to actually talk to any customer service representative. First dial some 800 number then dial 1 or 2 then dial 3 or 5 and then dial 1/2/3/4/5 etc. That is such a pain when you are in hurry and want to get the damn real person to talk to.
A new startup called Fonolo comes handy in such situations. Fonolo makes it faster, easier and less frustrating for you to call large companies. {ln:nw:http://www.fonolo.com 'Fonolo.com} is currently in close beta and is has an invite only access. I was able to get my hands on one of this invitation. I registered to the site and I was really surprised how easy it was to call any company's toll-free number.
Fonolo provides you an interface where you can navigate to a company's phone menu visually, through a web or mobile interface. Once you register to Fonolo.com, you need to provide your phone number. Once you are done with your profile, you need to select the company you want to call, expand the menu to the proper department you want to reach and select "Call". Fonolo automatically dials the company, navigate to that point and then connect you to call.
Sometimes it saves lot of hassle and saves time. Check out the snapshot below for Yahoo Toll free number menu tree. You can call any particular option directly without dialing their 800 number.
Do you think this concept would work for India?