New today in BlackBerry AppWorld, is our Call-A-Human application. The application contains listings for hundreds of companies, and allows you to easily call in to their customer service personnel. The application also includes a built in search field, and integrates with universal search on BlackBerry devices running OS6.
More then just making the toll free numbers for these corporations easily available, the Call-A-Human application, will navigate itself through the phone menus to get you talking with an actual human as quickly as possible.
Speed Comparison
Below is a representative sampling of companies along with the time in seconds that it takes to get transferred to a representative by going through the phone menu, and by using this application. The final column shows (as a percentage) the increase in efficiency that is gained by using this application. Additional time saved by not needing to look up and enter the phone numbers is not included in the below charts, but represents another way that using the Call-A-Human application can save you time.
| Corporation | Phone Menu | Call-A-Human | Efficiency |
| American Eagle | 44 | 14 | 214% |
| FedEx | 136 | 14 | 871% |
| Hertz | 33 | 18 | 83% |
| Mutual of Omaha | 31 | 17 | 82% |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | 32 | 11 | 191% |
| RBC | 72 | 14 | 414% |
| Time Warner Cable | 60 | 26 | 131% |
| US Bank | 62 | 18 | 244% |
| WalMart | 56 | 11 | 409% |
The in these nine examples show improvements in time to transfer from 82% to 871% by allowing the Call-A-Human to work through the automated phone menus, instead of doing it yourself.
Of course many people know that one way to make the system work faster for you is to repeatedly hit zero. While this is usually an improvement over manually going through the menu, making use of the Call-A-Human application is still more efficient. Time for the same Corporations are listed below including the time in seconds to get through by repeatedly hitting zero, and the efficiency improvement seen by the application over the traditional way of dialing, and the zero stategy
| Corporation | Phone Menu | Zero Strategy | Call-A Human | Efficiency (menu) | Efficiency (zero) |
| American Eagle | 44 | 17 | 14 | 214% | 21% |
| FedEx | 136 | 35 | 14 | 871% | 150% |
| Hertz | 33 | 24 | 18 | 83% | 33% |
| Mutual of Omaha | 31 | 18 | 17 | 82% | 6% |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | 32 | 11 | 11 | 191% | 0% |
| RBC | 72 | 33 | 14 | 414% | 136% |
| Time Warner Cable | 60 | 36 | 26 | 131% | 38% |
| US Bank | 62 | 40 | 18 | 244% | 122% |
| WalMart | 56 | XXX | 11 | 409% | – |
Two listings should stand out in the above chart. The first is that the time for the zero strategy for Norwegian Cruise Lines is the same as for using the Call-A-Human application. This is because, in this instance, dialing zero is the best approach and actually what the application is doing here behind the scenes. The second listing to note is WalMart, who instead of speeding up the process will actually hang up on you if you use the zero strategy when calling their line.
Universal Search integration
On BlackBerry devices running OS6 such as the 9800, 9670, and 9780, the Call-A-Human application integrates with the device’s Universal Search. For these devices there is no need to ever even launch the application, instead you can just start typing, and then select the company that you want to call from the search results.
Device Support
The Call-A-Human application requires a minimum operating system of 4.6 and supports most devices that meet that requirement. The full list of supported BlackBerry models are the 8350i, 8520, 8530, 8900, 9000, 9100, 9105, 9300, 9330, 9500, 9520, 9530, 9550, 9630, 9650, 9670, 9700, 9780, and 9800.
Links & Information
- Call-A-Human at BlackBerry AppWorld
- Call-A-Human news site
- Call-A-Human Website
- All Ebscer applications at BlackBerry AppWorld
