Your time is worth something. Wasting time waiting on hold is, well, a waste of time. Sadly, most companies haven’t caught on to the fact that placing customers on hold is a bad idea. Amazingly, many major companies still require clients to wait for hours on end while someone in a call center across the world attempts to field too many phone calls. But, what can you do about it? If you want to talk to a customer representative, you have no choice but to wait, right?

Not anymore. A nifty little app called Fast Customer will change the way that you connect with companies you deal with regularly. This app allows you to request a call from a real person without waiting for even one minute on hold. Now, with Fast Customer, you can get your life back.

How Fast Customer Works

After downloading the app (Apple App Store or Android Marketplace), you must enter your phone number. You can choose your smartphone number or your home phone depending on where you would like to receive calls. The app will then verify the number. Once verified, you can search for the company you want to contact by clicking on the letter that the company begins with.
I’m located in Canada, so I decided to test out the Fast Customer app by selecting “Hydro Quebec,” our major utilities company.

Sure enough, the company name was included in the very long list that Fast Customer provides you with. After clicking on the name of the company, I received a message that the customer service department at Hydro Quebec was currently open, so I could choose to tap the “Have Someone Call Me” button. If tapped, a representative from the company would call me within a matter of minutes.

I also spent a few minutes looking for some other companies that I deal with regularly. I had no problem locating my cell phone company, cable company or Internet provider. The next time that I have to talk to a customer representative from any one of these companies, I’ll be happy to have the Fast Customer app. In fact, I can’t think of any reason why you shouldn’t download this app.

Smart, Simple, and Necessary

There are only a few minor drawbacks to this app, though these are likely to improve with time. Interface-wise, there’s just one small issue that really isn’t an issue at all: it would be better if users could enter the name of a company instead of scrolling through the extensive list. But, really, it didn’t take me any time at all to find the name of the company I was looking for.

Another issue (that may only apply to bi-lingual countries or provinces) is that you can’t select a language. Say, for example, that I do not speak French fluently, but I do live in a bi-lingual province. There’s a good chance that the person calling me back may only speak French, and this might be a problem. Generally, when phoning a company in Quebec, a language option is given. This may be something for the Fast Customer developers to consider.

I’m also happy to report that this app works both in Canada and the United States. App developers have also stated that they intend to expand this app to other countries as soon as possible. The Fast Customer app is free, and it’s a download that’s highly recommended. Some apps won’t appeal to every person, but this is not one of those apps. Instead, Fast Customer is smart, simple, and necessary for all people from all part of the world.