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Click to Devolve

DateWednesday, November 22, 2006 at 01:50AM

Am I the only one that doesn't get "click to call"?

Isn't one of the great promises of the web the fact that I don't have to deal with salespeople, customer service reps, plumbers, etc. over the phone?   When's the last time that was a good experience?

I just want "click to schedule an appointment" or "click to get my question answered promptly".   Click.  Click.   T-o-i-l-e-t... l-e-a-k-i-n-g...   3-4-5-6PM.   Today.  Click.   Why do I need to get on the phone?   Are phone directories that bad?  Plus, with some click to call systems, I click for "random plumber who outbids the other guy for my call".  Is that really the way I want to shop for those services. 

Hmm... who's the guy who paid the most to find me who also now has the highest overhead to pass on to me?

Plus, now I've got to give the interweb my phone number.  I'm sure a lot of people don't trust that either. 

I'm way short click to call as a service...  maybe I'm missing something?

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Reader Comments (3)

I guess it will appeal to the same people that type a full url into the search box on Google, instead of straight into the nav bar (assuming they can work out how to actually click to call, and don't think there's a mini Russian mafia guy sitting in their desktop PC reading their credit card, or phone number in this case)
November 22, 2006 | Unregistered Commenterpascoe
You're absolutely right with respect to the .audience you represent, but that is not the way my parents (and I suspect most people's parents) think. They see the internet as a vehicle to find a phone number, and if the internet can make dialing that phone number easier, they're all for that. Especially if it means no hold time (callback services). I think the "trailing edge" of users will slowly come to expect more of the net, but in the mean time, its just a quicker yellow pages to them.
November 22, 2006 | Unregistered CommenterAndrew Parker
On the business side, it appeals to the organizations which just can't yet accept or create a web sales channel and still want to route web sales through the traditional channels. There is an online computer discount "warehouse" which insists on having my "sales support specialist" contact me after I've bought something online in order to confirm all of the details, usually a day after I made (or thought I made) the purchase.
November 22, 2006 | Unregistered Commenterepc

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