nowfound

Dev tools · March 3, 2011

NW

"Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio

My buddy paulsingh and I have been working on this for a few weeks, got something up and running and wanted to show you. The problem we're solving: When you need customer service (your flight got canceled, strange fees on your bill, etc) you just want to talk to a real person. Waiting on hold wastes your time AND your concentration; you can't be coding in the zone when part of your brain is waiting for an operator. Our solution: We wanted to make it "one click" to reach a real person. How it works: You click on who you want to talk to (even a specific department, like the billing dept at…

"Never wait on hold again" service built with Rails and Twilio launched on March 3, 2011 with 216 votes, #2 of 272 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches.

Visit fastcustomer.com ↗Alternativestop 1% of March 2011

In plain words

FastCustomer is a service that eliminates time spent on hold with customer service. Users select a company and department, then the system automatically dials, navigates phone menus, and waits on hold. It only calls the user back once a real person is available. Built with Rails and Twilio, the service is aimed at anyone needing customer support who wants to reclaim their time and focus. It's available as a web application and iPhone app.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

In the maker’s words, at launch

My buddy paulsingh and I have been working on this for a few weeks, got something up and running and wanted to show you. The problem we're solving: When you need customer service (your flight got canceled, strange fees on your bill, etc) you just want to talk to a real person. Waiting on hold wastes your time AND…

Does a similar job

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    You will never have to wait in line ever again.

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Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part

Launched alongside, March 2011

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