

Show HN: Calloud – Let your visits call you from your website - bernatfp
http://calloud.com

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CalRobert
One thing I noticed upon moving to Europe (Ireland, specifically) is how much
people seem obsessed with phone calls here. I checked on Vodafone broadband
service and the next morning got annoyed at work by a call from a sales rep. I
wanted to change payment info with my current provider and was told I had to
make a phone call. I emailed a support group and their response was to call
their 1890 number - something which costs 50 cents a minute to do, and is
shockingly common here.

Maybe I'm just grumpy, but why is it so much harder to get things done here
without going through the arcane and inefficient process of a phone call?

On the bright side, it's nice to see this lets businesses make themselves
available without trying to charge their customers for the privilege.

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Cthulhu_
Inefficient? Phone calls are anything but tbh; you have a conversation, direct
back-and-forth communication, something that could take days over e-mail.
Keeps the focus of the support employee on your issue, too.

~~~
mattzito
I think it depends on the nature of the issue. Semi-complex and non-time-
sensitive issues like (as an example of something I am dealing with at work
with our internal helpdesk right now):

"I need you to disable email address X entirely, and route email address Y to
this person, and change distribution list Z to this other config"

Email is perfect for this - I don't care to sit on hold while they click
around because it's not time sensitive, and having things written down makes
it less likely there will be confusion.

On the flip side, trying to come to a consensus on a nuanced issue or
negotiate an outcome with a support person over email stinks, other than the
benefit of having it written down. Way better to talk on the phone.

So it just depends on your use case. There's tons of time when I have a simple
question and I'd prefer to just be able to drop a line to customer support.

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SchizoDuckie
Call me now buttons have existed for at least 5 years. How is calloud
different/disruptive/special?

[https://www.google.nl/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&es...](https://www.google.nl/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=+call+me+now+button)

~~~
bernatfp
Because all these services ask you for your phone number and shift the
conversation to your phone, while with Calloud the conversation takes place in
your computer and you don't have to give away your phone number. So, instead
of interacting with your computer at the same time you are using your phone,
everything happens on your browser. It is a more fluid and better experience.

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w0ts0n
Not a whole lot of information on the page.

Just some graphics, FAQ and a payments page. Where is the video? Demo? This
could be vaporware for all I know. Selling me nothing.

I do like the minimalistic design, but when you are asking me for money, I
want to know a little more.

~~~
bernatfp
Hey, I'm the creator of Calloud. What else do you need to know? What has put
you off? I've tried to keep it simple, communicating the basics on the landing
page, trying to address more specific questions on the FAQ and added a demo at
the bottom of the landing, where you can test call a voicemail.

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krembo
We are customers and fans of Zingaya.com which does exactly the same. It is a
wonderful service and always amazes me the amount of people who prefer to
speak by voice rather than alternative more-effective communication channels
such as chats, contact forms or even emails.

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henrymoorefd
Hate it when you need to "purchase" before you can "try". A couple of minutes
free trial would be enough...

~~~
bernatfp
Will take into account. To be honest, I've considered adding a trial option
but can't afford to give away many accounts because I'm self funding it and
there's no revenue to cover operating costs yet.

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andrewstuart
This is a great idea.

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LufaC04E
this is no different from a google voice widget being placed on your website,
and its free.

~~~
bernatfp
Hey, thanks for your feedback! Calloud supports phone numbers from way more
countries than Google Voice does, plus we are focused on building an awesome
product for businesses, there are many things that can be done on top of our
service, and we can't wait to roll them out. Additionally, Google Voice is
expected to integrate with Hangouts (they are probably focusing more on B2C),
so it might lose some of its current functionality
[http://phandroid.com/2014/03/18/google-voice-hangouts-
coming...](http://phandroid.com/2014/03/18/google-voice-hangouts-coming-soon)

