FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 10. 2008

SAN MATEO, Calif. – During the doom and gloom of today’s economic crisis, companies continue to look for ways to increase their revenue flow while still providing quality consumer-facing services. One simple way to save money is crowd sourcing.

Crowd sourcing refers to the act of taking a task traditionally performed by employees and outsourcing it to an online community in an open call for participation.

“Essentially, the intelligent mob does the job,” says Yaniv Bensadon, CEO of FixYa, “This type of mass collaboration has produced ad campaigns, professional photography exhibits and even books. Repair and customer service are a natural fit.”

In the case of crowd source repair site FixYa, 9M community members trade tips on how to reclaim, refurbish and repair everything from TiVos to toasters. This type of customer service crowd sourcing is incredibly effective in reducing costs and improving the post-purchase experience.

Enclosed are Bensadon’s top 3 reasons why crowd sourcing is replacing call center customer service:

1.Location & Overhead: Whether manufacturers pay to build a call center, or whether they outsource to third party representatives, bricks and mortar cost money. Manufacturers pay millions per year to support these operations and many of the centers are located on continents far from a manufacturer’s customer base. With crowd sourcing, there are no construction and location-related costs to pass on to customers.

2.Trained Pros: When looking for the perfect call center location, strategists consider an area’s resident demographics, cost of living, government tax incentives and available real estate. Nevertheless, these same strategists rarely consider the number of other call centers within a given location. For this reason, countries like India and the Pakistan become call center meccas, and skilled employees are easily lured away by rival companies. The cost of obtaining and training reliable staff is huge. Meanwhile, when a member of a crowd sourcing community ceases activity, the next most reliable expert is promoted at no cost to the manufacturer or customer.

3.Customer Satisfaction: Some of the most commonly cited complaints about call center customer service are “employee incompetence” and “inefficient systems”. Customers often experience language barriers and spotty connections when dealing with foreign call center staff. The combination of subpar automated tools, language issues and dropped calls, makes for a truly exacerbating experience. Peer-reviewed crowd sourcing ensures that customers receive the most relevant answers. In addition, many sites offer a money back guarantee on paid services.

The public can register for FixYa at http://fixya.com/ or they can view more information about the company at http://blog.fixya.com.

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ABOUT FIXYA: FixYa is a community of 9 million members and visitors, who share, learn and connect over car, tech and consumer support tips. Rather than depending solely on manufacturers for answers, our community shares real world experience and practical advice. From fixing cars, to cameras, to iPhones, FixYa’s community members are part of a DIY revolution that helps empower techies, tinkerers and hobbyists across the globe. http://fixya.com