Quick survey - phone calls and your time

We're a small startup building a tool that makes phone calls on your behalf. Before building more, we want to understand what actually frustrates people about phone calls — no product pitch, just your honest experience.

PS: SurveyCircle users receive points for their participation, which can be used to recruit free survey participants at SurveyCircle.com

How often do you make outbound phone calls? (not counting texting or video calls)

A

Less than once a week

B

1-3 times a week

C

4-7 times a week

D

Multiple times a day

Which of these best describes you?

Employed full-time

Self-employed / freelance

Small business owner

Primary caregiver

Student

Retired

What is your age range?

A

18-24

B

25-34

C

35-44

D

45-54

E

55-64

F

65+

Which types of phone calls do you find most frustrating or time-consuming? (select up to 4)

Customer service / support calls (banks, telecoms, insurance)

Medical / dental appointment scheduling

Restaurant or venue reservations

Government offices (DMV, permits, benefits)

Calling airlines, hotels, or travel companies

Prescription refills or pharmacy calls

Tradespeople / home services (plumber, electrician)

Chasing a refund or complaint

Calling a landlord or property manager

Something else

What specifically makes these calls frustrating?

Being put on hold for a long time

Navigating confusing phone menus ("press 1 for...")

Having to repeat myself to multiple people

Anxiety or stress about making the call

Not being able to call during business hours

The call taking much longer than expected

Forgetting what was said / not having a record

Just generally dreading it and putting it off

Something else

In the last 3 months, have you put off or completely avoided making a phone call you knew you needed to make?

A

Yes, more than once

B

Yes, once

C

No

D

Not sure

Now imagine this: An app where you tell it what you need - for example, "book me a table for 4 at any Italian restaurant near me this Friday" - and it calls on your behalf, using your real phone number, and provides a summary once it's done. You can listen in live or take over at any point.

What's your first reaction to this idea?

A

I'd use this immediately - I hate making calls

B

Interesting - I can see myself using it for specific calls

C

Skeptical - I'd need to see it work before trusting it

D

Not for me - I prefer to make calls myself

E

Concerned - this feels weird or wrong to me

How excited would you be to use something like this?

For which of these calls would you be most comfortable letting an AI handle it completely? (select up to 3)

Restaurant / venue reservation

Appointment scheduling (doctor, dentist, haircut)

Hold music - AI waits on hold, alerts me when a human answers

Customer service complaint or refund

Prescription refill or pharmacy

Travel (airline rebooking, hotel)

Something else

What would most concern you about using an AI to make calls on your behalf? (select up to 3)

The AI saying something inaccurate or making a mistake

The person on the other end feeling deceived by an AI

Losing control - not being able to step in if something goes wrong

My personal info being shared or misused

The AI not understanding complex situations

Not having a record of what was agreed

I don't have major concerns

Something else

Which of these features would be most important to you? (select up to 4)

The call uses my real phone number so recipients recognize it

Provides a summary of what was discussed and agreed after each call

Ability to listen in live and take over at any moment

The AI can navigate hold music and phone menus automatically

Calendar integration - knows my availability and adds confirmed appointments automatically

User preferences - the AI learns my habits and needs over time

The AI sounds like me (voice cloning)

Make multiple calls at once (e.g. 5 restaurants simultaneously)

Receive incoming calls on my behalf when I can't pick up

Something else

What would you be willing to pay per month for this app if it worked well?

A

Less than $5

B

$5–$10

C

$10–$20

D

$20–$30

E

More than $30

F

I wouldn't pay for it

Anything else you'd want us to know? What would make you love or never use a product like this?

Redeem the following Survey Code at https://www.surveycircle.com and get free survey participants through SurveyCircle. The Survey Code is: JGFZ-R8R7-77BN-GGRY