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"Say 'Goodbye' to IVR Menus"
Submitted by BruceCyr on Thu, 03/20/2008 - 12:16.
FYI:
"Fonolo, a Toronto-based company, today began closed beta testing of a service that it says will make it faster and less frustrating to call large companies. The service is expected to be available for public beta testing in the summer; full commercial rollout is expected in the fall."
"Users start by finding the company they need on the Fonolo Web site, then visually scanning through the phone menu on their computers’ or mobile devices’ Web browser and clicking on the appropriate point. Fonolo then dials the company, navigates the phone system, and calls the user’s phone. When the user answers, he is connected to the desired point in the menu."
"Speech recognition is a big part of the process, as is a lot of automated dialing"
http://www.speechtechmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/Say-'Goodbye'-to-IVR-Menus-41261.aspx
I would be willing to pay for this capability!
Bruce
As much as I like SR, I
As much as I like SR, I despise the Interactive Voice Response systems. They never have a clue what you say. IVR is about as smart as a rock - and can hear just about as well. You say "Tech Support" just like the menu said then you are sent to billing. Say Billing and you are sent to sales. Who did this crap anyway? We need less computer and more HUMAN on the phone to do this job. Besides, a human could use the pay.
Their salespeople should start selling SR programs! If they can sell IVR systems with a straight face, imagine what they could do with something that works!
My 2 cents.
Skip
I haven't made my mind up as
I haven't made my mind up as to which I hate the most - interactive voice response systems or pressing numbers on a menu which leads you to more menus, and by the time you have finished, you have gone through about 10 menus and pressed innumerable numbers
And when you do get a human voice, it is probably in Delhi, Timbuktu, Istanbul, Bali or some other forsaken part of the globe, and they do not understand what you're talking about, and equally you cannot understand them!
Quentin
(As I started reading your
(As I started reading your post, Handel's Hallelujah Chorus started playing. The music player is on Random Play.)
I have a very difficult time hearing and understanding Chinese, Japanese, Korean or East Indian people trying to speak English. It's a hearing deficit on my end. So with that in mind...
I had reason to call Dell for information on a Dell projector. I was transferred to somewhere in India. The lady COULD NOT understand the problem! When she got frustrated (me too!), she transferred me to her boss. He demanded (!) to know why I didn't just buy a new projector because the lamp was out on this one! Last I'll deal with that bunch.
Another time I needed to call the local cable company (Time Warner). The DVR they provide had died for the 8th (!!) time. I wanted it fixed. The woman in India wanted to know why I had to have it working. I was fuming. I finally called back. I actually got someone in the local office when I tried to cut off their service. They were amazed at how I was treated and had a tech out the next morning.
The people using overseas services really should call up their own Tech Support lines at random to see what the people are getting. In my opinion it can really reflect poorly on their brand/company.
Anymore I just want to hang up when I hear those voices. I know it's going to be a downhill battle for me.