Why Do Companies Stick with Voice Menus? 260
eliot1785 asks: "We've all had to put up with this at one point or another — you call a company for customer service or tech support, and rather than getting traditional touch-pad menu options, you encounter an annoying system that wants you to 'just say' how it can help you. Invariably, the system fails to understand your input, or picks up background noise or coughs as intended inputs. After a few failures, you have to press '0' to speak with an operator. Why do companies think that customers like these voice menu systems? Is there any research to suggest that they do, or are companies simply embracing the systems because they are new technology? More importantly, when will they realize that the systems don't work and go back to the traditional touch-pad menu option systems?"
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Re:Usually works for me (Score:5, Interesting)
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Unsubsidized travel doesn't make money.
Now, if Amtrak could have the state and federal government run all their stations and maintain their tracks at a fraction of the cost, (Like they do with airports) then I'm betting they could turn a nice profit.
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Yep, folks. We got a crank. Move on, and save at least five minutes of your life.
Re:Usually works for me (Score:4, Informative)
Aren't landing fees supposed to cover that?
I always tought that ATC was the biggest government expenditure related to air travel.
Re:Usually works for me (Score:5, Insightful)
Between their website and voice system, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Train travel is actually pretty difficult to book trips and maintain status, it's all the stops, and the literally hundreds of possibilities you can have for one trip.
Because often then work... (Score:5, Informative)
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(Ironically enough, I'm a bit of a goat myself, and I design these bloody systems for a living - makes testing endlessly hilarious, I can tell you)
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Yes, they work for the airlines (Score:2)
I liked it better than the touch tone systems. And it works *much* better for phones where the keypad is on the handset; then you have to keep moving the handset away from your head to push a button, and hope you don't miss any of the next voice part.
I would much rather just deal with a human, though.
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Real question? (Score:5, Interesting)
And in reality, customers flock to the low cost provider. Serves them right when they get what thy paid for.
Re:Real question? (Score:5, Insightful)
That is a +10 comment. (Score:5, Insightful)
I've watched upper management decide that we need to push people to the web.
Well trained people cost money.
Poorly trained people cost less money.
Poorly trained people who you don't have to worry about accents cost even less.
But make it hard enough to get support, and the support costs become profits when support is completely unused.
Upper management has decided that the people who call support in the corporate world are not the people who buy the equipment or have buying influence.
So, piss off the techies, and they just won't call. Their company will still buy from us.
More money for the shareholder.
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Personally, I'll spend more time navigating a menu when I can't find what I want than I'll sp
Re:Real question? (Score:4, Informative)
Pulse Dialing (Score:5, Interesting)
Personally, I haven't had any real trouble using the voice interaction services that my cable company provides. I do try to call from a quiet spot though, and do tend to have to speak more clearly and loudly than I do to the service rep that I eventually get.
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All the person has to do is learn to whistle. As long as he can whistle two specific frequencies at the same time within
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Hybrids exist. (Score:2)
It's especially annoying with serial numbers. Really, at this point, if they can't let me use my touch tones for that, they should have a rep writing it down.
use DTMF anyway (Score:2)
That's an NSA extension, right? (Score:2)
They like the money they save. (Score:2)
Figure that if you can lower your support budget by 30% because people simply give up in voice hell, then any self respecting pointy headed boss would install this thing instantly.
Think of the jobs you can cut!!!
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http://www.research.att.com/index.cfm?portal=27 [att.com] ( scroll down to 1992 ) and look for VRCP.
I hate them even when they do work (Score:2, Insightful)
Oh, and you damn kids, get off my lawn!
*shake fist*
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That's complete and total bullshit. Interactive touch-tone menus have worked just fine for years and the only people who can't use them are the stubbourn people still using decadic phones (rotary dial for your tweens). My bank used touch-tone menus for years with no problems, but recently switched to a voice-activated menu system. You absolutely po
a lotta stuff comes into play (Score:5, Informative)
ennunciation at times helps.. pausing between #'s helps.
I know a lotta eastern europeans, they all scream bloody murder when they try...
you could always refer to http://gethuman.com/ [gethuman.com] if you just can't take it
The most popular part of the gethuman website is the gethuman database of secret phone numbers and codes to get to a human when calling a company for customer service. (See also our general tips.)
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I don't find you really need to know any secrets to those, you just say "operator" a few times. It's usually set up to recognize that, but even if not it'll get confused after a few tries and give you one.
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For something that the programmers expect and is common, I'm sure that its pretty good.
The one time I used this type of system was to remove a a part of my service. I had to start guessing what key words they wanted, the system kept on interpreting that I wanted to add a service or remove my service entirely. Insanely fustrating.
I finally said "Problem. billing." and got to a human that could then forward me to the correct number.
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I ocntinually have problems, just the same. yes, I'll admit that I end up getting frustrated with the damn things and start raising my voice on a 'bad day' or when I'm in a rush (especially when I had to wait on hold for the damn machine - what kind of sense does that ma
If it ain't broke... (Score:4, Funny)
They Do Work (Score:2)
I use telephone voice recognition systems regularly and I have no trouble at all. The clunky touch tone menu systems make you listen to 30 seconds of options before you reach the option you need. The voice system is both faster and easier.
If you are having trouble with voice recognition then perhaps you should enunciate your words more clearly.
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Or maybe learn to speak english without an accent, or speech impediment.
That can't be too hard, can it?
marketing (Score:2)
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Understanding human speech is quite difficult. Directory assistance requires the computer to parse pretty much arbitrary words, which is the most difficult task in understanding speech--you have an entire lexicon and can't weight any set of words much. On the other hand, if you're creating an automated flight booking system, then you only have a limited range of vocabulary that you even need to consider. That is much easier--or at least, you get a mu
Good reasons (Score:5, Interesting)
They aren't specifically for driving people away. They exist to reduce teh need for them to speak to someone in the first place, and if that fails, to help ensure they speak to the right person right away.
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9 times out of 10, when I have to punch in my account number or other identifying information in the automated system, I still have to give it to the live person for them to pull up my information because the machine doesn't give them the info. What's the point of having me indicate who I am to the machine, if the machine can't tell the operator who I am?
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It's usually not for the agents. In the call center I work in (not on the phones, thank god!) they use the account number to access your account to prioritize your call depending on how much money you bring in. In other words, the more money you spend, the faster you'll speak to someone.
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In contrast, I only call when there is something I couldn't do on the website. Unfortunately, those are the same things that can't be done with the automated system. I usually find myself losing patience and repeatedly punching zero while saying "No! Operator! No! Operator!" until I get someone. And of course the first live person you get can also only do things that you could have done yourself on the website.
I wonder
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The REALLY smart people at good companies are kept entirely anonymous, because they're the only ones that can fix the really tough problems, and you don't want random idiots calling them asking how to cut-and-paste.
A little story for y'all (Score:5, Informative)
"Welcome to bla bla... to speak with someone regarding covered facilities press 6"
"If your Insur-ID begins with a W, press 1"
"If the W is followed by three numbers and a hyphen or dash, press 1"
"Please type in your complete Insur-ID. You can enter letters by-"
"If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911."
"Please hold."
"Due to unusually high call volume [8am saturday], we are experiencing higher-than-usual wait time. Your expected wait time is Two. Minutes. And. Five. Seconds. Please continue to hold."
"Thanks for using Enormous insurence inc, may I please have your date of birth, Insur-ID...."
That's as verbatim as I can remember it. Seriously. Can you imagine an elderly person trying to do this... up hill, both ways, with a rotary phone, in the snow?
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My understanding was that it is not a 100% sure thing that the info they get from IVR system belongs to the person whose call they were transfered (most IVR systems are actually fairly descrete systems loosely tied to other systems, such as CSR's info screens, and errors may occur during handoff.) So in the case of sensitive information (Banking, Healthcare, etc_ they wil
skip them all (Score:5, Informative)
I lump the voice and keypad menus in the same boat -- I just want to talk to a
person as quick as possible.
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"Hello. You have a collect call from SAY YES ITS ME. Do you wish to accept charges?"
"I'm sorry what'd you say hun?"
I hate voice recognition systems (Score:2)
-uso.
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Saves Money (Score:2)
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Noise level (Score:2, Insightful)
What if you're in a busy office environment and you don't want to disturb your coworkers, or have people listening in to your conve
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Would you be using a phone in that case?
Am I the only one who likes these things? (Score:2)
I prefer them. (Score:2)
Invariably... (Score:2)
Invariably the posted article makes assertions in the superlative to which the lazy will wag their heads yes. Let me tell you what is invariable.
Invariably, company call centers are an expense, not a profit. Invariably companies want to save expense, and call center automation improves over time due to improving recognition and voice application technology.
Invariably the systems that stay
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Thank god Linux support is 100% human-based, and free at that. I'd really fucking
Good money after bad. (Score:2)
Swear a lot (Score:5, Interesting)
This works (Score:5, Interesting)
After moving last month I navigated quite a number of these systems, ranging from Not Completely Infuriating to Horrible. (Yes, I enunciate clearly, you smart asses)
After the sixth time the electric company's system misunderstood me I said "Fuck you!" very clearly to which it responded with "I thought I heard you say you'd like to talk to an operator. Please wait while we connect you."
Subsequent use of that colorful phrase gave me an operator in about 3/4 of the voice menus I tried.
Re:This works (Score:4, Informative)
[in dutch] if you would like to speak in dutch, say "vlaams"
[in french] if you would like to speak in french, say "français"
I say "fuck you" rather strongly
the machine responds in english, "please wait while we connect you with an operator"
It seems they haven't completely translated all their voice prompts yet. At least english language profanity is built into the system. I've tried a number of french and dutch curse words, but the shortcut doesn't work.
the AC
Great idea! (Score:2)
it saves millions (Score:2)
Yes, its annoying to many of us. Most places, you can press "0" or in the case of listening for your voice, you can say operator and go right to a live person. Some systems are so advanced that if you sound angry, you are pushed up i
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M-O-N-E-Y (Score:2)
R-E-A-D T-H-E F-I-N-E A-R-T-I-C-L-E (Score:2)
Um.
This isn't about "automated systems versus real support".
This is about "automated systems that don't work versus automated systems that do work".
Good, Cheap, Service.. pick any two (Score:2, Interesting)
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Microsoft did it for me.
This was about the fifth or sixth time I'd called Microsoft support, when we were upgrading our first Windows NT domain from an NT 3.1 server to 3.51... I got a nice helpful-sounding bloke who proceded to take me through a set of directions that, within minutes after hanging up, left our whole network down because of a licensing problem. I called them back and was told that I'd
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350$/hr hooker was peeing on your rug in seven different languages
I...er, I mean friends only get five languages - you, sir, are full of shit.
Verizon's system is horrible (Score:2)
What's even worse in my book, though, is a system that makes you enter an account number and then transfers you to a rep who asks for your account number. I know it isn't hard to transfer the number along with the call, I admin a system that does just that.
You want me to say WHAT out loud? (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not always in my nice private home when I want to deal with these things. So I'm supposed to say my "sixteen digit account number" out loud in the fucking airport, train station, office, or whatever? I don't think so. Of course the one's that ask you to punch it in alwas give to some idiot that asks for it again anyway. You can't win.
The only two words I say are "Agent" and "Operator." Grumble, grumble, grumble. Someone else already posted the gethuman database link It's a lifesaver.
No good with kids in the house (Score:5, Funny)
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Mod parent up! (Score:2)
Key menus have at least 4 advantages (Score:2)
2) If you're familiar with the menu system you can shortcut it by just hitting 3-1-2 (or whatever).
3) They work in noisy areas.
4) Privacy and security. Keypad entry means not having to say things like credit card numbers, SSN, and other personal information out loud. Which I have often heard in cafés, etc. Good thing I don't feel like getting into credit card fraud.
Minimize hold time (Score:2)
I have been in contact with Tech support for more than just HP/Linksys. For Cisco, their busy periods has customer service reps take a record of the call and have a technician call you back shortly. With RIM, Blackberry hold times are generally
On the plus side... (Score:2)
1) It's what all the 'cool' companies are doing, so we should, too!
2) It gives the appearance of trying to make it easier for people (even if said people get frustrated within 30 seconds).
3) If you're calling while in the car, and shouldn't be taking your eyes off the road to punch
I work in the industry... (Score:5, Interesting)
First, the reason why companies are attached to this is that a successful transaction is cheaper then a human transaction, period. In most cases 100x cheaper (even if it is sent to India). So even if only 10-20% of people use it, then it often pays for itself easily.
Of course the problem is that a lot of companies don't spend enough time (and therefore money) in making the systems work well. We often try to get containment (having someone do a full transaction in a voice system) to get above 60%. If we can do that, then we are doing well. That of course isn't the easiest thing to do. If you are good at it, there are a lot of tools to analyze what people are saying and how to respond, because invariably you will get it wrong at some point or another.
I get super frustrated myself when companies do stupid things. You have to be very careful with "speak anything" sort of interfaces. This is often called "open speech" and I still don't think the technology is quite there yet. It is much better to go with a "directed dialog" interface that give you 3-4 choices that are easy to understand.
Another thing that a lot of companies don't think about is integrating the self service system with a human being. Even if the technology is brilliant, there are going to be certain things that can't be done in the automated system. Most companies simply transfer the calls, and if you get lucky, your account number might travel with the call. Personally I like to focus on making a robust sort of integration, so that if you get you get 1/2 way through something and have to speak to a human, that human is given all the information about your transaction, so you don't have to start over and can pick up right where you left off.
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This is the problem with so many of such systems, as well as many if not most of the push-button systems. When I go through the hassle of telling a robot my 16-digit account number and then having it verify it - "You said four, four, three, two, zero..." - and then having the bot decide I really need a human to deal with the issue after all, it's damn rude and lazy of the company to make me as t
Re:I work in the industry... (Score:5, Insightful)
That said, there's no justification for forcing anyone to give the account number twice. If the system can be used to route callers based upon account number, it can sure as hell pass that account number along tho the damn CSR.
Two Reasons (Score:2)
Nothing more, nothing less.
The ultimate proof of #2 is the self checkout lanes at most grocery stores nowadays.
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Huh? Self-checkout lanes are the pinnacle of customer service. The queues are shorter, it's bagged the way I like it, everything is rung up without any mistakes, and I don't have to talk with anyone about stupid crap. Those checkout lanes alone are enough to determine where I do my grocery shopping.
Smart voice recognition (true story) (Score:2)
The computer responded to my outburst with: "It sounds like you are very upset and would like to speak with someone. Please hold on while I transfer your call."
I ha
To make a buck (Score:2)
While they are getting better in some regards, it's simply to save money. Is this a question that even needed to be ask?
Shared Office (Score:2)
Voice prompt: Say yes or no.
Co-worker: No.
Voice prompt: Sorry I didn't understand. Say yes or no.
Co-worker (louder): No.
Voice prompt: Sorry I didn't understand. Say yes or no.
Co-worker (louder): No.
Voice prompt: Sorry I didn't understand. Say yes or no.
Co-worker (screaming): NO GOD damn it! NO, NO, NO, I FUCKING SAID NO!
Vo
The reason is very simple. (Score:2)
Through some process (which is irrelevant, because beyond the ken of us, mere mortals - but sometimes it involves the dark ritual of either "kickback" or "payola"), the imbecile has determined that it is a *GOOD* thing.
Since the imbecile has the letter "MBA" trailing his name, the morons in executive row have decided to implement the stupid decision.
(The differ [straightdope.com]
A theory... (Score:2)
And this is about voice menus as apposed to touch-tone menus.
It's not the "wow" factor, it's the fact that it makes the company look and seem more professional, more cutting edge, and thus (subconcioiusly) more ligitimate. There's a lot of money in trying to make a company's outward appearence seem bigger, and more important. Even if it IS a large company to begin with, businesses will do what they can to make it even more apparent how solid they are. Voice menus are "cutting edge" in people's minds, they
Prepaid cellphone cards nightmare (Score:2)
They greatly improved the thing, like allowing to punch-in the password and the PIN (which were almost never recognized correctly by the system). They also removed options that are too simi
Actually ... (Score:2)
Why?
Because my idiot cell phone (a Hiptop) got upgraded into non-functionality by my provider, SunCom. The latest firmware decided that whenever I punch a number key during an open call, it needs to continue emitting the DTMF for a full second. Their IVR software interprets that as multiple presses of the same key.
I've worked around the issue by submitting refills on their website and calling
Here's how you navigate an IVR (Score:2)
problems (Score:2)
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Bell Canada's does that when you swear at it. (I'm not kidding!)