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You know how when you call a company and you get an automated voice talking to you telling you it can understand complete sentences? I work at a place that runs those annoying things for many companies. I decided to make this thread because it seems to me that a lot of people find the experience of calling and talking to those systems very frustrating. Hopefully by asking me questions, you can learn things which will help you have a better experience. So... How do those systems work? The secret of the automated call system is that it's not actually automated. There isn't an AI in existence that can understand complete sentences. There's actually people listening in on every call you make. I'm one of those people, and we listen to what you say, and then tell the system what you said. The system then talks back to you. In other words, we tell the system what to say and do based on what you're saying. When you say you want to buy something? We direct you to sales. When you're saying your credit card number? We're typing it in. When you're trying to spell out your name and the system gives it back to you all wrong? Oops, we typed that in. But we don't hear your entire call. We only hear a portion. We randomly get sound clips of people in various stages of their conversation with the system. We only hear what you say right after one prompt. After we direct the system, it sends us a different caller who might be at a different prompt. That means that at each prompt, there's a different person listening in. The things you said previously to the system don't matter unless it was something that could be inputted. We usually only see what was input during the prompt directly before ours. There's no point in telling long stories or giving detailed info the system doesn't ask for, because after you answer, you get a different person who never heard that stuff. So it's pointless to say, "I already told you" if you get reprompted, because no, you haven't. We try to give you what you need to the best of our ability and within what the system itself allows. Anyway, I'm getting a bit off track. I'm going to make a list of things any person should do to make using these systems easier. I'll flat out say that some of the systems are designed very badly. The tips I'll give are general ones that should work on any of them. Other than that, feel free to ask me anything you want to know. Though you should know that I can't give out information like which company I work for specifically and I can't mention by name a few of the companies whose systems we run.
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Jan 14, 2015 08:05
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:11 |
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Tips for Using the Call System Here are a few things to keep in mind to make your call less frustrating. Some of these things are going to seem ridiculously obvious, but apparently a lot of people have trouble with these things. Interpret that how you'd like. So, here's what you should do: 1. Don't call Almost all the things people call for can be taken care of much more easily over the Internet. A lot of the systems even try to redirect people to the Internet to solve their problems anyway, so you might as well start there. The Internet is much easier. Unsurprisingly, most calls are from the elderly and/or people who don't know poo poo about computers. But if you do actually need to call... 2. Make sure you're calling the right number This may sound so stupidly easy that it's not even worth mentioning, but apparently this is difficult for many people. Make sure the number you call is actually related to what you want. Don't call Apple asking about your data plan. Don't call H&R Block if you need help with TurboTax. Don't call AT&T because you forgot your facebook password. 3. Make your call in a quiet place If we can't hear you, we can't help you. Make the call somewhere that's not at a party, or around screaming kids, or with barking dogs, or in a factory, or standing in the middle of a busy street. 4. Speak clearly Related to #3, if we can't understand you, we can't help you. Speak clearly. Don't mumble or slur your words. Don't call while you're too drunk to speak coherently. Don't scream into the phone. It hurts my loving ears and I still can't understand your rear end. If you think you're speaking clearly but the system still isn't understanding you, there's probably something wrong with the connection. A lot of phone calls just have terrible sound quality so no matter how clearly or loudly you speak, we still can't understand you. Maybe check if something is wrong with your phone. In addition, there's the issue of just getting cut off by the system. I'm not sure exactly what causes people to be cut off at the beginning of speaking, but to try to avoid it, wait two or three seconds after the prompt to begin speaking. If you wait too long, we cut you off there too. When you're giving a name or email, if the system asks you to spell it, then loving do it. Even if you have the most common, plain name ever. Bad sound quality is the main reason for this. One guy called and it sounded like he said his name was Mason, but when he spelled it, it was actually Nathan. Big difference. Even when you spell it out, we can still get it wrong because some letters sound alike. The ones that usually get mixed up are s and f, and p, d, b, and v. So if it's still wrong after spelling, make it clear which letters you're saying. Using the military alphabet is a good example of something that's very helpful. 5. Be specific and concise If you call and say some vague poo poo, we can't help you. Don't call and say "I have a question." It just makes the system ask what the question is and it's completely unnecessary. Don't ask about "products" or "stuff" or "things." If you say "billing," it doesn't tell us much. It's better to say something like, "I need to find out how much my bill is this month" or "When is my bill due?" If you say "billing" and the system asks what your question is, don't repeat "billing" you idiot. It'll just keep asking you what your question is until you realize that the same input gives you the same response. On the other end, don't ramble on and on about your life story to the system. We don't give a poo poo and there's nowhere to even put in that information. I don't need to hear the story of every time you went to fix your laptop and now it's still not working so you want to make an appointment. Don't tell me about how you live out in the middle of nowhere and go on and on about pointless banal poo poo until you eventually just get cut off and nothing gets input at all. In short, have a point and give the relevant information without rambling. If the system needs specific information, it'll ask for it when it needs it. Save your long complaint about everything that wrong with your phone for when you're transferred to a live person who can actually do something about it. 6. Don't leave messages Related to #5, don't ramble on and on and then give your name and number and then hang up. The system is not an answering machine. If you do that, no one hears anything you said and nothing gets done. It's completely pointless. It's mostly old people calling who do this, and I know they'll never get on here to see this information, but it happens often enough that I'm listing it. 7. Be patient This is probably the most important thing, and probably the most difficult for many people. The systems can be annoying. I understand. Some of the systems just suck and aren't helpful at all. But you should be patient and realize that if you're not getting where you want, it probably means that the system cannot handle your request. We can hear what you're saying, but we're limited by the system itself. Sometimes the option to put in what you want isn't there. Sometimes we put in what you want but the system redirects you to something different. If this seems to be happening, say "live agent" to get a real person. Some systems will get you to one if you keep stating you want an agent. Some systems won't get you to one until you tell it generally what you need help with. This is so it can route your call to the appropriate department. Some of the systems seem to try anything possible to keep you from getting to a real person. It really depends on which you're calling. We get a lot of idiots calling in asking for stupid poo poo, but we also get perfectly reasonable requests and can't do anything about them. Keep your cool because you're just talking to the robot. Getting mad is pointless. Besides, you sound like a stupid childish moron when you throw a tantrum over your brand new iPhone. Related to live agents, if the call centers for live agents have closed for the night, we can't open them up again just for you. We also can't direct you to a call center on a specific continent or in a certain part of the country. Just call back again when they're open. I'll add on to this if I remember anything important that I forgot to mention. I'll probably think of a few things later. Anyway, open to questions.
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Jan 14, 2015 11:13
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Do you feel that you should be tried for war crimes under the Geneva Convention? I do. Unrelated followup: Seriously what's the best way to get to an actual person? I can spam 0's all day or shout "representative" at the top of my lungs but sometimes you just get nowhere. Keeping in mind that I've worked at a call center so if I do have to call somewhere I try to make sure I'm not in the middle of a construction zone or anything. For example the system for the LA (or maybe even CA) court system I think it might actually be impossible to reach a person and it just drives me up a wall.
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Jan 14, 2015 21:25
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HUGE SPACEKABLOOIE posted:Do you feel that you should be tried for war crimes under the Geneva Convention? I do. Please don't try me for war crimes, I was just following orders! That really sucks. Unfortunately, I don't know how systems like that are set up. The ones we run are customer service lines for major corporations. For something like that, they may have set it up so you really can't reach anyone unless it's something they've deemed important enough. Like, by your responses, it filters which calls get let through and which don't. Or maybe it's one of those systems where you have to answer every single unrelated prompt they give you before you get the option to get a real person. Sorry I can't help more. :/
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Jan 15, 2015 00:09
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My question is if its just a person anyway...why? Why have a robot involved it doesnt seem like its any more efficient. Also ive found if you swear a bunch you generally get put through to a person. I hate the drat things (sorry op) but my mo is usually spam 0 and ask for a representative then head straight to gently caress town.
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Jan 18, 2015 12:30
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I'm not familiar with these system at all (UK) but then I never call unless I absolutely have to, and prefer to use the internet, like your OP says to do. So, there must have been a business case made that this is more efficient than a normal IVR, which requires no human labour? I don't see how. If I was one of those major corporations using your services, I'd probably rather just use the man-power as additional out-sourced agents to take normal calls.
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Jan 18, 2015 15:18
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edit: oh god wrong forum
a_pineapple fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Jan 18, 2015 17:47
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:11 |
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Sometimes I call because I figure someone who fills out the support tickets all day can do it faster than I can plus maybe get it resolved today instead of waiting days wondering if anyone ever read the email 
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Jan 18, 2015 18:38
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