Robot Receptionists

[WA3VJB]

If there's anything worse than robot receptionists that try to detour you into a numerical menu, it's the online websites that refuse to provide a human contact.

Same philosophy at play for each -- companies insulate their staff from having to deal with a query.

So, I was invited just now to respond, and I actually came up with several.  Not sure this Big Boy would understand what I'm getting at in any selection I could make.

[Tom WA3KLR]

Hi Paul,

Yes a general weakpoint in the U.S. these days.

As far as Verizon, they are going down hill in my view; it's not the old solid Bell Telephone days anymore, that's for sure.  Whoopee for the telecom deregulation and it's benefits.

Funny you bring this up.  I am right now having my 3rd email outage with my new Verizon FiOS service.  I got FiOS 2 months ago.  The installation was an out-of-order circus of installers, trench diggers, and underground utility cable markers.  6 weeks after installation, the FIOS cables blew down from the phone poles.  A day after the cables were repaired and service restored, a Verizon person called me and informed me apologetically that the problem would not be repaired until the next day.  I told her that the problem had already been repaired the day before.

BUT, I'm damn glad to finally get high-speed Internet and off of dial-up.

[W1AEX]

Same philosophy at play for each -- companies insulate their staff from having to deal with a query.

I have to agree with you Paul. This is a major step backward in service and I view it as less than a good faith effort by companies to deal with their subscribers/customers. I have to give my ISP/phone/TV provider (Cox) high marks in that area. If I call, the menu is simple and simply routes my call to a human in the right department with little or no waiting time. On the other hand, my "full service" pharmaceutical company is a PIA. Their robot calls me whenever "it" thinks my prescription needs to be refilled and even scolds me about making sure I'm taking my medicine if I don't renew the order! That's a bit over the top!

I like your text dialog with the automated IM helper robot. Looks like a pretty sensitive AI. You'd better treat it kindly or it may mess with your credit rating!

Hey Tom, nice to work you on 160 the other night. Seemed almost like winter-time conditions! It was a good stress test for the newly re-awakened Viking III at close to max power levels. If the rain keeps up, I will probably drag the RF deck out of the rack and check that screen voltage today.

[W2VW]

Ever see the makeup job they did to Omar Sharif for Dr. Zhivago?

[Opcom]

AI - alleged intelligence - automats - just a way to impede the customer from getting help by endlessly delaying the contact wioth a real person. No doubt the brianfart of the bean counting department, ever scrabbling to become more powerful, while grinding everyone and anything else that stands in their way into dust. I'm. sure it impresses the gibbering masses for about 10 minutes before even they become incenced, but it does not do any good for anyone. If I had $1 for every time the foreign moron on the other end of the line told me to turn my computer and modem on and off I would be rich. So now, you can't even annoy those people by deviating from their scripts. You get a patronizing and psychoanalizing AI to screw with.

If the providers think this is an improvement, their heads are somewhere the sun does not shine.