cellio: (avatar)
Monica ([personal profile] cellio) wrote2002-06-21 06:58 pm
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isn't technology grand?

I just got one of the more bizarre phone calls in recent memory.

It was obvious that it was a recording, and thinking it was a telemarketer (such calls always had been, until now), I was about to hang up. But then the mechanical voice identified itself as the Sears repair service, so I didn't. (They have our microwave, which got damaged but not destroyed by the power surge.)

The rest of the call was completely automated and told us that our [pause] microwave is ready for pickup at the [click] Pittsburgh repair center and the charge is [pause] [some amount here] and they are open from [click] 8AM to [click] 5PM on... and so on, in that sing-song that comes from splicing digital voices together.

I wonder how long it will be before they can make these kinds of calls smooth and not choppy.

[identity profile] steven.livejournal.com 2002-06-21 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
That's exactly what the CVS automated prescription refill service sounds like when you call it. Convenient, yes, but annoying, too.
goljerp: Photo of the moon Callisto (Default)

Good example of voice system...

[personal profile] goljerp 2002-06-24 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
For a good example of a voice system, try Amtrak's phone reservation system. The old one used to be one of those clunky systems. ('press 1 for the northeast corridor. Press 2 for...') The new one is much better. The only problem is, it feels a bit rude interrupting the system... :-)