Do Kiosks and IVRs Threaten Human Interaction? 294
DavidGilbert99 writes "According to research by the Hyatt Hotel group, one third of customers are already checking in at self-service kiosks in their hotel lobbies, eschewing the traditional route of the receptionist. This is indicative of a wider trend according to voice recognition experts Nuance who believe we simply never want to talk to a real human again, preferring the clipped, efficient tones of its Nina virtual assistant. Expanding this from mobile to now include the web means we could soon be living in a world where speaking to a real live human is the exception rather than the rule." When things go smoothly, I prefer the automated versions of many things (airport check-in, ordering products to arrive by mail, depositing a check); it's when things go wrong that voice menus and web sites just seem to make simple problems into complicated ones.
Re:Speed and cost (Score:5, Informative)
I just want to check-in faster.
That's basically it. When I check in to a hotel, the person at the desk spends five minutes typing on the keyboard. Why? What kind of garbage reservation system are hotels using that forces the worker to type so much?
Want to reduce your personnel costs? Get a reservation system that doesn't require so much typing and you could have a single clerk at the desk instead of three.
Re:There has to be a way to get out of the IVR (Score:5, Informative)
You might try looking up the company at GetHuman [gethuman.com]. They've got a pretty good database of the arcane paths you need to follow through the IVR systems to get to a person.
Re:Speed and cost (Score:5, Informative)
AS/400 green screen character display archaics from the early 80s are to blame.
No, no they aren't. It doesn't matter if you have a GUI or not. Also, they do effectively have a GUI. Those terminals understand fillable fields and the system presents an interface for you to fill out. There's no technical reason it can't ask them for the same information for which it asks you, and present its responses without graphics. Those systems were designed to be changed by the very way you build applications on those mainframes. Change the layouts, change the program, it's easy.
The problem is that the applications are poorly designed for the purpose of getting you through the airport quickly. I don't know what their actual purpose is, but that's the case.
Re:Speed and cost (Score:5, Informative)
That only works if the human has some level of decision-making power. These days, many humans you interact with in a business context are essentially front-ends to the software. The computer says you are assigned to room #231, that's where you go: Because the computer also made sure that the cleaners were scheduled beforehand.
What happens if the employee does decide to upgrade you? They get fired, even if it's over something as simple as putting a few extra chocolate sprinkles on your food: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/09/26/mcdonald-s-fired-me-after-sprinkling-too-much-chocolate-on-a-mcflurry-91466-31904726/ [walesonline.co.uk]