US Airways is First among Domestic Airlines to offer an Intelligent Service Experience through Natur

[freedom]

i think this is the same company that does dragon naturally speaking 11 , if so this is a FANTASTIC step forward ....their voice software is some of the best i've ever seen ( i really should use it more , but i'm too lazy to throw on the headset for short message board posts )....

bravo to whom ever picked them to run our phone system !

 

[SparrowHawk]

i think this is the same company that does dragon naturally speaking 11 , if so this is a FANTASTIC step forward ....their voice software is some of the best i've ever seen ( i really should use it more , but i'm too lazy to throw on the headset for short message board posts )....

bravo to whom ever picked them to run our phone system !

I remember when this technology was "Science Fiction" and now it works. I also know people who work at Nuance and it's a small, solid, well run company. It will take time to work out the kinks with the product.

For me the rub is I HATE automated phone systems. Granted this is pretty slick stuff, the problem if you can call it that is many people just don't like the technology and when they do finally get a live person their blood pressure is up 30 points and they tend to be a bit cranky.

I have seen normal rational people go totally off the scope when trying to deal with Dell Computers Indian Call Center. Normal, sane people without a racist bone in their body I've heard call the rep in India Towel Heads and worse. My concern is that by embracing this new technology US may have made the right decision only to have the customer perception be negative. First impressions mean a great deal and I hope "Wally" is up to the job.

 

[SS255]

I'm always of the mind that simpler is better. I really don't care how US routes my calls on the back end, as long as the person on the other end is competent, polite, and can solve my problem for me. I don't like fumbling with layers of voice prompts. Most of the complaints coming from the CP's have to do with the fact that with prior system, you punched in your DM number, and a highly trained CP agent answered your call quickly. Now, they have to go through several voice prompts that fail, and the person on the other end may or may not be experienced.

My company outsourced most of our I.T. department (including the Help Desk) to India about 18 months ago. I told somebody very high up in our H.R. department that it was the single worst business decision ever made at this company......and I have been here for nearly 20 years. I also told him that the people who signed off on this decision do not ever have to deal with the I.T. department, so the decision does not directly affect them. This same theory applies to any business with customer-facing applications. The decision looks good on paper to those making it, but those who are left to deal with the fallout of the decision have a very different point of view.

If the system is as good as SparrowHawk claims it is, it seems like US may be able to tweak it a bit so that at least the CP calls can resume their former level service.

 

[SparrowHawk]

I'm always of the mind that simpler is better. I really don't care how US routes my calls on the back end, as long as the person on the other end is competent, polite, and can solve my problem for me. I don't like fumbling with layers of voice prompts. Most of the complaints coming from the CP's have to do with the fact that with prior system, you punched in your DM number, and a highly trained CP agent answered your call quickly. Now, they have to go through several voice prompts that fail, and the person on the other end may or may not be experienced.

My company outsourced most of our I.T. department (including the Help Desk) to India about 18 months ago. I told somebody very high up in our H.R. department that it was the single worst business decision ever made at this company......and I have been here for nearly 20 years. I also told him that the people who signed off on this decision do not ever have to deal with the I.T. department, so the decision does not directly affect them. This same theory applies to any business with customer-facing applications. The decision looks good on paper to those making it, but those who are left to deal with the fallout of the decision have a very different point of view.

If the system is as good as SparrowHawk claims it is, it seems like US may be able to tweak it a bit so that at least the CP calls can resume their former level service.

Like I said earlier, no matter how many hours you spend going over the proper set up of a complex software when you "Go Live" it's never exactly right. Murphy's Law and the Law of unintended consequences are part and parcel of these type of roll outs. The classic example of being used to punching in a number and getting right to the CP desk versus several voice prompts now. Not knowing the software, I'm betting they can fix that in short order.

Your middle paragraph is a whole thread by itself. Last two big software upgrades (Tea Leaf CRM & the Nuance IVR) attempted by US have gone pretty smoothly and seem to be well thought out. US IT lately has been on the upside. Seem like the new CIO might be the reason why. When you look at the Nuance IVR, coupled with bringing everyone back on shore for reservations that's pretty positive for the customer. "Wally" needs to be tickled a bit to satisfy the Elites which likely weren't given front burner attention as we are a necessary evil to US

 

[SS255]

My father called the CP line today, and said that the system recognized him as a Chairman.

He also said that the agent on the other end had an accent, and sounded like an offshore agent. I asked him if the connection sounded distant, and he said that he didn't notice anything. It's possible that the agent is US-based and simply had a foreign accent. His request was a simple one; certainly not meaty enough to test the training and experience level of the agent. I don't know whether or not the call got routed to the offshore reservations line, but I wanted to mention it here in case anybody in management is reading this, and wants to look into it.

In any event, I'm glad that the system is now recognizing the status of the callers. It's certainly a step in the right direction.

 

[SparrowHawk]

My father called the CP line today, and said that the system recognized him as a Chairman.

He also said that the agent on the other end had an accent, and sounded like an offshore agent. I asked him if the connection sounded distant, and he said that he didn't notice anything. It's possible that the agent is US-based and simply had a foreign accent. His request was a simple one; certainly not meaty enough to test the training and experience level of the agent. I don't know whether or not the call got routed to the offshore reservations line, but I wanted to mention it here in case anybody in management is reading this, and wants to look into it.

In any event, I'm glad that the system is now recognizing the status of the callers. It's certainly a step in the right direction.

Certainly is good news for Elite Customers. I suspect Wally will receive some more "Coaching" as time goes on.

Is it my imagination or has US's IT Department taken a turn for the better since Joe Beery got gone?

 

[SS255]

Certainly is good news for Elite Customers. I suspect Wally will receive some more "Coaching" as time goes on.

Is it my imagination or has US's IT Department taken a turn for the better since Joe Beery got gone?

Not your imagination. Now if US would develop a pda site like CO's. Their current mobile site doesn't do a whole lot.

 

[Travelpro72]

I know there are always little tweaks that need to be made here and there with any implementation of a product or service and this may sound a bit harsh but has there EVER been anything rolled out that hasn't been jacked up? To even put out a service that doesn't recognize the most common passenger requests is laughable at best. WHY? Once, just once can US please the customer and make their experience enjoyable, easy, fast and efficient? It's been a constant learning curve for six years.

 

[signals]

Machines and monkeys are still a great way to replace the human element. Ask management that gets paid an outrageous salary to think of ways to make it happen.

 

[BoeingBoy]

but has there EVER been anything rolled out that hasn't been jacked up?

How often do you think Parker/Kirby/et al have to call res, use the website, or do anything the "regular" people do to fly except board and de-plane? Perhaps that's part of the problem - they never interact with the systems that "regular" people have to interact with so what looks good on paper for reducing the human interaction time spent on a transaction (which costs money) comes across as clunky to people that have to use it.

Jim

 

[SparrowHawk]

How often do you think Parker/Kirby/et al have to call res, use the website, or do anything the "regular" people do to fly except board and de-plane? Perhaps that's part of the problem - they never interact with the systems that "regular" people have to interact with so what looks good on paper for reducing the human interaction time spent on a transaction (which costs money) comes across as clunky to people that have to use it.

Jim

Say what you will about the folks at CCY before US merged. It was company policy that EVERYONE Managing Director and above book their flights via usairways.com. I don't recall exactly where the line was drawn but the folks at the top booked on line as Chairman's Preferred. Also Ben Baldanza spent an entire day in Logan when the Kiosks were rolled out observing the customer experience.

Even though US was hanging by a thread pre BK they made huge investments in IT. Those who recall the early usairways.com remember you couldn't even use the <back> button on your browser without risking mucking up the reservation. Back when we were still Cockroaches we had several power users who had a direct contact to a gentleman in IT and problems got fixed instantly. One of our members found a glitch that once corrected we were told saved them MILLIONS of dollars in lost or uncollected revenue.

Tempe's response to all of this was to promptly fire the three fellows in IT who were working with us.

In Tempe's defense with the Nuance product I know some of the folks at Nuance and the software is very slick. It's also very complex. A company with the very best of the best IT wise would have difficulty performing a seamless implementation.

While a large percentage of people don't like automated phone systems, they along with IVR are with us to stay. Wally is an attempt to bridge the gap in a more customer friendly way between a live voice and a multilayer menu that people really despise. Perfect? Nope. Better? Yep

 

[BoeingBoy]

Say what you will about the folks at CCY before US merged. It was company policy that EVERYONE Managing Director and above book their flights via usairways.com.

Yes, but how many actually did it vs having their secretary do it? I have no doubt that someone books Parker's and the other upper crust's flights. I doubt that Parker (or Lakefield, Siegel, etc) do/did it themselves.

Jim

 

[SparrowHawk]

Yes, but how many actually did it vs having their secretary do it? I have no doubt that someone books Parker's and the other upper crust's flights. I doubt that Parker (or Lakefield, Siegel, etc) do/did it themselves.

Jim

I know the killer B's did it themselves and I think lime boy did. Beyond that can't say.

 

[SS255]

Yes, but how many actually did it vs having their secretary do it? I have no doubt that someone books Parker's and the other upper crust's flights. I doubt that Parker (or Lakefield, Siegel, etc) do/did it themselves.

Jim

I can understand why the people at the top don't spend valuable time doing grunt work which their secretaries can capably handle on their behalf. The key is that they need to hire very capable people to run the various areas, and then empower those people to actually solve problems.

Let the I.T. folks whose job it is to design, implement and maintain a stellar website figure this stuff out. And if the I.T. folks ask for the budget to make necessary changes, give it to them!!! I.T. is probably the single most important functionality of any customer-facing business. If you don't get that right, you're pretty much hosed.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Right on. I still remember the article about the old head of IT - Beery was it. He was asked what he looked for when hiring someone and replied that the ability to work with others was the most important criteria. NOT ability.

Jim