Telemarketers Use Emotionally Intelligent Software 176
eldavojohn writes "There's a new kind of software that's being used more and more. It's software that detects emotion and now it's being used in call centers. It's a $400 million industry according to Forrester Research that relies on volume, pitch and even the words & phrases being used. Are we inadvertently getting closer to software that can understand us by filling the needs of telemarketers who need to know when I'm upset that they just interrupted my dinner?"
They need software to tell them I'm upset? (Score:5, Insightful)
Telemarketers? (Score:5, Insightful)
While we all hate telemarketers here on Slashdot, I'm not convinced either of the stories is referring to them particularly.
Cheers
Four words: (Score:2, Insightful)
Not.
Call.
List.
I put my number on the national list as soon as it came out, and we get ZERO calls now, and haven't for at least a year. The few that called before the list got widely distributed were politely told to put me on their list. I've had no problems, no dinner time calls, nothing. It really does work.
Caller ID (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:They need software to tell them I'm upset? (Score:5, Insightful)
Telemarketing == Outbound Call Center
Customer Service == Inbound Call Center
Which does this sound like:
And this?
I think a telemarketer can judge for himself whether or not you're upset. (And promptly ignore you.) This system is intended for support calls, where the customer service rep might not realize that they need to take action to prevent the loss of your business. Presumably, the system would automatically flag a manager if it calcualted that the customer was getting frustrated.
Considering the number of inexperienced customer service reps that companies employ, it's probably not a bad idea. Especially since it's currently difficult to auto-route "easy" vs. "hard" calls between the experienced and inexperienced employees.
Editors: Can we change the headline?
Re:They need software to tell them I'm upset? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:They need software to tell them I'm upset? (Score:3, Insightful)
They wouldn't do it if it didn't make money.
Annoying people apparently is a good way to get them to buy stuff.
My understanding is that they primarily pray on lonely old shut-ins, that's their bread and butter. These people are so desperate to talk to someone that they will buy your shit just to keep the conversation going a little while.
Never get annoying calls again (Score:2, Insightful)
$400 million (Score:4, Insightful)
So next time they call start smiling and in a soft polite voice say "FUCK YOU" and hang up.
Re:It's not for telemarketers... (Score:3, Insightful)
Now if you said that setups in india are designed to be cheap and do one thing only as simple as possible, disregarding complications... you'd have a case.