T-Mobile attempts to mitigate customer service costs with Nuance Mobile Care
In a growing effort to keep costly CSRs from spending entirely too much time trying to explain how to activate a speakerphone over the, um, phone, T-Mobile has inked a deal with Nuance Communications to bring an on-device application to select mobiles. Essentially, the Mobile Care software will rear its head whenever someone with one of the aforementioned handsets dials up customer service; from there, an "intuitive, user-friendly" guide attempts to walk users through "issues such as diagnosing and repairing configuration problems as well as with making account and billing inquiries." T-Mobile asserts that trials of the service have shown that customers actually prefer this over a live human, which probably has everything to do with the wait times that invariably come with calling a fellow Earthling. Still, we can imagine quite a few smashed phones deriving from frustrations with this computerized service, at least one of which we hope to get captured on video for posting.[Via RCR Wireless News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pat Bateman @ Oct 11th 2008 7:10PM
Oh God.
Galen20K @ Oct 11th 2008 7:18PM
Terrific Picture!!!!
- D
RCC2k8 @ Oct 11th 2008 8:02PM
No freaking way! I already hate their current 611 menu "Ask for what you want and I'll give you whatever I feel like at that moment." If I had to put up with such system directly on the phone, I might end up smashing the it against the nearest wall.
carcomptoy @ Oct 11th 2008 10:33PM
Hmmm I definitely think this is a step in the WRONG direction, especially since T-Mobile's Customer Care recently lost to Verizon's didn't they?
I never did like calling Customer Care anyway because they always assume you're so phone-ignorant--granted most people are, but I don't want to deal with "Did you reset the phone?" or "Did you take the battery out?" It's like DUH OF COURSE I TRIED THE EASY STUFF. Plus I normally tell them I've already done that stuff, and they still insist on doing it. In any case...you get the point.
dundee @ Oct 14th 2008 10:23PM
Is this the Nuance, of PaperPort and Dragon Naturally Speaking? Then T-Mobile is doomed. Nuance has some of the worst customer support I have ever experienced, a bad combination with their finacky (sp?) software!
chad @ Oct 17th 2008 7:04PM
You mean I might be able to stop yelling english!!!! into my phone when i call 611?? Good thing I kept the secret direct line from corporate