travel

American Airlines adds customer-recognition technology

9 Comments

American Airlines says customers who call for flight information will get it faster because of speech-recognition technology that it is adding to its service for frequent travelers.

The technology is designed to save the airline money by reducing the need for employees to handle customer calls, although American spokesman Charley Wilson said the intent was to improve customer service, not cut jobs.

American said that the "Remember Me" system will recognize phone numbers and greet customers by name if they've signed up under American's frequent-flier program, AAdvantage. They can list up to three phone numbers from which they'll call the airline.

If the customer is booked on a flight that day, the system will offer gate and flight information without prompting, the airline said.

The technology is provided by Tellme, a company that Microsoft Corp bought last year.

Tellme executive Jamie Bertasi told The Associated Press that in the recession companies are more concerned with keeping customers happy while also cutting costs — and much of the cost of a call center comes from training people. The technology saves money by cutting the number of calls that require handling by an employee, she said.

Bertasi said American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp, is the first major carrier to use Tellme's technology, which has been sold to other types of businesses, including Domino's Pizza.

Bertasi said the technology won't help customers find a seat on a fully booked plane.

"Perhaps we'll add that feature," she joked.

© Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

9 Comments
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"reducing the need for employees to handle customer calls"

Heaven forbid that you would actually get to talk to a human being when you call American Airlines.

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Last time I flew with American Airlines they had no recognition of the importance of their customers whatsoever, so I suppose this is a minor improvement!

I'd like to personally thank American Airlines for stealing my gifts and personal belongings from my checked luggage when I flew with them from Chicago to Narita, but unfortunately I'll have to tell it to this new speech recognition system instead!

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Nothing peculiar about this, just saves time and money, activities most businesses engage in. Perhaps some are confused, it doesn't recognize you by your voice (it recognizes your phone number - not amazing), it directs your call by recognizing the meaning of the words. Similar technology has been around for years, i.e. Speechworks/Nuance. Ever speak to a carnavi?

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Time to give back all my spoons.

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I hear they're gonna charge you $1 for each letter of your name.

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never mind names. it would be a major step forward if they could get some of their flight attendants to greet customers at all.

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Speech recognition? Sounds like a needless, overelaborate way to pinpoint callers.

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This will not end well.

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This will not end well.

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