1y ago

Google tests a feature that calls businesses on your behalf and holds until an agent is available | TechCrunch

techcrunch.com Google tests a feature that calls businesses on your behalf and holds until an agent is available | TechCrunch

Google is testing a feature that places a call to a business , waits on hold and then give you a call once a representative is available.

Google tests a feature that calls businesses on your behalf and holds until an agent is available | TechCrunch::Google is testing a feature that places a call to a business , waits on hold and then give you a call once a representative is available.

49 comments

Business services are so shitty the answer is: another service.
Reminds me of supplemental insurance plans. Fractal capitalism.
- The reason business service is so bad is because it actually hurts them to provide good service. Most of the time it's someone complaining or asking the company for a refund, etc. It's better for business to make the process as difficult as possible to discourage anyone from trying to lodge a complaint. It's a type of dark pattern.
  
  This seems like an overly complicated explanation when the alternative explanation is so simple: More call center employees can answer more phones, but call center employees cost money to hire, and businesses do not like spending money.
- My company stresses customer service. We have our phones set up to ring the person, after two rings, ring all department phones, after 4, anyone who can answer outside calls.
  Every call is answered. Everyone is trained how to start a call and get them to the right person.
  I’m on that list even though I shouldn’t be. I volunteered to be a 4th ring because I value that mentality.
  
  The company I work for does that as well for its retail environment, it sounds good on paper but the only thing it's done is all the secondary phones now are ignored until it's a transfer ring. After a certain time of day(when the receptionist goes home) it just won't be answered unless a manager is the one who answers. This is partially due to the lack of training of the secondary and partially of the "no departments ever close" policy so if you answer it you are expected to help even if it's on the opposite side in an area you know nothing about
  
  What company is this‽ literally no way it's a public facing company that deals with regular customers b2b maybe?

"Hi thank you for holding, this is--"
"Please hold while your client becomes available. This service brought to you by Google No-U.."
Staticy jazz music
- Then they hang up.
  I've worked in a call center before and these things are not new at all. They've been around for a while, and at least in the place that I worked at, if the caller does not respond within the first 30 seconds, you're allowed to hang up on them and move on to the next person waiting in line.
  Keep in mind, the representative you're speaking to didn't make you wait in the call queue, the company did by not hiring more representatives to answer the influx of calls rapidly. When you make the representative wait for you, you're hurting their call times, which gets them in trouble, and makes everyone else waiting in the call queue have to wait longer.
  
  Which, will also hurt the call center manager, until they hire enough staff to answer the fucking phones in less than 30 minutes.
- "Thank you for holding, sir. What may i do for you?"
  "Actually, could you put me back on hold, that jazz station is lit "

If they ever get this perfected, the next step would be to deal with the inevitable "you actually have the wrong department. Please hold while I transfer you to some other asshole".
- Then they'll kill it like they do everything else. I won't be using this or testing it because I have zero trust it'll even exist next month.
  
  I've been using it for months. I don't expect it'll be free forever, but I'm using it while it's around. Not using it is like not watching a movie because it won't be streaming on Netflix forever. Enjoy it while it's here. Of course, if you didn't want to support Google, that's a different story altogether and I would support that.

My last few Pixels have had a similar option when calling IVR systems. "hold for me" it's labeled as. I still have to navigate the initial prompts but once it's hold time, I hit the button and it sits through the hold music, promoting me once it detects an agent.
It will Speech to Text the menus if you press the option as soon as you dial in. That's a little less useful currently.
One of the things I miss after dropping Graphene on my Pixel 8.
- promoting me once it detects an agent
  "hi this is Jeremy, how-"
  "I'm a let you finish but this caller is the greatest caller of all time"
  "OK i-"
  "of all time!"

And as businesses replace human phone support with AI, the future will just be two AIs waiting to talk to each other.
- I'll have my guy contact your guy

A potentially awesome service...from a company that offers no contact numbers or email addresses.

Many businesses already offer a call-back function where the next available agent just calls you. I’m tired of big tech shoehorning itself into every nook and cranny of life.
- You apparently haven't tried calling local government agencies in mid-size cities, or a good chunk of airlines. It's frustrating and I welcome anything that can help.
  
  Couple of times I tried using it, the reps were super confused and kept asking me to reveal the name of third party on the line. As a joke I once replied Google Androidov and the guy just wrote it down.
  Some straight up refused to speak to me because of third party on the line.
  Most just hang up as soon they hear any kind of automated message.
  I wish there was a silent mode at least available to single party consent states or for a list of numbers that tell you your call will be recorded without an option to opt out.
- I remember evaluating call centre systems probably 12 years ago where I was working at the time and this was becoming a thing - I'm surprised it hasn't become more widespread in that time. I've honestly only interacted with two companies between then and now where this was an option given to me.
- "A solution in search of a problem"

Great using AI to wait out hold time to talk to a different AI.
- Next up, getting your AI to talk to the other AI too.
  
  My computer to talk to the company's computer? So a website?

Can't wait until I can tell my AI to call my bank's AI when I need something, because letting me e-mail them would be too hard.
- It's actually really easy to email the bank's AI. Just send a fax of self addressed envelope containing a print out of your correspondence to: 0118 999 881 999 119 725 3
  
  "Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to inform you of a fire that has broken out at the promises of..."
- Email isn't secure. Using a free to use data mining AI is apparently

I don't understand how we've had telephones for 150 years and this is only now a thing.
Didn't bell experiment with this back in the 90s? Bell call answer service or something? Would wait on hold for you then cal you back.
That existed in this universe right?
- I don't know why businesses don't just do this. At least, those who want to deal with customer calls in good faith.
  In Canada there's a healthcare support line where you can call and talk to a nurse, like if you have something going on where you're not sure if you should go to the ER or just wait it out. They get pretty busy, so when the wait is going to be a while, they'll have you enter a callback number and then just give you a call when it's your turn.
  Then they don't need to have phone line capacity for all active agents plus everyone in queue (which can be much higher than the number of agents), they just need capacity for agents plus everyone going through the process to get added to the list plus everyone who decides to just wait instead.
  And I don't need to sit around giving my attention to my phone any time their hold music gets to a lull or they play a patronizing recording with PR speak about important my call is to them.
- Not technology but economics I suspect. No one wanted to pay for it. Which would make sense if Google is trying this since they have money to throw at things.

how about we ditch phone lines as the only way in the first place

Next step is selling recaptcha for phones.

And if successful then companies will hire even less people to take your calls because their KPIs will show that people are willing to wait even longer for a resolution.
This is a bandaid that has the potential to make things worse.
- Moral hazard I think the term you are looking for here. Might be wrong could also be preverse incentive.
  
  It definitely has a moral hazard aspect. Thank you.
  
  Negative Externalities also applies

Although Talk to a Live Rep is similar to the Pixel’s “Hold for Me” feature, Google says there are some differences, noting that while some of the underlying technology is the same, Talk to a Live Rep goes one step further.
Mood

This is the best summary I could come up with:
The new feature, called “Talk to a Live Rep,” would get rid of the need for users to wait countless minutes, and sometimes hours, listening to hold music trying to get connected to a customer service agent.
With Talk to a Live Rep, Google’s systems will navigate the phone tree for you and then call you back when a customer service agent is available.
Talk to a Live Rep proactively calls the business on your behalf, getting rid of the need for you to enable the whole process yourself.
Google will then send you SMS updates about its progress and will then call you once a customer representative is available to speak with you.
The supported businesses include Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Best Buy, Costco, Walmart, Boost Mobile, Samsung, ADT, Instacart, UPS, Zelle, State Farm and more.
As with any other experimental feature, it’s unknown when Talk to a Live Rep will reach a wider audience.
The original article contains 476 words, the summary contains 157 words. Saved 67%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

https://www.phonearena.com/news/irs-hangs-up-on-callers-using-this-pixel-feature_id142033#:~:text=Incredible%20feature%2C%20but%20when%20it,using%20%22Hold%20for%20Me.%22

Haven’t they been talking about this for years and years now?
- yeah, and it's been getting kind of implemented in parts on the pixel.
  
  Noice! Good to see, seemed interesting whenever they first announced that at the I/O meeting 5ish years ago

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