I got a phone call last week from Gilad Odinak over at Spoken Communications, in response to the blog post I wrote about the guided IVR used by Spiegel Brands and powered by Spoken. My gripe was that, when I called Spiegel to check out the IVR, all I got was a DTMF interface. Boo! I wanted to experience some guided self-service with natural language, but came up short.

Gilad told me that, at times, the Spiegel contact center and its hardware can get a bit funky — blame the network and the equipment. He said that I should try calling again, when the system wasn’t all wonky. Well, I did today and am happy to say I got to chat with “Lindsay,” the virtual agent who guided me through a few ridiculous requests I made. Here’s a transcript:

Lindsay: Hello, thank you for calling Spiegel. How can I help you?

Me: I want to find true love.

Lindsay: I’d be glad to help you do that. Can I have your customer order number?

Me: No.

Lindsay: Can I have your telephone number?

Me: No.

Lindsay: Can I have your first and last name?

Me: Ryan Joe.

Linsday: How do you spell the last name?

Me: Cho.

Linsday: OK, please hold while I transfer you to the next available agent.

Me: *Click.*

Playing pranks on IVRs has never been less enjoyable — the system didn’t give up on me! I actually managed to go down a call path with these requests and refusals. I give the system a thumbs-up, and can rest assured that true love is for sale at Spiegel.

[PS -- For more information on agent-assisted IVRs, check out the March '08 issue of Speech Tech magazine. I wrote a feature-length piece on the technology, with some interesting input from vendors and analysts.]