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Expect Smarter Robots, Fewer Human Operators as American Unveils New Phone Technology

Frequent fliers on American Airlines will soon enjoy streamlined automated customer service by phone, thanks to a fancy new customer-recognition program.

As the AP points out, the Remember Me system recognizes the phone numbers of AAdvantage members, greeting them by name and automatically providing same-day gate and flight information with nary a keystroke. A spokesman said that the move is aimed at improving the customer-service experience, though it will also save the company money by reducing the need for actual human beings in the call center.

Like most people, we've been frustrated by the frequent ineptitude of computerized phone systems, but since that's the direction the industry is inevitably headed, we applaud improvements such as these. The more that customer recognition programs can truly anticipate why we're calling and deliver the information we need quickly, the more we'll accept them. Now, if the airlines could program computers to make flights depart on time, we'd be getting somewhere.

[Photo: grumpyoldgits.org]

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