RE: Serious follow-up to the automated telephone system thing

["Downing, David" <david -dot- downing -at- fiserv -dot- com>]

I don't think the intention was to accuse the designers of these systems
of deliberate malice, but rather to point out a problem that they may
not be aware of.

But speaking of deliberate malice, there's one option I'd like to add to
some of those systems -- "To give the designer of this system a painful
electric shock, press 9."

David Downing
Senior Technical Writer
Credit Union Solutions
Fiserv
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian -dot- Henderson -at- mitchell1 -dot- com
[mailto:Brian -dot- Henderson -at- mitchell1 -dot- com] 
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 12:59 PM
To: Downing, David; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Serious follow-up to the automated telephone system thing

Although I tend to live by the motto: "Never attribute to malice that
which can be adequately explained by stupidity" -- Malice DOES explain
many things. And in a case like automated phone systems, the malice may
be unconscious. I have read that the behavior of a corporation, if
attributed to an individual, could appear to be the actions of a
psychopath (or at least a sociopath).

-BH

-----Original Message----- From: Downing, David

There is, in fact, a reason why those automated telephone support
systems are so nerve-racking. I read about it a long time ago in an
article in TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION. It seems that those systems are
actually doing something that the police do to try and break criminals
in a hostage situation -- repeatedly force someone to make choices among
alternatives. The police do it with the intention of making the
kidnapper finally say, "I give up! I'm coming out!" So those automated
systems are breaking you down in a similar fashion.

David Downing
Senior Technical Writer
Credit Union Solutions
Fiserv
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