Today is the 'last run' for the toll-free number connecting New Jersey Transit, the third largest transit agency in the US, with its customers.

Could this be the beginning of the end for toll-free numbers in North America?

NJ Transit has since June been switching callers from 800-772-2222 to 973-275-5555. When you call the toll free number today you will get a recorded message asking you to call the 973 number And according to an opinion piece in the July 22 Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier-Post, after July 31, there will no longer be any message at the 1-800 number.

NJ Transit abandoned toll-free to cut costs. The high gas prices have attracted more riders but have also increased the costs of diesel fuel used on its buses and many of its commuter trains: the agency also has an electrified commuter rail and light rail network.

The technology environment is finally right for ending toll-free service. NJ Transit, like many public agencies along with private companies, has been diverting calls away from live agents through the Internet, including a mobile-enabled site, and with proactive means such as automated outbound text alerts.

New Jersey residents, like many others across North America, have been switching from TDM to IP, which makes long distance charges irrelevant. My son, who lives in the central part of the state, bought IP with a package from his cable company. Also, North Americans are becoming used to paying per contact, as their counterparts in other parts of the world have long done, through their text messaging rates.

By dropping toll-free, NJ Transit could be blazing a trail for other companies and organizations to follow. The move saves money without cutting customer care, allowing scarce resources to be more efficiently deployed elsewhere.

There has been so far some cries against the move, such as the aforementioned newspaper editorial (see below), because it does increase the costs and hassle of information access from especially poorer customers. Yet the screams have not been loud enough at this point to get the agency to change its mind.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/OPINION/807220303/1046

Who will be the next to follow in NJT's path? Do I hear any roar from the airlines?

Speech recognition-enabled automated voice solutions work best with heavily scripted interactions that leave little room for interpretation e.g. finding the right service, obtaining credit card balances, and ordering a movie.

For that reason more of these kinds of basic transactions are going automated with speech rec because they are relatively easy to do while permitting operating cost savings.

There are now so many firms and organizations that have deployed speech rec on their customer interaction front ends that these applications have taught us how to speak to the computers i.e. slowly, clearly, with little inflection.

And we all thought speech rec was about 'teaching' the machines to 'speak' to us...were we ever wrong...

For all the speech-rec current and in-the-pipeline candidate transactions there is one category that appears to be ready-made for this technology--but so far ignored--and that are the after-hours calls, such as for doctors, lawyers, plumbers, fuel oil dealers and furnace repairs now handled by answering services.

These contacts are ideal for speech rec because they are heavily scripted. These transactions have to be. The answering service agents (still called operators) can do little more than take or forward messages, or warm transfer calls to on-call staff, and page/dispatch professionally-trained personnel based on very strict procedures.

The agents themselves do not have medical or legal expertise, unless for 'dial-a-nurse' or other and more expense applications. And there may be unfunny consequences all around should these individuals attempt to give information that could be construed by callers as advice.

Which means these nice people can't fix your boo-boo, bail you out of the joint, or counteract the latest attempt of your 2 year old to turn your toilet into a one-size-fits-all alternate garbage disposal.

The real benefit of having live agents at all on such calls is the living, breathing, and reassuring presence of human beings. Yet at what price when they really cannot do much more, in many instances, than voicemail; a price that is included in the typically eye-opening bills that you get from these professionals and contractors.

I had a conversation some time ago with a friend who works for a contact center solutions vendor. He had twisted his ankle; he called up his doctor's office and then got the answering service. While the person at the other end was nice he couldn't even get an appointment set up. What help was that?

So that got me to thinking: could a standardized speech solution be developed for these professions and businesses? One that would deliver the same as or superior service while keeping costs--and bills--down?

And given how many of these professions and businesses with offices that are out there this could be the next speech rec killer app...

Here are some of the features this speech rec app could have:

--Customizable package scripting for each type of application (doctor, lawyer, contractor)

--Menu options including a link to an automated appointment scheduler application that would inform the caller the next available opening, and give that person the option of taking it, and if not the next one, and down the line

--Self-dispatch option with identifiers for existing customers, and intaking addresses for new customers, with the further choice of credit card prepayment or authorization

--Confirmation e-mails, texts, or automated voice messages

Now the one reason why I see this not being done to date is that speech rec apps are too expensive as currently delivered whether premises-based or hosted by outsourcers or developers for those businesses and offices who rely on answering services.

Yet if a savvy speech rec developer targets the communications providers (TDM, IP, wireless) that can offer these apps as a value-add to centralized voicemail, the market may be big enough to make the price affordable...with the added kicker of customer retention and increased lifetime customer value to the comm firms.

After all, if a client has contracted for a speech rec system, has customized it, and their customers are used to it, why change it?

This speech rec app could be killer in another way; it could do in those answering services that haven't made the transition to offering contact center services like customer care, which many of them did when voicemail pummeled their core message taking business.

How about it? Is this app in the realm of being doable? Is someone beta-ing one?

I'm all ears...

Want to 'drive' in more shoppers to your contact center and/or website? Get out the word that calling or going online saves gas (and saves the earth) compared with driving to the stores. Make sure you offer free shipping, and for added incentive, price your items less online or by phone.

The New York Times ran an excellent article July 19 on how high gas prices are turning in-store shoppers into virtual buyers. Partially as a result, online shopping is up, store shopping is down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/business/19shop.html?pagewanted=1&ref=technology

Along those lines consider making 'green' part of your CRM strategy where your top tier customers are enticed to come into the stores for truly personalized service, where they can check out the merchandise, and have it custom-fitted or built to their needs.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, plans to introduce legislation todasy to improve credit card billing, marketing, and disclosure practices (and, presumably, put a curb on predatory practices of the credit card industry). Dodd's Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (the C.A.R.D. Act) is, according to the Senator, aimed at "stopping abusive credit card practices that drag consumers into staggering amounts of debt, and too often harm, rather than help, the ability of American families to move up the economic ladder."

Dodd plans to speak with reporters about the legislation at a press conference today, where he will be joined by Senate colleagues and consumer advocates.

TES

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of your original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.
It's called the 401-Keg.

TES