When bots work
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238268)
Walnut Creek, California
October 3, 2019 11:34am CST
I've been kvetching a bit about scam phone call bots and trying to navigate the maze of "menus" when trying to get stuff done by phone recently.
But there's one "system" that actually works in my life. When I order meds from Kaiser, I don't get to talk to a real person, but process IS relatively simple, and it only takes about three minutes.
They bot-human asks me for my birthday, and they have voice recognition technology, so I don't have to enter it. I can say it. My birth date is apparently linked up with my phone number, so I don't have to give my Kaiser medical number any more.
Then there's a three-option menu to which I respond "new order." I say the prescription number, respond to a bot-question about payment with "use credit card on file" and then I'm pretty much done.
Do you have any bot systems in your life that actually work pretty well?
10 people like this
9 responses
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Oct 19
@CarolDM I've had less trouble with Kaiser than with other bot systems. I had to renew my driver's license and couldn't get a decent answer though any of the bot systems I tried. I eventually went in and got lucky. The line wasn't that long, and I was out of there within an hour.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
4 Oct 19
There are some Bots from a few banks which work very well. There are others which pop up but I actually close them as I do not need them.
1 person likes this
@Letranknight2015 (52665)
• Philippines
4 Oct 19
I hope they won't come a day were the delivery goes wrong. Are you sure that the order was not being transcript by some one and not a bot? Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
5 Oct 19
@TheHorse Our biggest phone and internet provider had this system for a very short time. People hated and they were submerged by critics. As the system only works if you spell correctly, every time I called them I said nonsense things until a human was obliged to reply to the call. Everybody did this and they were obliged to stop their stupid system.
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Oct 19
Yeah. Good point. Technology saves money, I'm sure, and Kaiser (and other companies) make big profits by using bots (even though Kaiser is ostensibly a "non-profit"). But older people, or those who are hearing-challenged, will suffer.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
3 Oct 19
Just the bank ATM when I ask it to spit out some money.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
3 Oct 19
I have ordered meds like that for mom and dad. It worked well most of the time.
1 person likes this
