wmartin@st-louis-emh2.army.mil (Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI) (04/20/89)
Here's another telecom-related item from the RISKS Digest: ***Begin Included item*** Date: Sat, 15 Apr 89 15:53:18 EDT From: USER=GEBM@um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Companies mask ANI to calm callers The following condensed from Bob Wallace, Network World v6#7 2/20/89 pg 1. Fear of alienating customers has encouraged some companies to rethink the way they use ISDN's automatic number identification (ANI) capability. American Express Travel Related Services Co. (TRS), AT&T's first commercial ISDN user, reportedly found that customers were startled when some of its agents greeted them by name. TRS has since prohibited the practice. Richard Zatarga [TRS employee], in a presentation at a "Preparing for ISDN" conference in Toronto (12/88), said TRS now avoids identifying callers by name. "We have changed the way we answer the [telephone]. We know who they are, but we still hunt for information" from callers as if we had to identify them. Although TRS has since denied that it used ANI to identify callers by name and that it received negative feedback from cardholders, sources close to the project who requested anonymity said numerous users reacted unfavorably to personalized greetings. TRS "learned that you don't answer the telephone with the customer's name." American Transtech, a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T (and the first company to test ISDN Primary Rate Interface [32B+D]), processes one million calls a day, making it the nation's fourth largest telemarketing company. The company does not, however, greet callers by name. "We could do it, but we don't want to let customers know we can capture their telephone number," said a spokesman. "We don't use [specialized greetings] because it would intimidate callers." Besides the RISK of alienating customers with ANI, there is a pervasive fear among prospective ANI implementors that callers will raise legal objections to ANI once they know how it works. People with unlisted phone numbers are expected to spearhead that movement. According to Huel Halliburton, a communications manager with Centel Electric, central office switches equipped to support equal access deliver the phone numbers of callers with both listed and unlisted telephone numbers to companies that use ANI. ***End of item***
vnend@phoenix.princeton.edu (D. W. James) (04/22/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0139m03@vector.dallas.tx.us> wmartin@st-louis-emh2. army.mil (Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI) writes: )Subject: Companies mask ANI to calm callers )Fear of alienating customers has encouraged some companies to rethink the way ) they use ISDN's automatic number identification (ANI) capability. ) customers know we can capture their telephone number," said a spokesman. "We ) don't use [specialized greetings] because it would intimidate callers." I wonder how long it will be before someone offers a 976 service that lets you call, get a dialtone from their phone, and then call again, just to avoid this kind of thing... -- Later Y'all, Vnend Ignorance is the mother of adventure. SCA event list? Mail? Send to:vnend@phoenix.princeton.edu or vnend@pucc.bitnet Anonymous posting service (NO FLAMES!) at vnend@ms.uky.edu Love is wanting to keep more than one person happy.