As I was going through the PAX East Convention this past weekend, I thought about two ways in which IVR could have improved some difficulties that I encountered. First, let’s talk about the problems.
Problem #1: The long lines
Of course, at every gaming convention, you’re going to encounter lines for demoing games. However, for the popular games, there were about 50-60 people queued up and you had to wait at least 30 minutes before you could finally try the game out. Well, why not take down a list of people who are waiting to to play the game (similar to how restaurants take down names of people waiting for tables) and get their phone number?
Imagine the possibilities. By taking down phone numbers for these people, one can use our outbound IVR system to send out calls to say…5 people at a time informing them to show up at the gaming station as they would be next to play. This would free up the gamers’ time to go explore the rest of the convention and also free up congestion around the gaming station. (Because safety matters!)
Problem #2: Getting lost
With large convention sites, there’s always going to be people that get lost and don’t know their way. Well, why not set up a telephone number for people to call when they’re looking for directions? You could set up different numbered locations at the convention center and set up an IVR application that will ask the person for the numbered location they are closest to and the destination they are trying to reach. It sure beats trying to push your way through a crowd of people to see the map directory.
Just same random thoughts on how IVR can improve the life of gamers at a convention.
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