My phone is dead, my computer has no battery life and I’m stuck on a plane that’s grounded due to a mechanical issue. I have no way to contact my wife, who is supposed to pick me up, and assume the airline will update their computer system and website to show my flight is delayed since it was sitting on the tarmac for three hours after its scheduled departure time. Not only did the airline not update their computer system but also did not call or send an email notification about the delay. Long story short, my wife showed up at the airport three hours early and had no idea my flight was delayed. Needless to say I will not travel on that carrier again (if I can help it) but I can’t believe how easy it would have been to retain a customer (me) if the airline would have sent a simple text message, email or made an automated call to my wife via an IVR system to let her know of the delay. IVR is the perfect technology for alerts and notifications. Since it’s web-based, this airline could easily program an IVR application to call any number I enter into their system and provide flight info if a delay occurs. VoiceXML lets developers program IVR systems that can easily trigger outbound calls based on any event that occurs in their data system, so they can have full control over the dialog and when a call is placed. Hosted IVR services and unified communication systems are so cost effective these days there’s no reason why any company in the travel industry shouldn’t have an automated alerts system in place.
