After weeks, and sometimes months of careful planning, vacation day has finally arrived and you and your companions are more than ready to depart. Alternatively, you need to make it a meeting in London within 12 hours and you are in New York City.
Regardless of what your travel plans might be, you have a clear picture of yourself lounging on a beach, walking in to the boardroom early, or even sipping a mojito near a pool. No one’s travel plans include sitting in an airport for hours on end waiting as flights are constantly delayed, or even cancelled.
Or how about getting on the 405, I-90, or I-95 thinking you are off for what is going to be a fantastic road trip, only to find out that you are low on gas, stuck in a traffic jam, or have a flat tire?
I was just recently on the Acela making the commute between Boston and NYC,. Abruptly, for no discernible reason, our train came to a halt. The conductor (who I pictured looking exactly like Ringo Starr) continuously reassured us that the train would be on the move within 5 minutes. As it turns out, we ended up sitting on the train tracks with limited electricity for what turned in to an hour and a half. Needless to say, no one was pleased.
A trip can only begin when a destination has been reached, and getting there can be tedious, tiring, difficult, and downright annoying. Many times, this frustration stems from the fact that users have little control over how rapidly they will reach their destination (they can’t clear traffic, operate a halted train, or make a plane takeoff). In addition, there is typically very little information available to travelers that give them real time updates that brief them of their status.
Starting a trip, regardless of what type of trip it is, on a bad foot may casts a pall over the excursion and can sometimes be vacation ruining. While travelers often times have little opportunity to alleviate their stress in these types of situations, if transportation companies integrated with an interactive voice response system, it would allow customers to call in and get real time updates regarding their travel status.
An IVR system could integrate with airline, train, or even traffic reporting backend databases and either allow customers to call in and receive updates based on their personal preferences, or the system could place an outbound call if any flights or trains were delayed or any traffic jams sprung up. Customers would have the ability to specify both their location and mode of transportation in order to receive the most current, relevant updates in a timely manner.
This type of IVR system could go far in relieving stress, and allowing travelers, regardless of their destination, to stay updated on the most current travel delays, weather conditions, and any other potential roadblocks that may prevent them from reaching their destination in time to catch a 5 o’clock margarita on the beach!
