Call Centers Beginning to Use 'Emotion Detection' Technology

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

In an attempt to spin the creepy new advances being made in eavesdropping equipment, the Washington Post is covering how the customer service industry and call centers might benefit from developed technologies that measure and catalog emotion.

So, rather than depending on call center operators to gauge whether a customer is angry, upset, or confused ? computers will be able to do this for us.

According to the Post piece, sales of the emerging technology, known as “speech analytics” and “emotion detection,” amounts to about $400 million and growing.

Speech analytics and emotion detection systems are slightly different depending on the vendor, but the same basic features apply. They all record and transcribe conversations and categorize them by words and phrases.

The Post shares that, ?More-subtle systems are designed to understand that ?this is the last straw? means the caller wants to bolt.? This, according to Roger Woolley, vice president of marketing for eTalk, of Irving, Tex., one of several companies selling speech analytic software. One would think that simply saying the phrase ?this is the last straw? would be enough to alert a qualified call center representative ? and that computer analytics wouldn?t have to be brought into the equation.

Thanks to the Internet, and its various methods of broadcasting displeasure ? from message boards, to blogs, to online reviews ? consumers can cause a lot more damage to the reputations of vendors. This technology, it?s hoped, will nip customers? anger and irritation, leading to a successful resolution for both parties.