Call centers spend significant amounts of time and money training associates on delivering a friendly and empathetic approach.   The Wall Street Journal reports that some companies now go one step further and reevaluate the voice that initially greets customers.  These companies believe that with a friendlier, more inviting voice, they increase the chance that customers will stay within the automated system rather than trying to reach a live operator, which saves companies money.   Alflac, for example, recently brought on a new voice with a calm, hometown feel for its initial greeting.  The company reports a 7% increase in customer satisfaction with the automated system since implementing the new voice.

What we find most interesting about this article are the posted comments at the end. Most revealed that they prefer a live person to greet them at the start of the call, similar to LL Bean.  The readers expressed frustration about how difficult and time-consuming automated systems can be.  While looking at the initial experience is a good starting point, companies benefit by evaluating the entire automated and live experience, from start to finish.