Numberspeak
One in an ongoing series on the all-too-common vocabulary found in Voicebot systems today.
pressorsay n, cl.
A request for the caller to choose an option by entering a number on the keypad or by speech. Effective in dehumanizing and demeaning the caller by requiring him/her to speak in number code (1, 2, 1...) in response to human language prompts. Typical of early speech systems* and still surprisingly prevalent today. Responsible in large part for the slow acceptance of telephony voice user interfaces and serious contender for the award for "Most Brain-Dead Dialog Component" of all time.
Examples:
System: For billing, pressorsay "1". For service requests, pressorsay "2".
User: 1.
System: To check your bill, pressorsay "1". To pay your bill, pressorsay "2".
User: 2
(etc., ad nauseum...)
System: For new service, pressorsay "1". For customer support, pressorsay "2".
User: Customer support, please.
System: For new service, pressorsay "1". For customer support, pressorsay "2".
User: Customer support?
System: For new service, pressorsay "1". For customer support, pressorsay "2".
User: Sigh... (presses 2).
...
orig. human language "press or say".
* Presumably this was the method of least effort to add speech to an existing touchtone dialog, or did some bright spark somewhere think this was a good way to economize on prompts?
