Boston breaks Verizon IVR system
By Adam Gaffin, NetworkWorld.com, 11/05/04
When Verizon installed a new IVR system for 411, it didn't count on the accents in Boston. WCVB-TV reports the company has been tinkering with the system to make it understand the unique way Bostonians speak:
Chrissy Conroy has a Boston accent. When she called Verizon 411 information for the Barker Tavern in Scituate, she ended up waiting on the line for a live operator.
"Bahhkahh Tavirn," she told the operator.
"(The operator) understood me," she said.
"We certainly recognize that Boston has some unique accents and we take a close look at how the service responds to the Boston and the Massachusetts area," said John Vicenzo, of Verizon.
Among the words the system has had to be trained to understand: "Worcester," the name of the state's second largest city, which is pronounced like "Wuhstuh" or "Wistah." You don't even want to know about Cochituate. ..
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