In a first for SA, Ster-Kinekor Theatres, the cinema entertainment company in the Primedia group, has automated its call centre with a speech recognition-based solution from Intelleca Voice & Mobile that provides moviegoers with a fast, convenient and intuitive telephone information and booking service.
The solution is unique in that it uses speech recognition to allow moviegoers to choose from a range of options, cinemas and movies, and is based on the VoiceXML standard. The VoiceXML standard allows callers to access Web-based content, information and services using an ordinary telephone or mobile phone. The solution forms part of the company`s 360-degree customer relationship management strategy, underpinned by its Movie Club loyalty programme, and is one of the multiple channels through which it aims to achieve a single view of the customer.
Ster-Kinekor`s contact centre receives on average 60 000 calls a month, the majority of which are information-based. Intelleca`s VoiceXML solution provides the company with 30 virtual agents, 24 hours a day, and improves the handling of bursts of traffic at peak times.
"Offering our customers a range of flexible channels through which they can interact with Ster-Kinekor gives us the opportunity to build relationships and increase return rates, while encouraging them to use more cost-effective channels of communication," says Odette van Wyk, Marketing Executive at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
"The automation of our call centre with Intelleca`s VoiceXML solution allows us to leverage our investment in Internet application development, make effective use of personalisation, and keep our channels in synch. As we update our Web site content, so the VoiceXML content is updated, ensuring current information and consistent levels of service across all channels.
"The solution is the first of its kind in SA from a convergence perspective. It is convenient and friendly, and combines a range of technologies to provide a service to customers that is comprehensive, while allowing us to process telephone ticket bookings at a fraction of the previous cost, and via a standardised level of service."
In addition to movie bookings, callers can find out "What`s Showing", "Movie Show Times, "Movie Previews", and "The Top 10" movies on circuit. The solution was developed by Intelleca Voice & Mobile in partnership with Internet retail specialist DigitalMall, which assisted in the design of the business case, and motivation for the solution, as well as call flows, process definition, quality management, and project management of the integration with the call centre.
Mike Renzon, Intelleca Voice & Mobile MD, says there is a rapidly growing interest in solutions that combine mobile or telephone technology and access to the Web. "What we have achieved is a practical way of giving people access to the Internet via a handset. As far as the caller is concerned, they are unaware that the transaction is actually being processed by the Web site."
Van Wyk says the cost of running a human call centre - on a fee per interaction basis - was becoming prohibitive for the company. With most calls being information-based, it made sense to look at implementing an intelligent, automated voice solution. This also frees human operators to deal with more complex queries.
She adds that the solution is rich in business rules functionality, and that by using the same business rules as the company`s Web application, it is able to easily incorporate all the rules that manage scheduling of movies. Movie Club and Discovery Vitality members are able to obtain discounts and special offers according to the details recorded on Ster-Kinekor`s database. Automatic speech recognition (ASR) provides users with a natural interface, thus retaining a human element. It also allows users to navigate easily when selecting one out of many cinemas.
Renzon says the development of the solution was dependent on incorporating the right skills.
"We put together a multi-disciplinary team comprised of a business analyst, a project manager, a linguist, a speech scientist, a developer, a telephony engineer, and a systems engineer."
VoiceXML, an extension to the XML mark-up language developed for speech applications, was chosen as the standard for the solution. Incoming calls to the company`s call centre, which is hosted by DigitalMall, are routed via a Nortel Meridian call centre platform at DigitalMall to the VoiceXML Gateway, also hosted at DigitalMall.
After thoroughly considering requirements and goals and evaluating potential solutions, Ster-Kinekor selected VoiceGenie`s SpeechGenie solution, sold by Intelleca Voice & Mobile, featuring VoiceGenie`s VoiceXML Gateway and OpenSpeech Recognizer speech recognition engine and Speechify text-to-speech engine from SpeechWorks International, Inc, global leader in speech recognition and text-to-speech (TTS) technologies and services.
A scout application, designed by DigitalMall, integrates directly with Ster-Kinekor`s point of sale and integrates directly with the VoiceXML solution. DigitalMall customised its Web application for Ster-Kinekor - which already had integration to payment gateways and to Ster-Kinekor`s Movie Club database - to accept the new channel and ensure that customers can enjoy the features offered on the Web via telephone.
The Gateway Call Manager maps each of the three contact centre numbers (0860 300 222, 082 16789, 083 16789) to the Ster-Kinekor Web server that hosts the VoiceXML pages. The URL is passed to the Gateway which uses an HTTP request to retrieve the VoiceXML page from the Web server.
"The system booked over 10 000 tickets in the first month of operation, showing that moviegoers have adapted to an interactive speech solution with relative ease", says Yaron Assabi, DigitalMall CEO.
Audio prompts are played out and the caller can barge in at any time in a natural, conversational way. Conversation is fluid and interactive, and with fine-tuning for the South African accent, recognition has proved to be accurate. The service detects if the user is having difficulty and offers further assistance as well as a breakout to operator option.
Van Wyk says Ster-Kinekor is confident that it is offering its customers a reliable ticket booking and information facility that far outweighs previous systems.
"We understand that moviegoers today demand the same level of service regardless of how they choose to interact with the company. It is also important that they see us as an entertainment provider that is taking advantage of the latest technology to provide them with more efficient levels of service."
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