---
title: "Little big things: make your call center's voice menu human"
author: "Stan Voo"
url: https://www.99rabbits.com/blog/make-your-call-center-voice-menu-human
published: 2018-02-16
summary: "The first phone menu I ever liked: one sound effect and a happy \"found it!\" turned an obstacle into a helper."
---

# Little big things: make your call center's voice menu human

At [Expedia](https://www.expedia.com/), for the first time in my life, I came across a pleasant IVR assistant.

> IVR is when you call a hotline and a robot asks you to choose a department, and only then puts you through to a live operator. It's called a voice menu.

First, the voice of Expedia's IVR was nicer than usual. I'm not sure why; maybe the recording was better quality. It sounded almost human. It asked what my question was about and offered options to choose from. Then it asked for my booking number. This is exactly where a voice menu makes sense! Compare how much easier it is to type a code on your phone than to dictate it to a call center agent while sitting in a noisy Istanbul airport.

I typed in 7 or 10 digits. After a second's wait I heard papers rustling on the line and the words "Oh, I found it! Connecting you to the responsible person". That was a wow moment for me. A sound effect of leafing through papers plus a happy "found it!", and a small dose of humanity turned the voice menu from an annoying obstacle into a pleasant helper.