An Acronym to Avoid

My job requires that I make a lot of phone calls in a day to various levels of operatives at different companies. An unfortunate side effect of working on the phone is the "IVR" or Interactive Voice Response. It's a modern business version of the answering machine combined with a receptionist. Here's a better description: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/IVR.html

I do have a better understanding of how to thwart these systems, so when I end up on hold or in queue for customer service or whatever, I can usually get to where I need to go. There are two or three main systems and then a number of custom-built systems. Ah, the perks of an inside sales position.

On a more positive note, I'm totally into Zappos.com. The few times I've bought shoes over the internet, they not only made it painless, but they did some good stuff to thank me for the purchase! This time, they upgraded my free shipping to Next Day Air at no additional cost!! Then they sent a note thanking me for the order. Good stuff. I hope they continue to be successful and create a new customer service standard.