Leonard Cohen is one of those people, like Tom Waits or Nick Cave, whose music never runs the risk of weathering with age. Although none were aesthetically perfect, it wasn’t like any of them, and Cohen in particular, had any especially embarrassing phases to scrub from the record. Their output when they were in their 20s and 30s was so classic, fully developed, and timeless that their later work is simply an extension of their early work. The first song from the forthcoming Old Ideas LP (from a nearly 80-year-old Cohen, no less) is the listful ballad “Show Me the Place,” which sounds like a mixture between sad Christmas music and a funeral ballad. The simple piano arrangements create a sparse canvas for Cohen to tell his poetic stories in his trademark smoky baritone. Most artists have long since passed their songwriting prime by their 75th birthday, but for someone like Mr. Cohen, who sounded old when he was young, age is simply a number. I don’t know if the whole LP will be full of worthwhile additions to his catalog, but if anyone can pull it off, it would be Leonard Cohen.
Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK) January 11, 2006 Byline: Ja’Rena Lunsford Jan. 11–“HUMAN!” I angrily yelled that word into the phone recently, frustrated after trying to talk to someone at my health care provider. Instead of a warm, friendly voice on the other end, I was asked repeatedly to say my account number. I did, again and again. But for some reason — maybe it was my Okie twang — the automated operator repeatedly “didn’t quite get that,” and I was left screaming into the phone. bestbuymastercardnow.net best buy mastercard
Don’t think this scenario won’t happen to you. Interactive Voice Response systems are quickly becoming the answering service of choice. They allow callers to input both keypad and verbal commands intended to expedite their calls. Michael Sweeney, director of marketing and public relations for Angel.com, an IVR provider, said IVR systems can save companies money. He said companies pay 5 to 15 cents per call when they use an IVR system compared with the $3 to $4 it costs for a person to answer. The days of pushing zero to be connected to a real person seem to be dwindling. But thanks to Boston technology guru Paul English, there are ways to beat the IVR system. English created The IVR Cheat Sheet, a list of codes that will connect consumers with a real person at more than 200 companies, including Best Buy, Mastercard and Delta Airlines. Although some of the companies only require you to dial “0,” some require everything short of jumping up and down. For example, at Fidelity NetBenefits, you dial 1 and then “#” 17 times. The magic code for Kodak is *7 or *28. Sweeney said companies should offer callers an option to speak to a person. Best Buy spokeswoman Erin MacMillan said it may be difficult for consumers to reach a sales representative via telephone because the electronic stores are so busy. She suggested another solution. “If you have an important question, it might be best to just go to the store and talk to someone in person,” MacMillan said. Not every company is ready to make you jump through hoops to talk to with someone. “A number of my clients have resisted that kind of a system for a long time because they feel that there needs to be a person on the other end,” said business consultant Bill Bendure of Bendure & Associates in Oklahoma City. Bendure said companies should be concerned about more than frustrating their consumers. “I think they end up losing customers,” he said. Bendure said IVR and other answering systems need to be more than just a business convenience. He said they need to be convenient for the consumer, as well, which is why he recommends his clients call their own systems to see what customers go through. go to website best buy mastercard
“Those are moments of truth,” Bendure said. If more companies called their own systems, they would see why consumers get frustrated, he said. That would have saved me a ton of frustration. But no worries. Thanks to The IVR Cheat Sheet I now know the magic words when calling my health care provider. All I need to say is: “Regarding a bill.” I should have known that, right?
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
