Productivity Portfolio

This article started when a friend complained about the fees he was paying for directory assistance or 411 calls. In the “good old days”, directory assistance was free but now costs up to $3.49 per call depending on your phone carrier. Wireless carriers tend to be cheaper.

Fortunately, voice recognition systems have improved such that they can replace live operators in many cases. We looked at three free services for the US. Free means these services will not charge you for the information, but your phone carrier may still have fees.

Testing the Directory Players

There are many ways to test these services. I chose to test against local businesses. This made it easier to judge the quality of each directory’s category search. For example, I have no idea about Italian restaurants in Baltimore, but I do for my town. The reason I chose Italian is to gauge the pronunciation and categorization. I may not speak the language, but I know how to pronounce the names in town.

I also elected to do the testing on a landline rather than a mobile phone. This was done for my convenience so I could record the call and playback the session. In addition, I didn’t have to worry as much about background noise. This can be factor if you call from a location with lots of background noise.

Perhaps, the most perplexing item about all these services is how they select and sort their entries for business categories. For example, why was Il Fornaio the first entry for Google? Or why didn’t Ristorante Rocca appear in anyone’s category listing? Certainly, there must be some criteria and yet you’re not told. There appeared to be some correlation between the Google spoken results and a similar online search at http://local.google.com 

There are some common points between the services.

• They all use a combination of recorded voices for the prompts and synthesized voices to speak business names.
• The category results varied considerably between vendors. I wouldn’t say that any of the vendors were complete in their selection. Then again, this business categorization feature isn’t something my local phone company provides.
• While all the services found a specific business by name, partial names often presented mismatches. In some cases, the order of the words mattered.
• The synthesized voices often mispronounce business names containing words from other languages or accented characters.

Google Voice Local Search (1-800-GOOG-411)

Google 411 is a new entry in this arena and is still “experimental”. That’s their term, not mine. As with all Google products, the information is well organized and is designed to get you what you need. You can interrupt or barge in at any point.

Unlike the other companies, Google does not provide ads although one wonders if this will be provided later. The service was the only one that offers to connect you to the business. I found this option to be very handy.

URL: http://labs.google.com/goog411/
Phone: 1-800-GOOG-411 or 1-800-466-4411

Tellme Business Search

While Tellme may not have the brand recognition of Google, they are a dominant player in the voice services market. Business search is just one type of information they provide through the phone. This May, the company became a Microsoft subsidiary.

One item I appreciated about the service is the use of natural voices when speaking the restaurant results. Instead of using 100% synthesized voices, about 50% of the names were spoken in this fashion. I found having the same voice for the menus and the results appealing.

Another advantage the service offers is an option to refine by street name. As example, I could request “Italian Restaurants” and then specify “Broadway” for the street. This helps if you remember a restaurant by location, but not name.

What I disliked was the background sound track you heard when the menu choices were being spoken. I found it distracting at a time when I wanted to focus on the menu options. The opening ad didn’t bother me.

Tellme also has some features that aren’t evident from the instructions. For example, you can also use number keys to make your selection. In addition, you can send a text message with the business details, which can then be used to connect to the establishment. If you’re a business owner, the website has a link to InfoUSA so you can change your information.

URL: http://www.tellme.com/products/TellmeByVoice
Phone: 1-800-555-TELL or 1-800-555-8355

1-800-FREE 411

This service, provided by Jingle Networks, has been offering free 411 services since the end of 2005. Although it may not be as refined as Google or Tellme, they offer more types of searches. You can also request a Government search or residential search after providing your city and state. This is handy if you need to find the number for your city hall or library. Unlisted numbers are not provided, but in one case, the service spoke the individual’s street address.

Another difference with this service is that the ads tend to be more call to action. While testing, I heard adds for Omega 3 fish oil, insurance and acne products. In each case, the ad was followed by a special offer such as a free trial. These are the only instances where you can connect to a business.

Overall, I liked the service, but found it inconsistent. On several occasions, my connection was dropped after I heard the short opening ad. What was more annoying was when I tried to repeat an earlier test I got a live operator. When I asked to do a business search by category, I was told they don’t do that. I could only ask for a specific business listing. I was half-tempted to playback an earlier session to her. I don’t know why on that occasion, I got an operator. Perhaps, the system was down for unscheduled maintenance or there was an overflow issue. As a consumer, I expected the same choices.

URL: http://www.free411.com/
Phone: 1-800-FREE-411 or 1-800-373-3411

Free 411 Features Comparison

I suspect we’ll see lots of growth as companies add services or integrate with other products. Even though these free 411 services aren’t perfect, they are worthwhile. I would use them for directory assistance.