CALL CENTERS (CENTRES) - Faculty of Industrial Engineering and ...

III Consumer and Agent Psychology
1. Cavanaugh, J.R., R.W. Hatch and J.L. Sullivan. Models for the subjective effects of loss, noise
and talker echo on telephone connections, Bell System Technical Journal, 55, 1976, 1319–1371.
Abstract. Tests have been conducted at Bell Laboratories within the last 10 years to obtain
subjective evaluations of the effects of loss, noise, and talker echo on telephone transmission
quality. We use these subjective test results to formulate graphical and analytical models of
subjective opinion that can be used in network planning studies to evaluate transmission performance
of the network and to study the effects of network changes on performance. These models
are based on the concept of a generalized transmission-rating scale. Separate opinion curves for
each test take into account differences caused by factors such as subject group, type of test, and
range of conditions. We also describe the methods of data analysis used in the formulation of
the transmission-rating scale and opinion models, provide a comparison of the test results with
the models, and discuss the models in sufficient detail to permit their application in transmission
planning studies.
2. Cohen, H.S. and B.W. Kort. Psychological evaluation of telephone switching and transmission
performance. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 21st Annual Meeting, San Francisco,
1977, 505–507.
Abstract. In order to set standards for the performance of the telephone network, it is necessary
to understand the subjective effects of the telephone service impairments we wish to control. In
a laboratory environment, we asked subjects to play a computer-controlled game which required
the frequent use of the telephone as a natural part of the game. Impairments to telephone
switching service, such as dial-tone delay, post-dialing delay, and blocked call attempts, and
impairments to telephone transmission quality, such as loss and noise were introduced into the
telephone service which the subjects experienced. After each use of the telephone, the subjects
rendered their opinion, on a five-point rating scale, as to the quality of telephone service just
provided.
The data produced by the experiment were used to construct a mathematical model of customer
opinion as a function of the objective measures of telephone network performance. This model
will enable us to analyze the present performance of the telephone system. More importantly,
the model will enable us to estimate customer opinion for future telephone systems, were we
to implement new or revised standards for the control of switching and transmission impairments.
3. Duffy, F.P. and R.A. Mercer. A study of network performance and customer behavior during
direct-distance-dialing call attempts in the U.S.A., Bell System Technical Journal, 57 (1), 1978,
1–33.
Abstract. A survey was conducted throughout the Bell System in October 1974 to gather detailed
information about Direct-Distance-Dialing call attempts. The dispositions, setup times,
and customer abandonment times associated with DDD attempts are discussed in detail in this
article to provide network performance and customer behavior characteristics to network planners
and administrators and to designers of equipment and systems which use, and interact
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