Sometimes the online world intersects with the off line world to provide you with a pleasant surprise.
I had a chance recently to use Google’s 411 service. I was on my way to a doctor and it started raining. Anyone living in the Washington DC area knows that the DC drivers are good weather drivers. One drop of anything and they freak out and loose it. So there I was, 3 miles from the doctor’s office, 5 minutes before the scheduled appointment time and probably 15 minutes away in the chaotic traffic.
I tried using my iPhone browser to look up the doctor’s telephone number without much success. Then I remembered reading about Google’s 411 service. I called 1-800-466-4411 or 1-800-GOOG411. Their voice response system is excellent, recognizing what I wanted over my accent and the road noise. Two minutes later they connected me to the doctor’s office – all at no cost to me. I was sort of expecting them to play an ad while I was waiting to be connected but it did not happen. I am sure that the brains at Google will find a way to monetize this service. The system did after all know exactly what I was looking for and could have played me a well targeted ad.
What a pity that the doctor’s staff did not have the same respect for me and my time. I walked in 5 minutes late to find that he was 70 minutes behind schedule – for a 10 minute appointment. A call (or text message) to inform me that I could come in 45 minutes late would have been nice!!
A description of the GOOG411 service can be found here.
Tags: Google
Having technical difficulty - 
