We've all been on hold often enough.

If you're (un)lucky enough its music thats slightly sickening, if not outright horribly ear-grating on a 30 second loop.

Why not engineer some simple distractions into these systems to keep whoevers on the line from going slightly crazy?

These would have to be SIMPLE games easily playable thru a keypad. Guess-my-number, Tic-Tac-Toe, ect...

Basic card games may aslo be possible, like simplified Poker or BlackJack.

Of course these may be more annoying than the music (unlikely) so there is always the option of exiting the game.
-- Melchior, Sep 21 2006

Halfbakery: RPG: on hold RPG_3a_20on_20hold
Similar idea, but different class of games. [jutta, Sep 21 2006]

I think you might be onto something here, especially with [boysparks]'s suggestion. What if the questions are themed appropriately? For example, a computer support helpline could have questions about computers. The system will let the support staff know how well you did with the questions: "Call for you on line 2. This dunce got a $100 question wrong, so start by checking if he's plugged his computer in."
-- imaginality, Sep 22 2006


This is a very good idea.. but what would be cooler is if you could choose the songs... maybe like a Napster feature that will allow you to pick a song via the web and then dial it into the IVR making it possible to choose your own hold music.
-- Jscotty, Sep 22 2006


I like it. I suggest title change to 'on hold games' or something similar.
-- xaviergisz, Sep 22 2006


This is so cool ... and if you win, you move to the front of the queue.
-- ixnaum, Sep 23 2006


//This dunce got a $100 question wrong, so start by checking if he's plugged his computer in//

That made my day, [imaginality].
-- Zimmy, Sep 23 2006


[Melchior], I like it very much. It'd be very cool if it remembered your number from the last time you called, and carried on the quiz from there, or at least didn't ask the same questions again.

Has anyone seen IVR used as a diagnostic to actually try and fix problems whilst you're in a queue ?
-- neilp, Sep 23 2006


Such a thing actually exists for blackjack already. Call 1-800-555-TELL (it's a free voice activated information service) and say "blackjack". Sean Connery impersonation included.
-- fignuts, Sep 25 2006



random, halfbakery