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Amazon offers voice-controlled customer feedback service

Monday, March 20, 2017 - 10:59 by Mike Price

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Amazon’s personal assistant service, Alexa, is already capable of responding to many different voice commands given by users, from checking the weather to placing an order via safe shopping online. Now the e-commerce giant is set to update it so that shoppers can easily provide feedback on the items they receive, according to Internet Retailing.

Customer reviews and ratings are very important, not only to Amazon but to the entire world of online shopping. But with Alexa’s upcoming feedback capabilities, typing out a comment about a specific item or brand will no longer be necessary.

Furthermore, the ‘Rant & Rave’ service is not only applicable for people ordering online from their own homes, but also to those who are out and about. So it can be used for recording customer feedback when people are in real world stores, or even when they are in other review-worthy places, from hotels to restaurants and bars.

Amazon will not be using this data solely for its own purposes; it will pass on customer comments and aggregated responses to the companies that provide products or services that are up for review. In theory, this should help them to change and adapt according to customer requests and complaints, which should make things better for everyone.

One of the advantages of this new feature is its immediacy, since feedback is provided in real time rather than after the fact. This may lead to more people making impassioned complaints or giving effusive praise to a product they have ordered there and then, rather than leaving it until later and ultimately deciding not to bother to provide feedback at all.

Alexa was recently announced to be rolling out to iPhone and other Apple devices, meaning that more people than ever will have access to Amazon’s voice controlled assistant.