Application Drift: "The gradual accumulation of small changes to an IVR that, over time, can turn a well-designed system into something completely incomprehensible to callers."

Feel-Good Question: "A survey question that yields no meaningful data, but makes you feel like you're doing a good job."

Jargon: "Industry- or company-specific terms that outsiders (i.e. customers) are unlikely to understand. Jargon is one of the most common usability problems, since insiders often don't realize they're using specific technical terms."

Junk Food Customer Service: "The poor quality of customer service that many custoemrs have regretfully come to accept as inevitable. While junk food customer service may answer the customer's immediate need, it rarely does so in a way that leaves customers feeling that they had a worthwhile experience."

Management Fad-of-the-Week: "A common technique for trying to improve performance both in the call center and throughout the company. Most employees have learned to ignore instructions based on the fad-of-the-week, since they know they will recieve contradictory orders the following week."

WOZ (Wizard of Oz) Prototype: "A mock-up of a VUI [voice user interface] where a human pretends to be the speech recognition software. The name derives from the fact that in a WOZ test, what appears to be a very impressive piece of technology is nothing more than a man behind a curtain."

"Gourmet Customer Service," by VocaLabs cofounders Peter Leppik and David Leppik, is available through Amazon.com and on the VocaLabs website.