Validating coupons by phone

[Mazkel]

I'm looking for a script that would allow me to validate a coupon number/code that is entered by a customer through a toll-free number. This would deactivate the coupon in our database so that it can't be reused.

This is similar to validating a new credit card number by phone.

Any input is appreciated.

[myst woman]

Wouldn't a computer executed online script be more effective and less labor intensive to create?

[Mazkel]

Wouldn't a computer executed online script be more effective and less labor intensive to create?

Thanks. Not sure.

[GreenT]

I have developed a similar tool to fill out a form by phone using Asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org/) and PHP AGI scripts. Each person required to "fill out" a form would receive a PIN number that the system would ask for once the call was established. If the PIN was verified, the system would ask the form questions, thank the caller and hang up.

[Mazkel]

I have developed a similar tool to fill out a form by phone using Asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org/) and PHP AGI scripts. Each person required to "fill out" a form would receive a PIN number that the system would ask for once the call was established. If the PIN was verified, the system would ask the form questions, thank the caller and hang up.

Thanks GreenT. We'll look into it. Any more suggestions?

[GreenT]

Another idea, though probably not as reliable as a solution based on an Asterisk PBX on a dedicated server:

Redirect that toll-free number to a Google Voice mailbox with the voice-to-text transcription feature activated and let a script parse the resulting information. Requires some AI by the script to deal with possible transcription errors and there would be no interactive prompts.

[Mazkel]

Another idea, though probably not as reliable as a solution based on an Asterisk PBX on a dedicated server:

Redirect that toll-free number to a Google Voice mailbox with the voice-to-text transcription feature activated and let a script parse the resulting information. Requires some AI by the script to deal with possible transcription errors and there would be no interactive prompts.

Thanks again. I'll talk to my developers about this. Not sure if companies like Cisco, Oracle, etc. would offer a solution to this.

[GreenT]

Asterisk, though Open Source, is available with professional enterprise-level support and there are countless solution providers. I'm sure that would be the most cost-effective solution. As you would be able to modify the script whenever it suits you, you wouldn't depend on third parties to extend its features.
If you have a PHP developer, he would develop a PHP script for Asterisk that would handle phone inputs just like regular inputs on a web site. It took only about 3 days of development for me, and I wasn't doing that professionally at the time .

Depending on what PBX/phone service you use for your company, you could use the very same Asterisk server to handle all voice applications (phone lines, mailboxes, automated orders etc.).

There may be other solutions based on the same technology, but if you intend to use an inbound/outbound phone connection to collect information from a caller/callee, you will need a PBX that is able to interact with databases and/or execute custom scripts to deal process the information. And Asterisk (or its derivatives and commercial distributions) is probably the most mature software package available today to deal with that scenario.

Good luck!

[Mazkel]

Very helpful feedback and ideas GreenT!

Asterisk, though Open Source, is available with professional enterprise-level support and there are countless solution providers. I'm sure that would be the most cost-effective solution. As you would be able to modify the script whenever it suits you, you wouldn't depend on third parties to extend its features.
If you have a PHP developer, he would develop a PHP script for Asterisk that would handle phone inputs just like regular inputs on a web site. It took only about 3 days of development for me, and I wasn't doing that professionally at the time .

Depending on what PBX/phone service you use for your company, you could use the very same Asterisk server to handle all voice applications (phone lines, mailboxes, automated orders etc.).

There may be other solutions based on the same technology, but if you intend to use an inbound/outbound phone connection to collect information from a caller/callee, you will need a PBX that is able to interact with databases and/or execute custom scripts to deal process the information. And Asterisk (or its derivatives and commercial distributions) is probably the most mature software package available today to deal with that scenario.

Good luck!

[Mazkel]

Update: found a company that does this...Twilio.com. Thought this would be helpful to others.