this new invention is pretty interesting. "dealing with angry callers" routes "winning" callers from voice-prompt hell to an actual human rep. (ny times: article requires free registration/login to access)

"The invention inserts what the inventors call a mood analyzer into the system. It gathers information from the way callers answer voice prompts or use the touch-tone buttons when asked for information like an account number, reservation code or customer number."

"Once the system has decided that a caller is angry, it tries to figure out how much. If the "annoyance level" exceeds a threshold set by the system, the call is routed to an operator trained to handle annoyed customers."