Alexa: Requested skill error when selecting country

Question

I have a travel skill that gives me information on a country if it exists. If it does not exist. I want to call the Travel Intent error message but it gives me 'there was a problem with the requested skill's response' Here is the example dialogue below:

User: "Alexa open travel costs"
Skill: " Welcome to the travel costs guide. Tell me what country you are going to and I will tell you how much you need on average to spend on food and accommodation. "
User: "how much is it to go to Mauritius"
Skill: "There was a problem with the requested skill's response"

index.js

var Alexa = require('alexa-sdk');

const APP_ID = '';

const skillData = [
    {
        country: "FRANCE",
        costs: "$175 is the average daily price for traveling in France. The average price of food for one day is $36. The average price of a hotel for a couple is $206"
    },
    {
        country: "SPAIN",
        costs: "$135 is the average daily price for traveling in Spain. The average price of food for one day is $32. The average price of a hotel for a couple is $118"

    {
       country: "IRELAND",
       costs: "$125 is the average daily price for traveling in Ireland. The average price of food for one day is $36. The average price of a hotel for a couple is $122"
    },
    {
       country: "HUNGARY",
       costs: "$84 is the average daily price for traveling in Hungary. The average price of food for one day is $19. The average price of a hotel for a couple is $95"
    },
    {
       country: "CANADA",
       costs: "$127 is the average daily price for traveling in Canada. The average price of food for one day is $27. The average price of a hotel for a couple is $130"
    },
    {
      country: "VIETNAM",
      costs: "$41 is the average daily price for traveling in Vietnam. The average price of food for one day is $9.66. The average price of a hotel for a couple is $42"
    }
];

var handlers = {
  'LaunchRequest': function () {
    this.emit(':askWithCard', 'Welcome to Travel Helper. Tell me what country your going to. I will tell you how much you need on average to spend on food and accommodation. ', 'Tell me what country your are going to and I will tell you much you need on average to spend on food and accomodation', 'Travel Helper Guide', 'What country are you going to? I will tell you much you need on average to spend on food and accomodation');
  },
  'TravelCosts': function() {
    var countrySlot = this.event.request.intent.slots.country.value;
    if(countrySlot === "undefined") {
      this.emit(':tell', 'Sorry this does not exist');
        } else {
          this.emit(':tellWithCard', getSuggestion(skillData, 'country', countrySlot.toUpperCase()).costs, 'country','costs');
        }
  }
};

exports.handler = function(event, context){
  var alexa = Alexa.handler(event, context);
  alexa.registerHandlers(handlers);
  alexa.execute();
};

function getSuggestion(data, propName, propValue) {
  for (var i=0; i < data.length; i++) {
    if (data[i][propName] == propValue) {
      return data[i];
    }
  }
}

I am using the AMAZON.County slot.

bgsuello bgsuello · Accepted Answer · 2018-04-22T00:47:25

You are comparing countrySlot to a string "undefined" instead of undefined, removing the " might solve your problem. But when the countrySlot is defined, it will result to error if the country in your skillData was not found.

You can check if the country exist by looking for its index when the countrySlot !== undefined. Else tell the user that the country is not in the list.

var countrySlot = this.event.request.intent.slots.country.value;

if(countrySlot !== undefined && skillData.findIndex(element => element.country === countrySlot.toUpperCase()) >= 0) {
  console.log(`country ${countrySlot} exist`);
  this.emit(':tellWithCard', getSuggestion(skillData, 'country', countrySlot.toUpperCase()).costs, 'country','costs');
} 
else {
  console.log(`can't find country: ${countrySlot} in skillData`);
  this.emit(':tell', 'Sorry this does not exist');
}

Alexa: Requested skill error when selecting country

1 Answers