The present invention relates to a communication network, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for processing hotline in the communication network.
With expedite development of businesses, more and more merchants or enterprises provide hotline services. When a client needs consultation or complaint, he/she will call a hotline number, and then a multiple line hunt group corresponding to the hotline number will handle it. A working principle of the multiple line hunt group is generally shown in
In reality, such an occasion frequently occurs: for a problem occurring to a client, it will not be resolved until dialing a hotline for several times. With the system shown in
In order to serve customers better, each customer service may dictate the problem and relevant information of the client after hearing the client's call. When other customer services receive a call from the client, they may browse relevant dictations. However, due to limitations of dictation and potential ambiguities, it might occur that the other customer services cannot understand yet; at this point, the client still has to repeat the already made statements and explanations.
Therefore, when a client has to dial a hotline for a same problem for multiple times, the hotline service in the prior art has drawbacks such as inconveniency for the client to use, wasting time and resources, and low efficiency.
In order to solve the above drawbacks in the prior art, there is provided a method and apparatus for processing a hotline.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for processing a hotline in an application server, said method comprising the following steps: A. receiving a hotline request from a client; B. determining whether a record of said client exists in a client-customer service correspondence table; C. processing said hotline request based on a result of the determining.
Preferably, when the result of determining in step B is negative, step C further comprises the following steps: C11. selecting one customer service from idle customer services; C12. establishing a call between said client and said customer service; C13. saving a correspondence relationship between said client and said customer service in said client-customer service correspondence table.
Preferably, when the result of the determining in step B is positive, step C further comprises the following steps: C21: obtaining a corresponding customer service based on said client-customer service correspondence table and said client; C22: determining whether said customer service is idle; C23: if said customer service is idle, establishing a call between said client and said customer service.
Preferably, when the result of the determining in step C22 is that the customer service is not idle, step C further comprises the following steps: C24: sending a notification to said client; C25: receiving reply information from said client; C26: processing said hotline request based on the reply information from the client.
Preferably, when the reply information in step C25 is willingness to wait, the step C26 further comprises: C2611: monitoring whether said customer service is in an idle state; C2612: if said customer service is monitored to be in the idle state, establishing a call between said client and said customer service.
Preferably, when the reply information in step C25 is unwillingness to wait, the step C26 further comprises: C2621: selecting one customer service from idle customer services; C2622: establishing a call between said client and said customer service; C2623: saving a correspondence relationship between said client and said customer service in the client-customer service correspondence table.
Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps: D. deleting the record in said client-customer service correspondence table.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing a hotline in an application server, said apparatus comprising: a first receiving device configured to receive a hotline request from a client; a first determining device configured to determine whether a record of said client exists in a client-customer service correspondence table; a first processing device configured to process said hotline request based on a result of the determining.
Preferably, when a determining result of the first determining device is negative, the first processing device further comprises: a first selecting device configured to select one customer service from idle customer services; a first establishing device configured to establish a call between said client and said customer service; and a first saving device configured to save a correspondence relationship between said client and said customer service.
Preferably, when a result of determining by the first determining device is positive, the first processing device further comprises: a first obtaining device configured to obtain a corresponding customer service based on said client-customer service correspondence table and said client; a second determining device configured to determine whether the customer service is idle; a second establishing device configured to establish a call between said client and said customer service when the result of determining by the second determining device is that said customer service is idle.
Preferably, when a result of determining by the second determining device is that the customer service is not idle, the first processing device further comprises: a second sending device configured to send a notification to said client; a second receiving device configured to receive reply information from said client; a second processing device configured to process said hotline request based on the reply information from the client.
Preferably, when the reply information received from the second determining device is willingness to wait, the second processing device further comprises: a monitoring device configured to monitor whether said customer service is in an idle state; a third establishing device configured to establish a call between said client and said customer service if said customer service is monitored to be in the idle state.
Preferably, when the reply information received from the second determining device is unwillingness to wait, the second processing device further comprises: a second selecting device configured to select one customer service from idle customer services; a fourth establishing device configured to establish a call between said client and said customer service; a second saving device configured to save a correspondence relationship between said client and said customer service.
Preferably, the apparatus further comprises: a deleting device configured to delete the record in the client-customer service correspondence table.
Compared with the prior art, through using the method and apparatus of the present invention, when a client has to dial a hotline for many times about a certain problem, the multiple line hunt group may guarantee that it is the same customer service that provides services to the client. In this way, the following advantages can be achieved: 1) saving the client's time and energy and improving customer experience. Because it is the same customer service that serves the client for each time, the client may save the time and energy for re-explanation, which brings great convenience to the client. 2) saving valuable customer service resources. Apparently, the time spent by the same customer service for serving a client for multiple times must be far less than the time spent by multiple customer services for serving the client. 3) improving the efficiency of problem resolving. The same customer service serves the client all the way; because the customer service knows well the cause of the problem and the solving progress, he/she can find a better solution faster, thereby improving the efficiency of problem resolving.
Through reading the following detailed depiction on the non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, the other features, objectives, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent.
A basic idea of the present invention is to introduce a client-customer service correspondence table in a multiple line hunt group, wherein the client-customer service correspondence table records a correspondence relationship between a client and a customer service who has recently answered the client.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to respective figures.
In step SA, the application server 2a receives a hotline request from the client A.
Next, in step SB, the application server 2a determines whether a record of client A exists in the client-customer service correspondence table T1.
Then, in step SC, the application server 2a processes said hotline request based on a result of determining in step SB.
In step SC11, the application server 2a selects one customer service from currently idle customer services. For example, the currently idle customer services are customer service 202 and customer service 204; after a certain algorithm is executed, the application server 2a selects the customer server 202.
Next, in step SC12, the application server 2a establishes a call between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202).
Then, in step SC13, the application server 2a saves a correspondence relationship between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202) in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. Specifically, a record is added into the client-customer service corresponding table T1 to record the client A—customer service 102 correspondence relationship. In this way, when the client A dials a hotline for a problem and the application server 2a selects a customer service, it further saves the correspondence relationship between the client A and the customer service at the same time, so as to be available for the next time the client A dials the hotline for the same problem.
In step SC21, the application server 2a obtains the customer service corresponding to the client A based on the client-customer service correspondence table T1 and the client A. For example, as shown in
In step SC22, the application server 2a determines whether the customer service (for example, customer service 202) obtained in step SC21 is idle.
In step SC23, if said customer service is idle, the application server 2a establishes a call between the client A and said customer service. In this way, the client A may directly communicates with the customer service having a call therewith in the last time, which provides a great convenience to the client A and meanwhile saves precious time and resources.
In step SC24, the application server 2a sends a notification to the client A to notifies the client A that the customer service (for example, customer service 202 in the above example) obtained in step SC21 is currently busy and whether he/she is willing to wait.
In step SC25, the application server 2a receives reply information from the client A.
In step SC26, the application server 2a processes the hotline request based on the reply information from the client A.
In step SC2611, the application server 2a monitors whether the customer service (for example, customer service 202) obtained in step SC21 is in an idle state.
In step SC2612, when the application server 2a monitors that said customer service is in an idle state, it establishes a call between the client A and said customer service.
It is seen that when the current state of the customer service having a call with the client A in the last time is busy and the client A is willing to wait, the application server 2a will constantly monitors the state of the customer service, such that once his/her state is changed to be idle, a call will be established between the client A and the customer service. This may likewise guarantee that the customer service who serves the client A is still the customer service having a call therewith in the last time.
In step SC2621, the application server 2a selects one customer service from currently idle customer services. For example, the currently idle customer services are customer service 202 and customer service 204; after a certain algorithm is executed, the application server 2a selects the customer server 202.
Next, in step SC2622, the application server 2a establishes a call between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202).
Then, in step SC2623, the application server 2a saves a correspondence relationship between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202) in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. Specifically, a record is added into the client-customer service corresponding table T1 to record the client A—customer service 102 correspondence relationship.
It is seen that when the current state of the customer service having a call with the client A in the last time is busy and the client A is unwilling to wait, the application server 2a will select a customer service from the idle customer services and meanwhile saves the correspondence relationship between the client A and the customer service so as to be available for the next time the client A dials the hotline for the same problem.
Preferably, the method for processing a hotline in the application server 2a may further comprise a step SD: deleting the record in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. This deleting operation may be implemented manually or automatically. For example, the application server 2a automatically deletes the record in the client-customer service correspondence table T1 with an interval of a fixed period (for example, every two months or three months). Or, after it is known that the problem of client A has been resolved, the record of the client A in the client-customer service correspondence table T1 is manually deleted.
Hereinafter, the working process of the apparatus 900 will be described in detail.
First, the first receiving device 9a receives a hotline request from the client A.
Next, the first determining device 9b determines whether a record of client A exists in the client-customer service correspondence table T1.
Then, the first processing device 9c processes said hotline request based on a result of determining in step SB.
In an embodiment, the result of the determining by the first determining device is that no records of the client A exist in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. In this embodiment, the first processing device 9c further comprises a first selecting device 9c11, a first establishing device 9c12 and a first saving device 9c13.
First, the first selecting device 9c11 selects one customer service from currently idle customer services. For example, the currently idle customer services are customer service 202 and customer service 204; after a certain algorithm is executed, the first selecting device 9c11 selects the customer server 202.
Next, the first establishing device 9c12 establishes a call between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202 in the above example).
Then, the first saving device 9c13 saves a correspondence relationship between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202) in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. Specifically, a record is added into the client-customer service corresponding table T1 to record the client A—customer service 102 correspondence relationship. In this way, when the client A dials a hotline for a problem and the application server 2a selects a customer service, it further saves the correspondence relationship between the client A and the customer service at the same time, so as to be available for the next time the client A dials the hotline for the same problem.
In another embodiment, the result of the determining by the first determining device is that the record of the client A exists in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. In this embodiment, the first processing device 9c further comprises a first obtaining device 9c21, a second determining device 9c22 and a second establishing device 9c23.
First, the first obtaining device 9c21 obtains the customer service corresponding to the client A based on the client-customer service correspondence table T1 and the client A. For example, as shown in
Next, the second determining device 9c22 determines whether the customer service (for example, customer service 202) obtained by the first obtaining device 9c21 is idle.
If the second determining device 9c22 determines said customer service is idle, the second establishing device 9c23 establishes a call between the client A and said customer service. In this way, the client A may directly communicates with the customer service having a call therewith in the last time, which provides a great convenience to the client A and meanwhile saves precious time and resources.
In another embodiment, the result of determining by the second determining device is that the customer service is not idle. In this embodiment, the first processing device 9c further comprises a second sending device 9c24, a second receiving device 9c25 and a second processing device 9c26.
The second sending device 9c24 sends a notification to the client A to notifies the client A that the customer service (for example, customer service 202 in the above example) obtained by the first obtaining device 9c21 is currently busy and whether he/she is willing to wait.
The second receiving device 9c25 receives reply information from the client A.
The second processing device 9c26 processes the hotline request based on the reply information from the client A.
In an embodiment, the reply information received from the second determining device 9c25 is willingness to wait. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the second processing device 9c26 further comprises a monitoring device 9c2611 and a third establishing device 9c2612.
The monitoring device 9c2611 monitors whether the customer service (for example, customer service 202 in the above example) obtained by the first obtaining device 9c21 is in an idle state.
When the monitoring device 9c2611 monitors that said customer service is in an idle state, the third establishing device 9c2612 establishes a call between the client A and said customer service.
It is seen that when the current state of the customer service having a call with the client A in the last time is busy and the client A is willing to wait, the application server 2a will constantly monitors the state of the customer service, such that once his/her state is changed to be idle, a call will be established between the client A and the customer service. This may likewise guarantee that the customer service who serves the client A is still the customer service having a call therewith in the last time.
In another embodiment, when the reply information received from the second determining device 9c25 is unwillingness to wait. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the second processing device 9c26 further comprises a second selecting device 9c2621, a fourth establishing device 9c2622 and a second saving device 9c2623.
First, the second selecting device 9c2621 selects one customer service from currently idle customer services. For example, the currently idle customer services are customer service 202 and customer service 204; after a certain algorithm is executed, the second selecting device 9c2621 selects the customer server 202.
Next, the fourth establishing device 9c2622 establishes a call between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202).
Then, the second saving device 9c2623 saves a correspondence relationship between the client A and the selected customer service (for example, customer service 202) in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. Specifically, a record is added into the client-customer service corresponding table T1 to record the client A—customer service 102 correspondence relationship.
It is seen that when the current state of the customer service having a call with the client A in the last time is busy and the client A is unwilling to wait, the application server 2a will select a customer service from the idle customer services and meanwhile saves the correspondence relationship between the client A and the customer service so as to be available for the next time the client A dials the hotline for the same problem.
Preferably, the apparatus 900 may further comprise a deleting device 9d configured to delete the record in the client-customer service correspondence table T1. The deleting operation may be automatically implemented by the deleting device 9d. For example, the deleting module 9d automatically deletes the record in the client-customer service correspondence table T1 with an interval of a fixed period (for example, every two months or three months). Or, after it is known that the problem of the client A has been resolved, an operator sends an instruction to the deleting device 9d which, after receiving the command, will delete the record of the customer service A in the client-customer service correspondence table T1.
To those skilled in the art, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present invention may be implemented with other embodiments without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present invention. Thus, in any way, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary, not limitative; the scope of the present invention is limited by the appended claims, instead of the above depiction. Thus, all variations intended to fall into the meaning and scope of equivalent elements of the claims should be covered within the present invention. Besides, it is apparent that the term “comprise” does not exclude other units or steps, and singularity does not exclude plurality. Terms such as the first and the second are used to indicate names, but do not indicate any particular sequence.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201210020098.8 | Jan 2012 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2013/000526 | 1/21/2013 | WO | 00 | 7/21/2014 |