Patent Grant
8213911
The systems and methods relate to managing the queuing of clients waiting to be connected by telephone to a service agent of a business communication center. More particularly, the systems and methods relate to enabling clients to be added to a queue utilizing web service messaging and relate to establishing a telephony connection between clients and service agents on an automated basis and in an order maintained by a queue.
Many businesses use groups of service representatives for communicating with clients who initiate communications with the business, such as by telephone calls. To most efficiently use the time and skills of each service representative, the service representatives may be organized into groups based on a skill set. For example, the groupings may be based on the representatives ability to handle client issues such as the opening of new accounts, billing issues and customer service issues on existing accounts.
Typically, if a client calls such a business, voice prompt menu choices enable the calling client to identify the issue for which the client requires service and the client is then queued for a service agent capable of handling the identified issue. As such, it is expected that clients who identify the purpose of their call as a “billing issue” will be queued for, and connected to, a service representative with the ability to handle billing issues. Similarly, it is expected that clients who identify the purpose of their call as a “customer service issue” will be queued for, and connected to, a service representative with the ability to handle customer service issues.
There are problems with existing communications systems, such as contact centers, including the following two problems. First, the voice prompt menus that are used to channel callers to the queue for the appropriate group of service agents are exacerbating to a client at best. It takes significant time to navigate the layered menus of voice prompts.
Second, waiting on-hold while the telephone connection is maintained in queue for connection to a service agent is also exacerbating to a client at best.
In an effort to reduce customer exacerbation caused by having to maintain a connection while on-hold in queue, secondary queue systems have been developed. A typical secondary queue system obtains a telephone number at which the calling client can be reached when a service representative is available (i.e., a call back number). The client disconnects, and then, at the proper time, a call back system establishes a connection to the client utilizing the call back number and couples the client to an available representative without waiting on-hold in queue. One exemplary system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,921 to Williams et al. which is commonly assigned with the present application.
While such a system may make the experience of waiting for a connection to a service representative slightly less exacerbating, it does not address the inconvenience of having to navigate an irritatingly slow and usually complicated voice prompt menu to enter the queue.
Therefore, what is needed is: i) a method and system for adding clients to a queue in a more convenient manner; and ii) a method and system for establishing a telephony connection between the client and the service agents in an automated fashion.
In an embodiment, a method for a communication system that receives incoming communications from a mobile communication device, has queues, and will call-back to a communication receiving device is used. The method includes receiving data from the mobile communication device (where the data includes an identifier associated with a communication receiving device) and determining, from the received data, a queue desired for the identifier, where the queue is a service agent queue. The method further includes (a) determining the expected wait time in the queue, (b) sending information to the mobile communication device, where the information includes the expected wait time in the queue, and (c) assigning a placeholder for the identifier in the queue. If a call back request is received from the mobile communication device, the method includes initiating a call back to the communication receiving device based upon the assigned placeholder in the queue and placing an outgoing telephone call to the communication receiving device.
Also, a method for use in a system that receives incoming communications from a mobile communication device and will queue a call back is described.
In an embodiment, a communication system for receiving incoming communications from mobile communication devices and for initiating a call-back includes a sequence component that initiates a call-back sequence to a communication receiving device. In this embodiment, the sequence component is in communication with a mobile communication device and, based on the communication, the sequence component determines a queue and confirms a call back. The system further includes a queue component having more than one queue, where a placeholder is assigned for an identifier associated with the communication receiving device in the determined queue. The system also includes an expected wait time component for determining the expected wait time in the determined queue. The expected wait time is provided to the sequence component and the sequence component communicates information regarding the expected wait time to the mobile communication device. The system of this embodiment further includes a call-back component for placing an outgoing call to the communication receiving device, where the sequence component prompts the call back component to place the outgoing call.
In addition, a computer-readable medium including instructions for initiating a call-back sequence is described.
In an embodiment, a mobile communication device for initiating a call-back sequence includes a display screen, a processor for executing a device application and a memory for storing the device application. The device application includes a queue control, where the queue control displays, on the screen, an indication of a queue and obtains a user selection of the queue as a selected queue. The device application further includes an expected wait time client, where a sequence component sends an expected wait time services call and receives an indication of the expected wait time, and where the expected wait time services call includes identification of the selected queue. The device application also includes a confirmation control to display, on the screen, the indication of the expected wait time where a user selection of one of a confirmation command and a cancel command is obtained. The device application includes a confirmation wait time client that generates a confirmation services call to the sequence component in response to user selection of the confirmation command, the confirmation services call includes at least a communication receiving device identifier and an instruction to add the mobile device identifier to the selected queue.
A computer readable medium including instructions for a mobile device to initiate a call-back sequence in a communication system is also described.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, each element with a reference number is similar to other elements with the same reference number independent of any letter designation following the reference number. In the text, a reference number with a specific letter designation following the reference number refers to the specific element with the number and letter designation and a reference number without a specific letter designation refers to all elements with the same reference number independent of any letter designation following the reference number in the drawings.
It should also be appreciated that many of the elements discussed in this specification may be implemented in a hardware circuit(s), a processor executing software code which is encoded within computer readable media accessible to the processor, or a combination of a hardware circuit(s) and a processor or control block of an integrated circuit executing machine readable code encoded within a computer readable media. As such, the term circuit, module, server, or other equivalent description of an element as used throughout this specification is intended to encompass a hardware circuit (whether discrete elements or an integrated circuit block), a processor or control block executing code encoded in a computer readable media, or a combination of a hardware circuit(s) and a processor and/or control block executing such code.
It should also be appreciated that the table structures represented in this application are exemplary only and intended to show the mapping of relationships between various data elements. Other table structures may store similar data elements in various manners. Further, the applicant's use of the term “plurality” is intended to indicate not just “at least one”, but one, two, three, or any other quantity. The applicant's use of the term “group” is intended to indicate not just “at least one”, but two, three, or more of the items within the group.
The system 10 assigns a placeholder for a mobile communication device 11 (or an identifier for a mobile communication device 11 such as its telephone number or other unique network identifier) in a selected queue (not shown in
In some embodiments, prior to allowing communication between a mobile communication device 11 and the system 10, the system 10 performs one or more security checks. These security checks can be performed for a variety of purposes including to ensure that the software on the mobile communication device 11 is authentic and valid for use on the device and that the device is authorized. Various software routines may be used by the system 10 and the mobile communication device 11 to perform security checks. Encryption keys may be assigned to the mobile communication devices 11 and used for the security check.
In an embodiment, the identifier for a mobile communication device 11 is an encryption key. Each software application for communicating with the system 10 on a mobile communication device 11 may have one or more unique encryption keys that are recognized by the system 10.
The network 25 (depicted by a cloud) can be any one or more of a variety of networks. The system 10 shown can support many mobile communication devices 11 of various types and many queues (not shown in
Referring now to
The communication receiving device may be any device that can receive a telephone call. The communication receiving device is often the mobile communication device that sent the initial data requesting a telephone connection.
The method 300 further includes active provider routine 26 sending a list of active providers to the mobile communication device 11 via an active providers message 50. More particularly, the provider client routine 34 in the session queuing component 24 receives active providers message 50 (315).
The method 300 further includes receiving a request for active queues in the queue component 20 via an active queue remote processing call 52 from the mobile communication device 11 (320). The active queue remote processing call 52 serves as a request for a listing of active queues associated with the selected provider to an active queue routine or process 28 of the sequence component 22. The listing is populated into the service control 40 of the session queuing component 24.
The exemplary method 300 of
The method 300 further includes receiving a request for the expected wait time for receiving a call back from a provider. The expected wait time may be received via an expected wait time call 56 from the mobile communication device 11 (330). Upon the user selecting a queue using the service control 40, the expected wait time client 42 generates an expected wait time call 56 to the sequence component 22. The method 300 includes the expected wait time routine 30 sending a request 62 for the expected wait time to the expected wait time component 18 (within the queue component 20) (335) and receiving the expected wait time 64 (340) from the expected wait time component 18.
With continuing reference to
With continuing reference to
In an embodiment, the business communication center 14a has at least one computer system including a processor operating the queue component 20, and memory. In general, the queue component 20 is adapted to maintain a group of queues 16a, 16b with each queue 16a, 16b being associated with one of sets 12a, 12b of the group of service agents 12. For example the set of service agents 12a may be associated with queue 16a while the second set of service agents 12b may be associated with queue 16b.
In an embodiment, the queue component 20 identifies a sequential order of the mobile devices 11w, 11x, 11y, and 11z, which are queued for connection to one of the service agents 12.
Expected wait time component 18 is adapted to determine an expected wait time value representing the time at which service agents 12 within the particular service agent group are expected to be available to service a client. The expected wait time can be calculated or determined in a number of different ways.
The expected wait time value may represent an estimated wait time calculated using primary estimated wait time techniques such as projecting a wait time based on the quantity of clients in the queue and any of a historical, present, or projected time allotment for handling each such queued client. Alternatively, the expected wait time value may be a function of both a primary estimated wait time calculation and a wait time augmentation calculation made based on service agent availability and/or scheduled change in service agent availability as disclosed in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/143,857 filed on Jun. 2, 2005 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Such patent application is incorporated herein by reference.
The sequence component 22 may be embodied as a web services server. In one embodiment, the sequence component is connected to the internet and includes appropriate web services messaging systems (i.e., Simple Object Access Protocol or SOAP) for communicating with the session queuing component 24 on the mobile devices 11a-11d. In an embodiment, the sequence component 22 communicates with queue component 20.
The sequence component 22 may include a processor (not shown) for executing the web services messaging systems as well as other applications stored on a memory (not shown). Such other applications may comprise an active provider routine 26, an active queue routine 28, an expected wait time routine 30, and a confirmation routine 32.
The session queuing component 24 may include a number of routines including for example, a provider client 34, a company or provider control 36, a queue or service client 38, a queue or service control 40, an expected wait time client 42, a confirmation control 44 and a confirmation client 46.
It should be appreciated that each of the routines of the session queuing component 24 are exemplary and for illustrative purposes. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the systems and functions of each routine described herein may be implemented by way of other permutations of components and sub systems.
In an embodiment, the session queuing component 24 may be an embedded application of a mobile communication device 11. In another embodiment, the session queuing component may be a java script, ActiveX, or other similar structure downloaded and executed by a browser and an applicable browser plug-in executing on the telephone 11. In this embodiment, the session queuing component 24 may include a combination of the java script or ActiveX control and components of the browser and/or the plug-in, which in combination drive operation of the session queuing component 24.
In an embodiment, the session queuing component 24 communicates with the sequence component 22 using web service messages and internet protocol. In an embodiment, the session queuing component 24 obtains user selection of a provider (from a group of providers) with which the user desires to communicate via a telephone communication session. The session queuing component 24 may also obtain user selection of a service of the selected provider (from a group of services) and an estimated wait time representing a duration of time the user can be expected to wait until connecting to the selected services. Session queuing component 24 confirms, after presenting the expected wait time to the user, that the user desires to connect to a service agent 12. More specifically, it confirms that the user wishes to speak with a particular type of service agent 12. The session queuing component 24 assists in placing the user in a queue for the user to receive a call back from the service agent 12 at a connection time.
The connection time may be when the user reaches the first position in the queue (i.e., after other clients in the selected queue prior to the client have all been connected to available service agents or abandoned their position in the queue selected) and a service agent becomes available, or at a specific scheduled time. The specific scheduled time may be a time calculated by adding the expected wait time to the time at which the expected wait time was presented to the user. The specific scheduled time may also be a time selected by the user.
The term “provider” is used interchangeably with the term “business communication center” or the “provider's business communication center” within this application, and the term “queue” is used interchangeably with the term “service” or the “queue for connection to a service agent providing the selected service.”
The primary queue 17 may be embodied in a primary automated call director (ACD). In an embodiment, the ACD places in a queue client telephone connections which are “on-hold” waiting for a service agent 12. Such an ACD may use known technology adapted to (1) receive incoming calls from the mobile communication device 11 (e.g., establishing a client connection with each) (2) identify which group of service agents the caller desires to connect (including using primary voice prompts) and (3) place the call in a queue for connection to the identified service agent group. If one of the service agents 12 within a service agent group becomes available, the ACD connects a next client connection from the queue to the available service agent 12.
The secondary queue component 19 may be coupled to a primary queue 17 as an accessory device. The secondary queue component 19 maintains the queue position of the mobile communication device 11 in a manner that does not require the mobile communication device 11 to remain “on hold” or otherwise maintain an active telephone connection with the primary queue 17. More specifically, for a mobile communication device 11 calling the communication center utilizing the primary queue 17, the secondary queue component 19 may (1) obtain a network address for the mobile communication device 11 (e.g., a telephone network call back telephone number or other telephone network address) and (2) write the network address of the telephone connection to a record of the queuing table (for example record 224 in the event a user of mobile communication device 11a calls the communication center in a primary manner). Further, the secondary queue component 19 may, at the appropriate connection time, (3) induce the call back system 15 to establish a connection to the mobile communication device 11 utilizing the call back number. Inducing the call back system 15 to establish the connection may include generating a call back message 220 to the call back system 15.
The secondary queue component 19 may also (e.g., mobile communication devices 11 being added to a queue utilizing telephone system 10), obtain a network address of a telephone connection to the mobile communication device 11 (e.g., a telephone network call back telephone number or other telephone network address) via the messaging discussed above with respect to messages 62, 64, and 66 in
After the call back system 15 has established a connection with the mobile communication device 11, it may generate a priority connection to the available service agent 12 within the appropriate service agent group 12a, 12b.
The priority connection 222 may be a transfer 222a of the mobile communication device 11 connection to the primary queue 17. Transfer 222a may occur via a command such that the primary queue 17 connects the client to the next available one of the service agents 12 within the required service agent group 12a-12b (e.g., places the client at the front of the queue). The priority connection 222 may also be a connection 222b directly to the next available service agent 12, bypassing primary queue 17.
The secondary queue system 19 may comprise a secondary queue application 91 and a secondary queue table 93. The secondary queue table 93 maintains, for each mobile communication device 11 being handled by the secondary queue component 19, call back information. In more detail, secondary queue table 93 may comprise a plurality of records 95. Each record 95 associates a client identifier 97 with a call back telephone number 101 (or other network identifier) to which a telephone connection may be established with the subject mobile communication device 11, or other communication receiving device at a connection time 103. Secondary queue table 93 may also include a service agent ID 99 identifying the service agent 120, or subset of the group of service agents to which the client 11 is to be connected.
In one aspect, the secondary queue application 91 monitors the passage of time and, upon determining that time has advanced to the connection time 103 of one of the records 95 of the secondary queue table 93, drives the call back system 15 to establish a telephony connection to the subject client. Again, the telephony connection may be a primary PSTN connection or a telephony connection using an alternative technology such as VoIP.
After establishing the telephony connection, the priority connection to a service agent 12 within the required service agent group is generated.
The expected wait time component 18 may be part of the secondary queue system 19, part of the primary queue (ACD) 17, or a separate accessory system interoperating with the secondary queue system 19 and the primary queue (ACD) 17.
Referring now to
The applications encoded in memory 96 may include a telephone application 100, and/or appropriate systems adapted to drive operation of the user interface, and the session queuing component 24.
The telephone application 100 may be adapted to signal, establish, and maintain an audio communication session (either as the session initiator or receiver) with remote endpoint devices over compatible networks (PSTN, VoIP, and other networks utilized for audio communication sessions). The endpoint devices include the business communication center systems 14 for signaling, establishing, and maintaining audio communication sessions between each service agent 12 and the business clients, each of which may utilize one of the mobile devices 11 for communication with the business.
The session queuing component 24 may include a launch object 74 rendered as a “My Providers” icon on the display screen 92 and adapted to launch operation of the session queuing component 24 upon detecting user selection of the launch object 74.
Referring now to
The confirmation control 44 may include a window 44a for confirming the identifier of a mobile communication device 11 (i.e., the call back telephone number utilized to establish an inbound telephone call to the mobile communication device 11 or other unique “call back” identifier used to establish an audio session with the mobile communication device 11), an accept control object 44b and a cancel control object 44c.
In an exemplary embodiment, the telephone number of the mobile communication device 11 may be pre-populated to the window object 44a with the window object being active to enable the user to modify the telephone number in the event he or she desires the call back to be at a different telephone station.
The cancel control object 44c may be a selection button adapted to detect user selection. Upon detecting user selection, cancel control object 44c may be adapted to terminate operation of the session queuing component.
The accept control object 44b may be a selection button adapted to launch the confirmation client 46 upon user selection.
Upon launch of the session queuing component 24 the visible objects of the session queuing component 24 may be rendered on the display screen 92 as depicted in
The provider control 36 may be rendered in an active state with the group of providers 78 (
Referring now to
The service control 40 may be a drop down menu control (as represented by 40a, 40b) which displays, for the selected provider, the services/queues of a group of services/queues 80a, 80b associated with the selected provider's business communication center. A user may select a service from this menu.
Exemplary providers include Company A and Company B. For purposes of illustration, Company A may be a utility company and its services/queues associated with its business communication center may include a service/queue for reporting loss of services, a service/queue for handling billing matters, and a default service/queue for handling other matters.
Company B, for illustration, may be a bank and its services/queues associated with its business communication center may include a service for handling of checking, savings, or other deposit accounts, a service for handling credit card accounts, a service for handling mortgage accounts, and a default service for handling other matters.
The remote processing call 48 may be encapsulated within appropriate TCP/IP and HTTP headers and other transport layer information 108 such as source IP address and source port number of the requesting device 11 and destination IP address and destination port number of the sequence component 22. Such combination may be encapsulated within appropriate media layer protocols 110 for transmission across physical communication media via various physical layer segments interconnecting the requesting device 11 and the sequence component 22.
More specifically, referring to
It should be appreciated that the above described structure and processes for populating the provider control 36 is exemplary only. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the list of providers could be obtained and stored within the mobile communication device 11. A list of providers stored within the mobile communication device 11 may then be used for populating both the provider control 36 and the active queue control 40. Upon a user selecting a provider from the list of active providers 78 rendered or shown within the provider control, the service client routine 38 requests a listing of active queues from the active queue routine or process 28 of the sequence component 22. The service client routine 38 populates the service control 40 with a listing of active queues associated with the selected provider.
More specifically, referring to
Upon receipt of the active queues message 54, by service client routine 38, the service control 40 is populated by the list of active queues 80a as discussed with respect to
It should be appreciated that the above described structure and processes for populating the service control 40 is exemplary only. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that lists of active queues for each provider could be obtained and stored within the mobile communication device 11 utilizing one or more remote processing calls prior to user selection. As such, list of providers and active queues stored within the mobile communication device 11 may then be used to populate both the provider control 36 and the active queue control 40. It is further envisioned that both the provider control 36 and the service control 40 may be combined within a single control listing combinations of a provider and a service.
More specifically, referring to
Referring back to
As discussed, the confirmation control may include a window 44a for confirming a telephone number of the mobile device (i.e., the telephone number utilized to establish an inbound telephone call to the mobile device 11), a confirmation control 44b and a cancel control 44c.
In an exemplary embodiment, the telephone number of the mobile device 11 may be pre-populated to the window object 44a with the window object being active to enable the user to modify the telephone number in the event he or she desires the call back to be at a different telephone station.
The cancel control 44c may be a selection button adapted to detect user selection. Upon detecting user selection, the cancel control object may be adapted to terminate operation of the session queuing component.
The accept control object 44b may be a selection button adapted to launch the confirmation client 46 upon user selection.
The confirmation client 46 (shown in
Further, the arguments of the confirmation remote processing call may include identification of the selected provider and selected queue which the user desires to join. Alternatively, the arguments may include a session ID matched to previous remote processing calls such that the sequence component may determine the selected provider and selected queue which the user desires to join.
More specifically, referring to
The above described system represents an exemplary embodiment of a connection system for sequencing mobile device identifiers in a selected queue for connection to a service agent of a group of service agents at a business communication center. The present invention includes all such equivalents and modifications, and is limited only by the scope of the following claims.
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