Patent Application
20080040281
The drawings referenced herein form a part of the specification. Features shown in the drawing are meant as illustrative of only some embodiments of the invention, and not of all embodiments of the invention, unless otherwise explicitly indicated, and implications to the contrary are otherwise not to be made.
In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and logical, mechanical, and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
The scenario 100 includes a number of vendors 108A, 108B, 108C, 108D, 108E, 108F, and 108G, collectively referred to as the vendors 108. The vendors 108 are represented in
The vendors 108 have corresponding mobile wireless devices 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D, 110E, 110F, and 110G, collectively referred to as the mobile wireless devices 110. The mobile wireless devices 110 may be wireless phone devices. The mobile wireless devices 110 may be the personal mobile wireless devices of the vendor personnel driving the trucks of the vendors 108.
Each of the vendors 108 is available to receive service calls, or is unavailable to receive service calls, such as from the user 102. Whether a given vendor is able to currently receive service calls is illustratively indicated by a bulb on top of the vendor's truck in
Embodiments of the invention are primarily described in relation to a vendor that is mobile. However, other embodiments of the invention can relate to one or more of such vendors that are static—that is, that are not mobile.
In the scenario 100 of
In response, an embodiment of the invention may first determine which of the vendors 108 provide the corresponding business service. Of all seven of the vendors 108 in the example of
Next, it may be determined which of these vendors 108B, 108C, 108E, and 108F are currently accepting service calls. For instance, the database may be consulted to determine which of these vendors 108B, 108C, 108E, and 108F are currently accepting service calls. This determination may be made as part of the same inquiry as determining which vendors provide the requested plumbing service. The database may be updated as to the current service call acceptance status of a given vendor in response to requests made by that vendor. In the example of
Next, an embodiment of the invention may determine the current location of the user 102 and the current location of each of the vendors 108C and 108E, to determine which of the vendors 108C and 108E are currently locationally near the user 102. Determining the current location of the user 102 may be achieved by determining the location of the mobile wireless device 104, by using triangulation, global positioning system (GPS), or another approach. Likewise, determining the current location of each of the vendors 108C and 108D may be achieved by determining the location of the corresponding mobile wireless device of each vendor.
Once the current locations of the user 102 and the vendors 108C and 108E, it can then be concluded that the vendor 108C is locationally near the user 102, whereas the vendor 108E is not locationally near the user 102. Therefore, a response is sent to the user 102 providing the identity of just the vendor 108C. The response may be sent as a text message via SMS, by using a WAP interface, by sending an email, by using a voice phone call, as a message via MMS, or in another manner. As such, the user 102 is provided with a vendor that provides plumbing services, that is locationally near the user, and that is currently accepting service calls. That is, the user 102 does not have to concern himself or herself that the vendor is not locationally near the user, or is not currently accepting service calls.
The request is matched against a database of vendors, to yield one or more vendors that are currently locationally near the user and that are currently accepting service calls for the business service requested by the user (204). This matching may be accomplished at least in part as follows. The current location of the user is determined (206). For instance, the current location may be determined based on an identifier of the mobile wireless device of the user, such as a phone number of this device. By using this phone number and an appropriate methodology, such as triangulation or global positioning system (GPS), the current location of the user may be determined.
Likewise, the current location of each vendor that is indicated in the database as providing the business service requested by the user is determined (208). For instance, as with the user, the current location of a vendor may be determined based on an identifier of the mobile wireless device of the vendor, such as a phone number, and an appropriate methodology. For each vendor that is locationally near the user and that provides the business service requested by the user, it is then determined whether the vendor is currently accepting service calls (210). Thus, all vendors who provide the business service requested by the user, are locationally near the user, and that are currently accepting service calls are identified.
In one embodiment, other attributes of the vendors may be matched against the request (211). Such other attributes can include the cost charged by a vendor to provide the business service requested, as well as the reputation of the vendor. For instance, a user may request that he or she wishes to retain a vendor that charges no more than a certain amount for the business service in question. Therefore, only those vendors that charge no more than this amount are included. Similarly, a user may request that he or she wishes to retain a vendor that has at least a given reputation rating, as rated by other customers of the vendor. Therefore, only those vendors that have at least this reputation rating are included. Alternatively, all such vendors may be included, but the vendors may be listed in accordance with their reputation ratings.
It is noted that the matching performed in part 204 of the method 200 of
Finally, a response is sent to the mobile wireless device of the user with the identity of each vendor that is locationally near the user and currently accepting service calls for the business service needed (212). For instance, a text message via SMS may be sent to the mobile wireless device of the user. The user may be provided with the name and phone number, for instance, of each such matching vendor. The method 200 of
One type of message may indicate that the vendor is currently accepting service calls beginning at the time of transmission of the message, and will indefinitely continue accepting service calls until the vendor sends a later message indicating that service calls are no longer being accepted. Thus, another message may indicate that the vendor is currently not accepting service calls beginning at the time of transmission, and will indefinitely continue to not accept service calls until the vendor sends a later message indicating that service calls are now being accepted. A third type of message may specify a particular period of time and/or date in which the vendor is accepting service calls. Other information regarding the vendor, such as its name, phone number, base location, service rates, business services provided, and so on, may also be sent via such messages, or in another manner.
Therefore, the profile of the vendor within a database is updated with the information received in the message (304), such as whether or not the vendor is currently accepting service calls. This database is then employed to locate appropriate vendors in response to requests from users via their mobile wireless devices (306). For instance, part 306 of the method 300 of
In response, the user rates the vendor and optionally provides other feedback, such that the rating for the vendor and this other feedback are received (454). The rating and optional other feedback may be received via SMS, MMS, a WAP interface, voicemail, email, a regular voice phone call, or by another manner. The rating in particular may be specified as one of a number of different levels of satisfaction with the vendor, such as between one and five, a rating selected from “excellent,” “good,” “average,” “below average,” and so on.
The reputation rating of the vendor is then updated with this rating received, and the other feedback regarding the vendor, where provided, is recorded within the database (456). The reputation rating may be the average of all the ratings that this vendor received, or may be determined in a number of different ways, such as by weighting more recently received ratings from users more heavily than older ratings from user. In selecting a vendor to provide a given business service, a user may further have the opportunity to review the other feedback provided by other customers of the vendor, if any such feedback exists.
The database 402 has a number of entries corresponding to a number of vendors. Each entry stores an identifier of a mobile wireless device of a vendor, such as a phone number of a mobile wireless phone; one or more business services provided by the vendor; and, whether the vendor is currently accepting service calls. Each entry may store other information as well, such as the base location (i.e., a street address) of the vendor, the vendor's name, the vendor's rates for providing its business services, and so on.
The matching component 404 matches requests received from mobile wireless devices of users for business services against the database to yield matching vendors that are currently locationally near the user and that are currently accepting service calls for the business services requested. In this respect, the matching component 404 performs at least a portion of the method 200 of
The subscription management component 408 updates entries within the database 402 with information received from corresponding vendors regarding whether the vendors are currently accepting service calls for the business services that they provide. In this respect, the subscription management component 408 performs at least a portion of the method 300 of
Finally, the revenue management component 412 tracks charges to users and/or vendors for using the matching functionality provided by the computerized system 400. For instance, users may be charged each time they send a request, or they may pay a monthly fee for sending unlimited requests. As another example, vendors may be charged each time they are listed in a response made to a user's request, or each time they answer a service call in response to a user's request. As a final example, vendors may be charged a monthly fee to be included in matches made to user's requests. Other charging approaches may also be implemented by the revenue management component 412.
It is noted that in one embodiment, the methods that have been described are performed by a third party application that is hosted on the infrastructure of a telecommunications service provider. Thus, the third party is responsible for providing software that performs the methods, but the software is implemented on hardware of the telecommunication services provider. In another embodiment, however, the telecommunications service provider itself both provides the software that performs the methods, as well as hosts the infrastructure on which this software is implemented.
It is further noted that, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is thus intended to cover any adaptations or variations of embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and equivalents thereof.
