Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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System For Obtaining Help Over A Communication System By
Using Specific Customer Contact Channels
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to accessing remote
information network services such as those of the WWW (World
Wide Web) and particularly, but not exclusively to the manner
in which help is enlisted when needed.
Background of Invention
Some telephone companies (e.g., NBTel, New
Brunswick, Canada) have been heavily involved with the
development and use of both call centre services and Internet
services. More specifically, efforts have been underway to
utilize CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) within call
centres to improve the productivity and service levels within
call centres. CTI uses integration capabilities in various
manners to assist telephone users who have access to computer
equipment to improve the process of making or receiving phone
calls. Call centre technology generally uses both computer
equipment and telecommunications equipment with CTI being a
key element of productive call centres.
The use of new Internet services such as WWW servers
to allow organizations to interact with their customers in a
self service mode is also being promoted. These WWW servers
utilize hypertext and multimedia content to allow customers to
see text, images, etc. associated with products and services.
Due to human nature and other factors these customers
frequently need human assistance to completely satisfy their
needs and would likely Jot down an 800 telephone number with a
pencil and paper. They would then call the 800 number to gain
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access (if the 800 zone coverage was appropriate) to an ACD
(Automatic Call Distribution) centre belonging to that
organization. Under many circumstances today they would then
sit frustrated in an ACD queue awaiting the availability of a
live agent. Thus, there areat least two disadvantages of
current systems. First, the need for the customer to
plzysically record and dial the 800 number is a disincentive to
making the call. Secondly, the likelihood of waiting in long
ACD queues is also a disincentive to making the call. Once '
the call is made, the queue may also result in the call being
terminated before successful completion because of the delay
experienced.
A recent improvement in the integration of computers
and telephones is disclosed in US Patent No. 5,001,710. A
system is disclosed which lets telemarketing agents who are
answering calls for multiple campaigns simultaneously, to be
set up automatically in their computing environment at the
correct campaign based upon the phone number dialed by the
customer, and to receive caller related information
automatically. However, the user is required to physically
dial an 800 number, and likely must wait in an ACD queue.
Furthermore, although the agent is set up at the correct
campaign, a more accurate initial setup, which for example
incorporates the specifics of the customer's queries, is not
possible. Finally, this system is not designed for helping
users of the Internet.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object of the invention to provide a means
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I f
for integrating WWw services with live ACD agents in a manner
that mitigates the above mentioned disadvantages.
It is another object of the invention to make this
process faster and simpler so as to improve the likelihood of
a successful connection to a live agent.
The invention provides a method of quickly enabling
the changing of customer contact channels under control of the
calling customer. A customer contact channel is a specific
means of communication between the customer and a
sales/service provider. Examples of customer contact channels
include verbal phone conversations between customers and human
ACD agents of the service/sales organization, IVR (interactive
voice response ) interactions between customers and IVR
servers associated with the service/organization, ADSI (analog
display services interface) enhanced IVR interactions between
customers and associated servers, and WWW interactions between
customers and associated WWW servers. These channels use
various communications appliances or terminals such as a
regular touch tone telephone, ADSI enhanced telephone (such as
Nortel Vista 350), multimedia PC's or multimedia set-top boxes
(such as Philips/Zenith/CLI Media Access Terminals) and
television sets.
The invention provides a series ofmethods for
integrating WWW services with live ACD agents. These methods
include establishment of two-way voice connectivity between a
customer and a human ACD agent while sharing common screens of
information on a WWW page. This connectivity provides
requested "LIVE HELP" when a problem is encountered or when an
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alternate channel is preferred for various reasons. These
methods deploy CTI, IVR and related techniques involving the
use of computer software and hardware working in coniunction
with telephone systems. The specific methods best suited for
an individual customer will depend on a number of factors such
as the call centre's telephony architecture, the call centre's
computing architecture and organizational philosophy and
approaches regarding inbound and outbound calling and customer
contact concepts.
IVR allows for automated handling of scripted or
routine telephone conversations. The customer, once connected
to an IVR system, is verbally provided with information and
options by a computer generated or recorded voice. The
customer is able to make selections with the telephone keypad.
An ADSI (analog display services interface) enhanced IVR
system (e.g., NBTel Express or NBTel CallMall) also provides a
text screen that allows easier navigation to the user. These
are accessed by ADSI capable telephone sets equipped with a
screen.
The invention provides methods for integrating and
connecting a human ACD agent and a customer who is using the
WWW and wishes human assistance. Furthermore, the invention
provides a customer in voice conversation with an ACD agent an
option to enhance that conversation with shared screens of
information (images, text,etc.). The invention is intended
to be used by organizations or individuals with WWW servers
and ACD agents. The invention was initially developed to
illustrate the joint use of two powerful marketing channels
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(WWW and ACD agents) and that their combination produces an
even more powerful channel than either alone. The main
features of this invention are the ability to link and
integrate customers (who may have obtained product awareness
information or directory information via a WWW server) and
appropriate ACD agents or individuals to provide supplementary
information or assistance.
According to a first broad aspect, the invention
provides in a communications system comprising a server on a
network, means for connecting the server to at least one
computer in a remote customer premises, a help channel and a
call centre connected to the help channel connectable through
the public switched telephone network to a telephone in the
customer premises, an apparatus and method for the customer to
obtain help in relation to a page from the server displayed by
the computer comprising the steps of the customer selecting a
remote help option from the page; the customer preparing a
help request form comprising the number of the customer's
telephone; the system transferring the help request to the
call centre; and the call centre setting up a call over the
public switched telephone network between the customer
telephone and the help channel.
According to a second broad aspect, the invention
provides in a communications system comprising a server on a
network, means for connecting the server to at least one
computer in a remote customer premises, a help channel and a
call centre connected to the help channel connectable through
the information network to the computer, an apparatus and
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method for the customer to obtain help in relation to a page
from the server displayed by the computer comprising the steps
of the customer selecting a remote help option from the page;
the customer computer automatically preparing a help request
form comprising a network address; the system automatically
transferring the help request to the call centre; and the call
centre setting up a virtual audio channel on the data network
between the channel and the customer computer.
According to a third broad aspect, the invention
provides in a communications system comprising a server on a
network, means for connecting the server to at least one of
either a computer or a set-top box and television in.a remote
customer premises, a help channel and a call centre connected
to the help channel connectable through the public switched
telephone network to a telephone in the customer premises, an
apparatus method for the customer to obtain help in relation
to a page from the server displayed by the computer comprising
the steps the customer selecting a remote help option from the
pagej the customer set-top box or computer signalling a
telephone switch to ring the customers telephone line (with a
normal ring or a distinctive ring) in response to the customer
selecting the help option; the telephone switch dialing the
call centre automatically when the customer the picks up the
handset; and the call centre transferring the call to the help
channel.
According to a fourth broad aspect, the invention
provides in a communications system comprising a server on a
network, means for connecting the server to at least one
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computer in a remote customer premises, a help channel and a
call centre connected to the help channel connectable through
the public switched telephone network to a telephone in the
customer premises, an apparatus and method for the customer to
obtain help in relation to a page from the server displayed by
the computer comprising the steps of the customer selecting a
remote help option from the page; the customer computer
automatically passinq a help phone number listed within the
page to communications software running on the customer's
computer) and the communications software dialing the help
phone number with a modem and line connected to the customer's
computer and telephonei whereby a voice conneetion is
established between the customer telephone and the help
channel.
According to a fifth broad aspect, the invention
provides in a communications system comprising a server on a
network, means for connecting the server to at least one
computer equipped with an SVD (simultaneous voice data) modem
in a remote customer premises, a help channel comprising a
live agent workstation equipped with at least one computer
equipped with an SVD modem; and a call centre connected to the
help channel, an apparatus and method for the customer to
obtain help in relation toapage from the server displayed by
the computer comprising the steps: establishing a voice
connection between a customer telephone and an agent telephone
over the PSTN; the agent connecting the agent computer to the
server if not already connectedi the customer disconnecting
the customer computer from the server if connected unless
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equipped to handle more than one connection; both the
customer and ACD agent activating their SVD (Simultaneous
Voice Data) Modems (or ISDN units) such that data and voice
connections are established where previously only a voice
connection existed in such a way that the agent who is
already connected to the desired server acts as a host and
the caller acts as a remote connected to the agent's host
and in communication with the host over the data portion of
the connection and the caller is able to view the same pages
as the agent, and the agent can provide the caller with
assistance by walking the customer through the information
from the server, and discuss it over the voice connection.
According to a sixth broad aspect, there is
provided an automated call distribution system comprising a
server and a call centre, the server being for providing
network service to a customer terminal, the server
comprising one or more pages downloadable to the customer
terminal operable to provide a remote help option selectable
by a user of the customer terminal, and upon selection of
the remote help option, send a help request to the call
centre identifying a contact channel through which the user
of the customer terminal can be reached; the call centre
comprising means operable to receive the help request and to
contact the user of the customer terminal using the contact
channel identified in the help request.
According to a seventh broad aspect, there is
provided an inbound call processing system for processing
calls from customer premises equipment comprising a
telephone with a telephone line, and a network access device
connected with a CTI enabled line, the inbound call
processing system comprising: a multimedia server, a call
centre; at least one agent workstation; a CTI enabled
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switch; a broadband multimedia data network wherein customer
network access devices are connectable to the multimedia
server are over the broadband multimedia data network to run
a multimedia application provided by the server, and the
customer telephone connections are over the PSTN and a
subsequent connection to the broadband multimedia data
network; the multimedia application comprising a make call
option which when selected initiates a series of steps to
set up a call to an ACD system by signaling to the CTI
enabled switch to ring the customer's telephone line
prompting the customer to pick up a handset of the
telephone, and upon sensing that the customer has indeed
picked up the set, then dials the call centre automatically,
where an ACD system distributes the call to an ACD agent
workstation.
According to an eighth broad aspect, there is
provided a system for connecting a call centre to a remote
customer computer having a customer IP address, the system
comprising: means for presenting a page having a URL on the
remote customer computer, the page including a remote help
option which when selected generates a help request form
including the customer IP address; means for forwarding the
help request form to the call centre.
According to a ninth broad aspect, there is
provided a call centre comprising: means for receiving a
help request form containing a customer's IP address; means
for establishing a voice over IP connection to the IP
address.identified in the help request form.
According to a tenth broad aspect, there is
provided an automated call distribution system comprising a
server and a call centre, the server being for providing
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network service to a customer terminal, the server
comprising one or more pages downloadable to the customer
terminal operable to provide a remote help option selectable
by a user of the customer terminal, and upon selection of
the remote help option, send a help request to the call
centre identifying a contact channel through which the user
of the customer terminal can be reached; the call centre
comprising means operable to receive the help request and to
contact the user of the customer terminal using the contact
channel identified in the help request; wherein the remote
help option provides for the selection of one of a plurality
of different contact channels.
According to an eleventh broad aspect, there is
provided an automated call distribution system comprising a
server and a call centre, the server being for providing
network service to a customer terminal, the server
comprising one or more pages downloadable to the customer
terminal operable to provide a remote help option selectable
by a user of the customer terminal, and upon selection of
the remote help option, send a help request to the call
centre identifying a contact channel through which the user
of the customer terminal can be reached; the call centre
comprising means operable to receive the help request and to
contact the user of the customer terminal using the contact
channel identified in the help request; wherein the remote
help option provides for the selection of either a voice
over IP connection or a PSTN connection as the contact
channel.
According to a twelfth broad aspect, there is
provided a call centre comprising: an outbound dialing
system capable of setting up a blended inbound/outbound call
environment containing a list of telephone numbers and IP
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addresses; an ACD (automated call distribution) system which
distributes actual calls on the basis of the list connecting
agent workstations to some customers via the PSTN and some
customers via voice over IP; a CGI (common gateway
interface) adapted to collect help requests from a web
server and feeds them to the outbound dialing system or ACD.
According to a thirteenth broad aspect, there is
provided a call centre comprising: a CGI (computer telephony
interface) server adapted to collect help requests from one
or more customer contact channels including the WWW; an IVR
(interactive voice response) call-back system; an ACD
(automatic call distribution system); and an outbound
dialing system for making calls to customers and connecting
them to the IVR call-back system or to an ACD system.
According to a fourteenth broad aspect, there is
provided a help requesting apparatus for conveying help
requests to a call centre, the apparatus comprising: a WWW
server comprising means for providing access by customers to
a web page including a help request interface for receiving
requests for help from customers; CGI (Common Gateway
Interface) programs for communicating the requests for help
to the call centre.
According to a fifteenth broad aspect, there is
provided a multimedia message management system comprising a
server, a multimedia message manager and a call centre,
wherein: the server is adapted to provide information
content to users through a data network and for receiving
help requests from users through the data network; the
multimedia message manager is connected to a plurality of
contact channels of at least two different types, to collect
help requests received through each of these channels and
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produce a combined list of contacts that need to be made;
and the multimedia message manager is also connected to the
call centre for coordinating a delivery of help responses on
the basis of the combined list.
According to a sixteenth broad aspect, there is
provided an inbound call processing system for processing
calls from users of web pages having URLs, the system
comprising: a CLID look-up database containing telephone
numbers of customers; an ACD system for handling calls from
users by distributing them to one of a plurality of agent
workstations; means for sensing all users querying different
URLs in real time and doing a look-up into the CLID database
to correlate CLIDs with URLs, and for providing for each
call the URL to the agent handling the call from a given
CLID.
Brief Description of the Drawing
Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the first
embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 shows a process flow diagram for the
first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 3 shows a process flow diagram for a
variation of the first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 shows a process flow diagram for another
variation of the first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 5 shows a process flow diagram for another
variation of the first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 6 shows a block diagram of the second
embodiment of the invention;
Figure 7 shows a process flow diagram for the
second embodiment of the invention;
Figure 8 shows a block diagram of the third
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embodiment of the invention=
Figure 9 shows a process flow diagram for the third
embodiment of the inventioni
Figure 10 shows a block diagram of the fourth
embodiment of the inventioni and
Figure 11 shows a process flow diagram for the
fourth embodiment of the invent ion .
Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention
In a first preferred embodiment of the invention,
illustrated schematically in Figure 1, a method and apparatus,
herein referred to as the Customer Contact Channel Changer, is
provided for automatically providing a live telephone
connection between a customer using an organization's
multimedia services to the organization's ACD agent. Four
main components are illustrated, these being the customer
premises 2, an ACD agent workstation 12, a call centre 24 and
the call centre's multimedia server 28. The multimedia server
28 may be a WWW server 28, and will be referred to herein as
such. The call centre's 24 WWW server 28 may actually be
located at the call centre, or it could be located remotely.
Likewise, the ACD agent workstation 12 may be located in the
call centre. Alternatively, the ACD agent workstation may be
in locations remote from the call centre such as in an
individual agent's home or remote workplace.
The components of a customer premises 2 are
illustrated in Figure 1. This includes a PC 4 capable of
supporting a graphical WWW HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
browser and supporting generation of a URL (Uniform Resource
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Locator) of the organization's product and service database,
an Internet line 6(eithe,r via LAN or WAN-dial-up via
modems), and a telephone 8 connected to the PSTN (public
switched telephone network) 9 via a telephone line 10. The
URL provides a snapshot indication of where in the hypertext
environment of the organization's WWW services the user is at
a given time.
Numerous commercial WWW browsers are available to
assist in navigation through the Internet and WWW servers.
These browsers use HTML and HTTP (Hypertext Transport
Protocol). In a typical page received via the Internet from
an organization providing information or services on a WWW
server, words or key phrases-may be underlined or bolded to
indicate that more information is available. This is referred
to as hypertext. If the user is interested in obtaining this
additional information, he can click on the word with a mouse,
and the additional information is displayed.
The typical configuration for an agent workstation
12 is also shown in Figure 1. An agent workstation 12 is
equipped with an ACD telephone set 14 from which a variety of
calls can be answered, a Personal Computer 18 capable of
supporting a graphical WWWIHTML browser, a telephone line 20
and computer communications line 22 for communicating with the
call centre 24 and the WWW 28 via a data network 44 comprised
of either a LAN (local area network) or via a dedicated or
dial-up WAN (Wide Area Network). Typically a plurality of
agent workstations 12 would be employed, depending on the -
volume of business to be handled.
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The call centre 24, which handles requests for help
from customers after they are received by the WWW server 28,
subsequent call back of customers, and live connections with
ACD agent workstations 12, is also depicted in Figure 1. The
call centre 24 includes an outbound dialing system 32 capable
of setting up a blended inbound/outbound call environment.
This outbound dialing system 32 contains a HOTLIST of
telephone Numbers of HOT leads (qualified or interested leads)
which are to be called as soon as an agent becomes available
or at a time preferred by the customer. The call centre 24
also includes an ACD system 34 (on a digital switch - either
PBX, centrex or computer based) which makes the actual calls
and via line 20 connects the calls from the agent 12 to the
customer via the PSTN 9 and line 10. It may also include a
CTI server 36, an ACD-MIS (ACD management information system)
system 38 connected to the ACD system 34, an IVR server 40, a
call centre customer information system 42 and a data network
44 for interconnecting various components of the call centre
24.
The WWW server 28 (complying to HTTP and HTML) is
equipped with information pertaining to an organizations
products and services, directory information, etc. The server
28 includes an HTTP server 46 connected to an Internet access
line 47 for receiving requests for help, and CGI (Common
Gateway Interface) programs 48 for communicating with the call
centre 24. It may also include a multimedia message
management system 50 which will be described in detail below,
and a store of numerous text, graphics and multimedia files 52
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in various multimedia file formats (such as GIF, JPEG, MPEG,
WAV, AUPCX, PDF, POSTSCRIPT). Not shown between the
customer's Internet access line 6 and the WWW server's
Internet access line 47 is the Internet itself.
A typical session will be described with reference
to Figures 1 and 2. Process steps are contained in boxes in
Figure 2. The session starts when a customer 2 calls via its
Internet access line 6 into the WWW server 28 and commences a
self-serve session with anorganization which subscribes to
Customer Contact Channel Changer service (box 2-i). The
customer browses through information regarding products and
services with the graphical WWW browser. This browsing is
often achieved by viewing HTML pages 53 and associated
multimedia files 52. There may be on-line help which
addresses some questions which may arise. At some point
additional details or assistance are needed and the customer
chooses a "Live Help" optionf rom within an HTML page (box 2-
2). This may be done by usinga mouse to click on a "Live
Help" button on the screen, or by entering a command at the
keyboard. This prompts anadditional HTML form 54 to pop up
which the customer must fill in (box 2-3). The form 54 asks
the caller for the phone number at which they can be reached
at that time. The URL which the customer was viewing (prior
to selecting help) is automatically filled in to indicate the
page from which help was requested, but the customer also has
the option of providing a different URL. In one embodiment,
the customer also has an option of specifying a preferred time
to be called back with the default being to request call back
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as soon as possible. The customer then sends this completed
HTML help request off to the WWW server 28 where it is
received by the HTTP server 46 and time-stamped. The request
may be sent by either E-mail or TCP/IP (transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol) client to server HTTP interaction
etc.
At the call centre 24, the help request messages are
received and initially processed by the HTTP server 46. The
telephone number, time stamp and URL are passed to the
outbound preview dialing system 32 in the call centre 24 via
the CGI interface 48 and data net 44. Should agents not be
available, messages may be sent back via the CGI interface 48
and HTTP server 46 to the customer with anticipated wait time.
(derived from the ACD-MIS system 38) and call setup and
scheduling options may be presented to the customer in
coniunction with the multimedia message management system 50
to be described further below. An active time-stamped HOTLIST
is maintained to feed the outDound dialing system 32 with
numbers to call while also providing the next available agent
the URL of where the question arose. The information received
from the customer, including a CLID (caller identity) which is
the 10 digit customer phone number, and the URL is entered.on
this HOTLIST (box 2-4). The agent workstation computer 18 is
set up to preview the HTMLpage associated with the caller's
URL before or while the outbound call is being made. This
allows the agent to be better prepared to answer the
question(s) which may arise. The call is then made to the
customer automatically without any need for the agent to key
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any telephone numbers into either their phone 14 or computer
18 (box 2-5). After the customer answers the phone call from
the agent, the two parties will be in full voice communication
and will be viewing the same multimedia screen which prompted
the customers question. The agent can then assist or guide
the caller to the solution or answer sought, or can take
orders and/or provide technical support (box 2-6).
In a modification of this embodiment, the customer
is not required to fill out an HTML page. Upon selection of
the "Live Help" option, default values together with the
relevant URL are filled in automatically, and the request is
immediately sent off.
When it is desired to establish voice communications
over the data network rather than the PSTN, instead of sending
a telephone number at which the user can be reached, an HTML
form including the user's IP (internet protocol) address and
URL is filled in automatically and forwarded to the
outbounding system through the same channels as before. The
process diagram for this is shown in Figure 3. The rest of
this process is similar to that described above except that
the outbound call is placed over the Internet using IP based
voice communications packages running on the user's PC
enabling voice communications. These use originating and
terminating IP addresses to set up virtual (packet based)
circuits for use as voice channels for the duration of the
call. This assumes that the caller and agent have compatible
hardware and software configurations on their PC's.
When the option is provided to the customer of
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selecting a time preferred for call-back, a more sophisticated
message management system is required. For this purpose, the
invention provides a method of managing the integration or
connection of customers using various services (WWW servers,
voice-mail, IVR, e-mail, etc) to an ACD call centre agent.
This multimedia message management system 50 will be referred
to herein as the "Multimedia Message Manager" (MMM) 50.
A process flow diagram which incorporates the MMM 50
is shown in Figure 4. This figure is very similar to Figure 2
with the exception of the addition of the MMM which is
connected to the organization's V-mail servers 80 and E-mail
servers 81 and the WWW server 28.
The MMM 50 acts as an intermediary between the
traditional call centre related systems and the new WWW
related server systems. Specifically, it communicates with
the call centre ACD-MIS system 38 to get estimated anticipated
caller wait times (or other parameters) and passes this
information to the caller via the HTTP server 46 and related
CGI programs 48. It may be used to allow Web browsing of
information sources related to the cail centre such as the
voice mailbox associated with a call centre agent. Overflow
calls may be routed to voice mail. The MMM 50 allows the
agent or supervisor to scan large volumes of voice-mail
messages, E-mai1 messages,WWW form request etc. and
prioritize and schedule call backs from a combined HOTLIST.
The MMM 50 acts as a clearing house point to assist
in scheduling calls between customers and ACD agents and vice
versa. This allows customers who may not be able or willing
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to converse with an agent at Time TO to schedule the call for
Time T2 which is the customer's preferred time. The HOTLIST
is then updated to include both calls which are to be
completed as soon as possible and calls which are due to be
completed in the very nearfuture. There are many ways in
which the HOTLIST may be maintained. Calls requesting
immediate call back can be ordered according to the time stamp
of when they were received, which will always be in the
immediate past. Calls with future time stamps may be appended
to the list prior to the arrival of the time indicated by the
future time stamp, or alternatively, they can be given
priority and placed at the top ofthe list when the time
arrives. The MMM 50 also handles the notification through the
E-mail servers 81 of customers of the fact that delays are
expected, and is able to provide an indication of when a
return call might be expected.
Alternative to connecting a multimedia user to a
live agent, with a slight modification of the first embodiment
described above the invention can be used to connect a
multimedia user (WWW, voice mail, IVR, E-mail) to an IVR call
back system, in which help is available on a variety of
topics, and in which the user further has the option of being
connected to other ADSI enhanced IVR applications such as home
shopping systems. This is il3.ustrated in Figure 5. This 1s
particularly useful in situations where a portion of the call
centre's business may have self service options in different
mediums. For example, both IVR self service channels and WWW
self service channels might be available, and this aspect of
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the invention allows a quick change from one medium to the
other. By selecting the IVR channel, the customer is
connected to the IVR channel in an outbound manner as above.
Figure 6 iliustrates a second embodiment of the
invention. While the first embodiment and its modifications
described above are directed towards call centres equipped
with outbound calling capabilities, in this second embodiment,
the call centre is equipped with inbound call processing
capabilities, handling calls as they come in from customers.
This provides a method for integrating or connecting a
customer who has a SAT (screen assisted telephony) capable
configuration and wishes to be connected to a live agent 106.
The figure is very similar to Figure 1, but with much of the
detail of the call centre and WWW server removed. There are
again four main components illustrated, one of these being
the customer premises 100 equipped with a telephone (or a
screen assisted telephone set) 110 and line 107, a set-top box
(a special purpose computing device which allow access to
network services through the television set with user input
being achieved through the television remote control) and TV
108 or PC 111, and a CTI/SCAI- (switch to computer application
interface) enabled line 107. The other main components
include the multimedia or WWW server 102, call centre 104 and
an agent workstation 106 equipped with a computer 112 and a
telephone 114, or a screen assisted telephone. Also shown is
the PSTN 116, a broad band'multimedia data network 117 and a
SAT server 109.
The interconnections between the customer premises
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100, WWW server 102, call centre 104, agent workstation 106
and PSTN 116 are the similar to before with the exception that
all customer PC connections are via a broadband data network
117, and the customer telephone 110 connection is implemented
with a line 107 to the PSTN 116 and a subsequent connection to
the broadband data network 117.
The process followed in the second embodiment will
be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. The box
numbers refer to boxes shown in Figure 7. Initially, the
customer makes a"multlmedia call" in order to be connected to
XYZ's multimedia server 102 and to run a multimedia
application on the set-top box /TV 108 or PC 111 (box 7-1).
The user selects on the set-top box remote or the PC mouse a
"MAKE CALL" feature from within the multimedia application
(box 7-2).' This selection initiates a series of steps to set
up a call to either an ACD group or an individual. The
request first signals through the broadband multimedia data
net 117 to a PSTN telephone switch 116 specially equipped with
CTI techniques (such as SCAI) to ring the customer's line 107
(with a distinctive ring similar to ring-again) prompting the
customer to pick up the handset (box 7-3). The PSTN based
switch 116, having sensed that the customer has indeed picked
up the set, then dials the destination party automatically,
which in this case is the call centre 104, where an ACD system
distributes the call to an ACD agent workstation 106 (box 7-
4).
When an ACD agent answers the call, the customer's
URL and/or CLID are forwarded so that a customer relevant
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o - - screen is appearing on the agent's PC or terminal 114 at the
same time (box 7-5).
The customer relevant screen is set up on the
agent's screen via one of several known CTI techniques. These
include first party call control techniques and third party
call control techniques. First party call control techniques
use various CLID (Calling Line Identification - not shown)
boxes and associated screen-pop software. The CLID is
transmitted over the telephone line and the CLID box detects
this and passes it to the agent's PC over a serial RS232
communications port. TheCLID box may be integrated as a
part of the telephone, or it may be a standalone unit
connected to the telephone line together with the telephone.
Screen-pop software takes the telephone numbers provided by
the CLID box and looks up the corresponding customer records
in a database, and displays them on the screen.
Alternatively, using third party call control techniques, the
digital switch has a shared data circuit to a"Third Party"
CTI server which understands a common protocol such as SCAI.
This server then associates various calls with various agents
and delivers CLID and/or customer relevant data to the agents
workstation as the phone is ringing.
Under either of the scenarios described above for
transmitting the CLID, the URL information is transmitted in
one of two ways. Firstly, upon answering the call and
viewing the customer relevant data simultaneously (obtained by
looking up the CLID in a customer database), the agent greets
the caller and the caller verbally mentions the associated
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product or subject matter area which causes the agent to hot
key to the relevant or related HTML page. A more
sophisticated alternative to this is for the WWW server to
sense all users querying it in real time ( i: . e. which URL's are
being read and from which IP addresses or E-mail addresses)
and then do a look-up intoits database to determine
corresponding CLID`s. As calls from CLID's come in, the
database can correlate theassociated caller and URL.
Should all agents be busy, an IVR system can be used
to provide additional information options to the customer
while an agent becomes available. This method does not avoid
ACD queues, but does make placing the call easier. In
addition, the use of the URL and/or CLID makes the provision
of help by the agent more efficient. As in the first
embodiment, the agent is now in a position to help the
customer with the WWW server or other multimedia application
with which they require assistance (box 7-6).
As in the first embodiment, instead attempting to
put the call through to a live agent, the call can be
automatically connected to.an IVR system. Screen-based
telephony and associated SAT telephone switches may be
employed in this case, allowing the customer to interact with
an ADSI enhanced IVR system.
Figure 8 illustrates a third embodiment of the
invention which is quite similar to that shown in Figure 6,
with the exception of the configuration at the customer
premises. Again, an inbound call processing capability Is
required at the call centre, as in the second embodiment.
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This embodiment provides a method for integrating or
connecting a customer 100 who has a telephone 120, a PC 124
with DDE (dynamic data exchange ) capabilities and two modems
122,126 and lines 127,128 and wishes to be connected to a live
agent 104. DDE allows data to be passed dynamically between
different applications running on the PC. In this embodiment,
the PC 124 is equipped with communications software and
modems 122, 126 able to place the call between the customer's
telephone 120 and the ACD agent itself, automatically, instead
of requiring the telephone switch to set up the call as in
Figure 6.
Figure 9 shows a process diagram showing the steps
which occur when this method is used. Initially, the customer
makes a multimedia call to connect to company XYZ's multimedia
server (box 9-1). The customer then selects the "MAKE CALL"
or "HELP" button which may;appear on an HTML page (box 9-2).
The customer request initiatesa PC based DDE whereby the
telephone number in the HTML page to be called is passed
dynamically to another PC based communications software
package where an outbound call is dialed over a regular modem
122 and line 127 (boxes 9-3 and 9-4). When an ACD agent
answers, a voice connection between the customer's telephone
120 and the ACD agent's telephone 112 is completed, and a
customer relevant screen is appearing on the agent's PC 114 or
terminal at the same time (box 9-5) based on incoming CLID and
using first part or third party CTI.techniques as described
previously.
As before, an IVR connection could be established
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instead of using live agents, and screen assisted telephones
and associated servers could be employed to enhance this type
of connection.
Figure 10 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the
invention in which a method and apparatus is provided for
integrating WWW information from a caller who is already
talking to a live ACD agent. In this embodiment either an
iribound call processing capability or an outbound call
processing capability is required at the call centre.
The customer site 210 is equipped with a computer
212 and a telephone 214 both connected to a SVD (simultaneous
voice data) modem 216 with~external connections 218 to the
PSTN 219 which may be analog, or ISDN (integrated services
digital network) format. SVD modems allow both voice and data
to be transmitted over the same standard telephone line at the
same time.
The agent site 220 is similarly equipped with a
computer 222, telephone 224 and SVD 226 and connections to the
PSTN 219. It is also connected to a digital switch 230 with
ACD functionality for distributing calls to various agents.
The agent's computer 222 is also connected to a WWW server 232
and may be connected to a multimedia message management system
234.
The process flow diagram for this embodiment is
shown in Figure 11. The customer has been previously
connected to an ACD agent either according to the traditional
method wherein the customer physically dials an 800 number, or
according to one of the methods described above (box 11-1).
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This includes all of the inbound and outbound call set-up
methods and associated hardware described in the first three
embodiment and their variants, although it is assumed that a
live agent exists, and not an IVR system. Both parties are
conversing and desire to be viewing identical screens of
information simultaneously, and so decide to go into
collaborative.mode (box 11-2). This may be due to the fact
that simple verbal explanations are insufficient to solve the
caller's problems. If the calling party is not yet WWW
connected, the two parties activate their SVD Modems 216, 226
( or ISDN units) and activate their remote control software
packages (box 11-3). This sets up a data connection over the
same telephone line as they were previously using for voice.
Then voice and data can be;transmitted over the same telephone
line. The agent who is already connected to the desired WWW
server 132 acts as HOST and the caller acts as a REMOTE
allowing the caller to view the same WWW pages (or other
Information Systems) as the agent (box 11-4). The agent can
then walk the customer through information and supplement it
verbally, thereby sharing a multimedia call with the customer
(box 11-5). Screens appearing on the agents computer appear
on the customer's computer, as what the customer sees is an
exact duplicate of what the agent sees. This may result in
immediate sales and service or assist in further sales and
service. The next time the caller, having become more
comfortable and familiar with the system, may opt to use the
self serve channel with no human assistance for increased
likelihood of repeat business. The above combining of ACD,
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. a . . ,
SVD and WWW building blocks allows collaborative screen
sharing between customers and ACD agents. In addition, agent
integration via the MMM 234 allows increased agent
pr, oduct ivit y .
If the caller is already logged onto the WWW server,
he must disconnect before being able to go into collaborative
mode, unless he is equipped to handle two connections at once.
In order to implement this embodiment,. several
configuration (hardware and software) modifications to
existing ACD setups would be required. Most current PC's will
not successfully support high speed (14.4 KBPS) communications
on their serial ports due to the older UART (Universal
Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) chips. Communications with
these units is error prone and unreliable. PC's need a
smarter faster UART to make this configuration reliable.
These are supplied by installing high speed serial
input/output boards in the ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) slots on the motherboard of the PC. Software
reconfiguration is required to disable the lower speed
communications ports. An alternative here it to use new
simultaneous voice and data modem technology which utilizes
the parallel port of the PC which (for most PC's) currently
supports speeds equal to or greater than 28.8 KBPS.
At the agent end, the type of line choice (2500-type
analog ACD line or digital ACD line) must be made and
depending on this additional hardware and software is
required. If a digital ACD line is used, a hardware adaptor
is required to convert the;di.gital signaling which may be
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proprietary in nature into signals recognized by analog based
SVD modems. Also, these adaptor units must be modified to
thandle high speed (14.4 KBPS) data transmission. If 2500-type
analog lines are used, software is required on the PC to allow
easy access and use of sophisticated feature activation codes.
The line choice here depends largely on which features the
call centre agent would be using.
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