Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
PAYMENT RETRIEVAL AND REVIEW COLLECTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a payment and
review system for an online marketplace in a computer network
environment, and more particularly, to a system for payment
retrieval by vendors for rendered services and review of
customers who received the services.
Background of the Invention
Typically, a customer pays for service after the service is
rendered. For example, a service provider such as a mover, a
handyman, a plumber or an electrician will provide service for a
customer at the customer's location. At the completion of the
service, or job, the customer will pay the service provider, also
referred to herein as a vendor. The basic service and payment
transaction is straightforward. However, as the transaction is
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completed as soon as the customer pays the vendor, there should
be further incentive for either party to engage in further
communications. Typically, unless a customer has received either
extremely good or extremely poor service from the vendor, that
customer has little motivation to provide feedback about the
services the customer received from the vendor.
Although feedback from customers is important for vendors,
who use it to improve their services, having customer feedback is
especially important in online marketplaces, where customers can
select from a variety of vendors. The online marketplace is
typically operated by a third party (i.e., an entity other than
the vendor or customer), who receives a fee for each transaction
between a customer and a vendor. The more transactions that
occur in the marketplace, the more fees the third party receives.
In order to continue to build goodwill with customers, the
operator of the online marketplace would like to provide a system
through which any customer that uses the marketplace can help to
ensure himself/herself to have a good experience in that the
vendor chosen by the customer provides an expected level of
service.
One method for matching customer expectation with vendor
capabilities is to implement a feedback system on the online
marketplace where a customer can evaluate a particular vendor by
reviewing feedback from the previous customers of the vendor.
For example, in the case of emove.com, which is website operated
by eMove, Inc. that provides an online marketplace for moving
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services, a vendor can be evaluated by the feedback provided by
its previous customers. The feedback occurs after the vendor has
provided the services.
As the customer who is moving is typically more concerned
about the actual move, where a multitude of tasks need to be
completed, than filling out reviews, providing a mechanism to
. facilitate feedback submission is a challenge. Most likely, if
the customer has a computer, it is inaccessible as it is being
moved itself, dramatically reducing the likelihood of the
customer providing feedback for a vendor that has provided
services as it requires the customer to seek out Internet access.
Moreover, requiring a customer to "login" by remembering
usernames or passwords assigned before the move when returning to
the online marketplace to respond to a review after the move adds
an additional layer of complication that makes the review process
inconvenient to complete.
Conversely, vendors are interested in being paid for their
services as soon as they have provided them, in addition to
receiving feedback from customers. Vendors also want to ensure
that any reviews provided for their services are based on actual
work they have performed and completed, with an emphasis on
receiving feedback as soon as the work is completed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system that can provide
payment to vendors and obtain feedback from customers with a
minimal amount of effort by all parties involved.
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Summary of the Preferred Embodiments
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a
method is provided that allows a vendor to retrieve payment for
services rendered while simultaneously transmitting an e-mail
message to the customer with a link to a review. In one
embodiment, the method includes detecting a payment request from
a vendor; generating a review based on the payment request; and,
transmitting a reference to the review to a customer, wherein the
reference provides a link to retrieve the review.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer
readable medium having a computer readable program code contained
therein for conducting a review includes computer readable
program code for detecting a payment request from a vendor. The
computer readable medium also includes computer readable program
code for generating a review based on the payment request; and,
computer readable program code for transmitting a reference to
the review to a customer, wherein the reference provides a link
to retrieve the review.
In another embodiment, the present invention is implemented
in a review system having a processor and a memory coupled to the
processor. The memory includes a vendor application and a
customer application, wherein the vendor application is
configured to receive a payment request from a vendor, and the
customer application is configured to generate a review based on
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the payment request and transmit a reference to the review to a
customer
Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following
detailed description.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention may be more readily understood by referring
to the accompanying drawings in which: .
Figure 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of a
customer ordering services using an online marketplace in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of a
vendor accessing and retrieving job information using the online
marketplace in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of the
vendor retrieving payment using the online marketplace after
providing services to the customer in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
. -
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Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of the
online marketplace effecting a payment to the vendor in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of the
online marketplace sending out a message to the customer with a
link to a review in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of the
customer using the online marketplace to retrieve the review
referenced in the link sent in the process illustrated by Figure
5.
Figures 7a-7g are screen shots of a user interface for the
customer to place service requests.
Figures 8a-8d are screen shots of a user interface for the
vendor to access the vendor's account.
Figures 9a-9b are screen shots of a user interface for the
vendor retrieving payment for the vendor's services.
Figures 10a-10b are screen shots of a user interface for
the customer retrieving the review.
Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several
views of the drawings.
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Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
The present invention provides a mechanism in a online
marketplace for a service provider ("vendor"), who has provided
service to a customer that has pre-paid for those services, to
retrieve those funds from an "escrow" account. The vendor
retrieves the funds based on a payment code that the customer
gives to the vendor upon completion of the provision of the
services. Once the payment code is entered, the vendor is paid
and, simultaneously, the customer is e-mailed a link to a review
form to provide feedback for the vendor. In one embodiment of
the present invention, the link is a Universal Resource Locator
CURL) to a web page on a website such as emove.com. When the
customer clicks on the web page link in the review form, the
customer will be taken to the website where the customer can
provide feedback about the vendor (without having to first login
to the website). Once the customer has submitted feedback, the
customer will be credited with a refund of transaction fees
charged by the online marketplace.
Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating the process for a
customer to request service be provided by a vendor, in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The
provision of the service is referred to as a "job" generally. In
the presented example, the customer desires to contract for
moving services to move furniture and boxes at a location in
Grafton, ND. As will be apparent from the description contained
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herein, the system in the example applies to other types of
services, whether or not they are related to moving services.
For example, services including, but not limited to, plumbing
services, painting services, cleaning services, and gardening
services, may be contracted for using the system.
In step 102, the customer enters the general geographical
area(s) where the service, or job, is to be performed. The
system uses this information to select from a list of vendors
that provide services in the entered geographical area(s) to be
displayed, as discussed below. Figure 7a is a window displaying
that the customer has entered "Grafton" in the "City:" field, and
"ND" in the "State:" field, in the "Moving From:" section,
indicating that the customer is requesting moving services only
within the Grafton, ND region. The customer proceeds to the next
step by clicking on the "LET'S GET STARTED" button, and operation
continues with step 104.
In step 104, the customer enters the date on which the
service is to be provided, and the type(s) of service desired.
Figure 7b illustrates two services typically associated with
moving help: loading/unloading help and driving help. In one
embodiment, the services listed are based on previously defined
categories of services. In another embodiment, the services
listed include all the services offered by the vendors in the
general geographical area previously entered by the customer.
The customer can then proceed to the next step of the process as
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shown in Figure 7b and subsequent figures by clicking on the
"NEXT STEP" button.
In step 106, the system displays the vendors matched by the
system that provide loading/unloading service in the Grafton, ND
area. Figure 7c illustrates a window that lists two service
providers: "Jane's Help" and "One Helpful Guy", with rating
information based on evaluations that have been previously
submitted by other customers. The customer may receive more
information by selecting the "more info..." link, and read the
received reviews for each vendor by selecting the "reviews..."
link for the appropriate vendor. In the example shown in Figure
7c, the customer has selected "Jane's Help" as the vendor to
which the customer wishes to submit a request for moving help.
In step 108, the customer is presented with a legal
agreement outlining the terms and conditions under which access
to the system is being provided for the customer to engage the
services of the vendor. In another embodiment, the terms and
conditions may also include the terms and condition for the
selected vendor. Figure 7d illustrates a window with a summary
of the terms and condition for emove.com, with a "user agreement"
link for the customer to retrieve a detailed version of the terms
and conditions. Operation continues with step 110 when the
customer clicks on the "I AGREE" button.
In step 110, the customer enters detailed job information,
including the specific address where the service is to be
provided, including the zip code; a phone number; the number of
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hours of service desired; and an elaboration of the service being
requested. The customer may also provide other details,
including but not limited to a preferred time of day for the
provision of the service; major cross-street of the location; and
other special needs or information. Figure 7e illustrates an
exemplary window where the customer has entered the address of
"123 N. Nowhere Ave."; a zip code of "12345"; a phone number of
"555-555-1234"; a description of "Moving furniture and boxes";
and a desired time period of "3" hours.
In step 112, the customer is presented with a summary of
the order to verify the details of the job and also requested to
enter billing information. Figure 7f illustrates a window where
the customer has entered his name ("John Doe"); address ("123 N.
Nowhere Ave., Grafton, ND, 12345"; e-mail address
("jdoe@mail.com"); payment ("Visa"); card number ("1111-1111-
1111-1111"); and expiration date of the credit card ("January
2004"). The customer places the order by clicking on the "PLACE
ORDER" button. The sequence contained in steps 102 to 112
illustrates one way for the system to receive a job request from
a customer. For example, more or less information may be
requested by the system depending on whether more or less
screens, respectively, is presented to the customer.
In step 114, the system presents the customer with a
confirmation of the job request and other pertinent information,
including instructions to provide the vendor with a payment code
that will allow the vendor to retrieve remuneration, as described
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below, once the job has been completed. In addition, the vendor
is contacted with notification that a new job request has been
received for the vendor's services. For example, an e-mail
informing the vendor that a new job request for the vendor's
services has been received may be sent to the vendor. Figure 7g
illustrates a sample confirmation window, displaying the payment
code and the payment mechanism with which the customer will be
charged when the vendor accepts the job request. In another
embodiment, the customer is not presented with a payment code nor
is the customer charged any fees until the vendor has accepted
the job request. In yet another embodiment, the customer may be
charged a fee as a deposit before the job request is presented to
the selected vendor.
The contents of an exemplary e-mail that may be sent to a
vendor notifying the vendor of a job request is as follows:
To: jane@jmh.com
From: serviceprovider@emove.com
Subject: You have an eMove job. Respond within 24
hours.
Body:
A customer has requested service from you.
=
Job # 47690
Load or Unload Help
2-man crew - we can do the whole load/unload for you!
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Where & When:
Grafton, ND 12345
3 hour on Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Customer notes:
Move furniture and boxes.
Accept this job:
http://serviceprovider.emove.com/acceptjob?id=47690&vi
d=232&email-jane@jmh.com
Reject this job:
http://serviceprovider.emove.com/rejectjob?id=47690&vi
d=232&email=jane@jmh.com
... or go to http://www.emove.com/serviceprovider and
choose to either accept or reject this job. If you
accept this job, it will be scheduled and you will be
given more details. If you do not accept it within 24
hours, it will be counted as a rejection. Rejecting
too many jobs will result in bad karma!
Regards,
eMove Moving Help
End
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As shown in the text above, the e-mail is sent to the
vendor from emove.com, with links for the vendor to accept
("http://serviceprovider.emove.com/acceptjob?id=47690&vid=232&ema
il=jane@jmh.com") or reject
("http://serviceprovider.emove.com/rejectjob?id=47690&vid=232&ema
il=jane@jmh.com") the job request without having to login to the
emove.com website. As suggested in the text of the e-mail, and
as described below, the vendor may also view and accept the job
on the website once the vendor accesses the vendor's account.
Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating the process for the
vendor to access the vendor's account and retrieve job
information, including accepting or denying new job requests,
viewing currently scheduled jobs, viewing the vendor's ratings,
or requesting payment for completed jobs, according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
In step 202, the vendor logs onto the website. Figure 8a
illustrates a window where the vender provides his login
information, including a user identifier ("Email address") and a
password ("Password"), and submits that information for
validation to enter the site by clicking on the "SIGN IN" button.
If a vendor has not previously signed-up as a service provider
for emove.com, then the vendor can select the "Sign up for an
account" link to create a new account.
In step 204, the vendor has successfully logged onto the
website and is presented with the vendor's account information.
Figure 8b illustrates the window that is displayed to the vendor
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after the vendor has logged in. The display includes any new job
requests the vendor has received ("New work requests"), which in
this case is job #47690; any scheduled jobs to which the vendor
has agreed to provide service (e.g., job #47587), and a link to a
list of jobs that the vendor has completed ("Completed jobs").
The display also provides a summary of each of the jobs.
The display shown in Figure 8b also includes a summary of
the vendor's current rating based on comments and feedback
received from customers for which the vendor has previously
provided services, including a graphic that displays the
numerical summary rating using stars. In the example, as part of
a customer's feedback, the customer may award a vendor a
numerical rating ranging from "1" to "5," with a rating of 1
being the worst rating and the rating of 5 being the best rating.
The system will use an average of the numerical ratings of all
customer responses to produce the number shown in the display. A
link to the list of comments is also shown ("View comments...").
Continuing to refer to Figure 8b, and specifically the "New
work requests" section listing a new job *47690 that was
previously entered by the customer, the vendor can choose to
accept or deny the new job request by clicking on the "Accept" or
"Reject" buttons, respectively. If the vendor accepts the job
request, the customer is sent an e-mail. If the vendor rejects
the job request, the customer will receive an e-mail with a
message that the vendor has rejected the service request. The
customer may then be provided with a link in the e-mail to go
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directly to the service provider selection page¨i.e., Figure 7c,
to choose a new vendor to whom the customer will submit a service
request.
The contents of an exemplary e-mail sent to the customer
when the vendor accepts the job request is as follows:
To: jdoe@mail.com
From: movinghelp@emove.com
Subject: Load or Unload Help for 12/25/02 has been
accepted
Body:
******************************************************
Please do not reply directly to this message - use the
contact information below.
******************************************************
Dear John,
Jane's Help is happy to accept your request for
Load or Unload Help on Wednesday, December 25, 2002.
Please note that you have now pre-paid for 3
hours of our service and eMove has charged $110.00 on
your card for this job. We look forward to discussing
your needs in more detail. If you do not hear from us
within 24 hours, please call us at the phone number
below.
After the service is completed to your
satisfaction, we will need the Payment Code that
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appears below from you to make sure we are paid for
this work.
*** Payment Code: 818826 ***
Critical Information:
- Do not give the Payment Code out until after
the job is completed.
- There will be no need to pay with cash or
check, unless you exceed the amount of pre-paid
service.
- If you have further questions about the Moving
Help process, please go to
http: //www. emove. com/mh/ fag. html
- Questions that we can't answer should be
directed to custamersupport@emove.com (include the job
number, which is #47690)
Thanks for choosing us as your service provider.
We look forward to serving you.
Regards,
Jane Juniper
Jane's _Moving Help
Contact info:
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Phone: 555-555-4321
Email: jane@jmh.com
*** This email has been sent to you from eMove Moving
Help on behalf of Jane's Help. ***
End
As shown in the text above, the e-mail is sent to the
customer from emove.com on behalf of the vendor, with contact
information for the vendor listed at the end of the e-mail, which
allows vendors that do not have electronic mail capabilities to
provide services as the system sends the e-mails for coordinating
the transaction. In this case, however, the vendor is
contactable by e-mail.
The e-mail also notifies the customer that the customer has
now pre-paid for the services as a vendor has accepted the job
request. The funds are held in escrow pending completion of the
scheduled job, and will be retrieved by the vendor using the
payment code as described herein. Thus, practically, the
customer has prepaid for the services, with the funds provided by
the customer being held by emove.com until proof of the being
completed is received.
Returning to Figure 2, in step 206, the vendor accepts the
new job request for job 447690 and is presented with a
confirmation of the job being scheduled for performance by the
vendor. Figure 8c illustrates an exemplary window displayed to
the vendor listing the details of job #47690, which contains
information previously entered by the customer¨i.e., Figures 7a-
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7g. As further discussed herein, this display is also where the
vendor will enter the payment code provided by the customer once
the vendor has performed the services for which the vendor is
contracted.
In optional step 208, the vendor is presented with an
updated account display with the now accepted job request for job
#47690 being listed under the "Scheduled jobs" section. Figure
8d illustrates the updated account display for the vendor.
Listed along each job is a link to the detailed information for
the job ("View"), which the vendor can access to retrieved
detailed information¨such as the one shown in Figure 8c.
Upon the scheduled day(s) of the service, the vendor
performs the contracted for service and, upon completion of the
job, the customer provides the vendor with the payment code. In
this example, as contained in the above e-mail, the payment code
is "818826." Once the vendor receives the payment code from the
customer, remuneration may be retrieved by the vendor by going to
the emove.com website. As described below, the present invention
provides for "simultaneous" payment retrieval by the vendor and
transmittal of a review request to the customer.
Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the process for
payment retrieval by the vendor and transmission of the link to
the review being sent to the customer in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. As described, this process
occurs when the vendor has completed the job for the user and the
user has provided the vendor with a payment code. The vendor is
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then ready to retrieve the funds associated with the payment
code.
In step 302, the vendor logs onto the website and selects
the job for which the vendor desires to receive remuneration by
selecting on the "View" link for the appropriate job (e.g., job
#47690) in Figure 8d. The login process is described above in
relation to Figure 8a and the display of the (scheduled) jobs for
which the vendor may enter payment is described above in relation
to Figures 8b and 8c.
Once the vendor has navigated to the job detail screen as
shown in Figure 8c, the vendor may enter the payment code and
then clicks on the "GET PAID" button to submit the code. In
Figure 9a, the vendor has entered the payment code ("818826").
In step 306, once the payment code is verified, the system
transfers the funds to the vendor. As shown in Figure 9b, the
vendor has previously indicated that the preferred payment method
for the vendor is an electronic payment system provided by
PayPal, Inc. In addition, as further detailed below, the system
transmits a link to a review request for the job to the customer
in an e-mail.
Figure 4 illustrates the process under which the vendor is
sent payment in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention, where, in step 402, the system detects that the vendor
is requesting payment based on the submission of the payment
code. In step 404, the system determines the preferred payment
method as previously selected by the vendor, which may include,
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but is not limited to, electronic payment systems such as PayPal,
Inc.; electronic fund transfers to the vendor's bank account; or
a payment to a credit card account of the vendor. It is to be
noted that the payment may be made in a variety of mechanisms.
Once the payment mechanism has been determined, the system
effects payment in step 406.
Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process of the
system sending an e-mail to the customer once the vendor has
requested payment in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention, where, starting in step 502, it is detected
that the vendor has retrieved payment using the payment code for
the job. In step 504, it is determined whether the job has been
completed, and operation proceeds with step 506 if the job has
been completed. In step 506, it is determined whether the job is
unreviewed, and operation proceeds with step 508 if the job has
not been reviewed. If it is determined that the job is not
completed (step 504) or if it is determined that a review has
already been submitted for the job associated with the payment
code (step 506), operation will end and no message will be sent
to the customer.
In step 508, if the job is completed and no review has been
submitted for the job, then, in the preferred embodiment, the
system will construct and transmit an e-mail to the customer with
a link to a review for reviewing the vendor with respect to the
particular job. The system checks for these conditions to
prevent a customer from completing a review if the customer has
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already submitted a review for the job; or if the job has not
been "completed," with the definition of a job being completed
being equated to the vendor retrieving payment. In another
embodiment, the review may be sent to the customer in the body of
the e-mail, in which case the e-mail contains code that allow an
e-mail reader program to retrieve and display the review
automatically. For example, the e-mail may contain hypertext
markup language (HTML) code that references and displays the
review. As defined by the present invention, there is no
distinction made between code that "references" the review and
code that displays the review. Thus, the code for the link to
the review could include the code to display the review itself,
such that there would be no need to retrieve any further data
from the system to display the review.
The contents of an exemplary e-mail message sent to the
customer from emove.com is shown below:
To: jdoe@mail.com
From: movinghelp@emove.com
Subject: Get an eMove automatic refund - your comments
wanted!
Body:
Thank you for using eMove Moving Help. Your
Service Provider has been paid.
Moving families want to hear about your Load or
Unload Help experience with Jane's Help. The
transaction fee of $3.95 will automatically be
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refunded to your credit card upon your rating. It
takes only 30 seconds!
To rate Jane's Help, click on the link below or
cut and paste it into your Web browser:
http://movinghelp.emove.com/ratejob?cid=90542-
12345&email=jdoe@mail.com&id=47690
To view a receipt of your Moving Help order, go
to:
http://movinghelp.emove.com/receipt?cid=90542-
12345&email=jdoe@mail.com&id=90542
Regards,
eMove Moving Help
www.emove.com
End
In the e-mail message shown above, the link to access the
review ("http://movinghelp.emove.com/ratejob?cid=90456-
12345&email=gct@jmbm.com&id=47690") includes the customer
identifier ("cid=90456-12345"), which includes the order number
("90456") and zip code of the customer ("12345"); the e-mail
address of the customer ("e-mail=jdoe@mail.com"); and the
identifier of the job for which the review that is to be
retrieved is associated ("id=47690"). The e-mail message also
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include the link to view a receipt of the job
("http://movinghelp.emove.com/receipt?cid=90542-
12345&email=jdoe@mail.com&id=90542") includes the same
information as the link to access the review, with the difference
that the identifier relates to the order number versus the job
number. A sample receipt is shown in Figure 7g, which is
discussed above. It should be noted that the link to the review
may be of various forms, and is not limited to the specific
format or type of the uniform resource locator (URL) shown above.
The present invention, by immediately contacting the
customer as soon as the vendor retrieves payment for the vendor's
services, provides for the maximum likelihood that the customer
will submit a review for the service provided by the vendor. The
inclusion of a direct link to the review form, without the need
for the customer to login (i.e., enter a username and password),
locate, and then retrieve the review for the particular job that
was performed, reduces the number of operations that the user
must engage in to provide feedback down to a single click on the
link to the review. Also, as discussed herein, there is a
financial incentive for the user to provide feedback. Other
incentives, financial or otherwise, may be presented to the
customer and the particular form of compensation should be not
limited to the ones described herein.
Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating the process where the
customer is retrieving the review using the link provided in the
e-mail. In step 602, the system detects a request by the
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customer to retrieve the review. Based on this request, a series
of conditions are tested before the review is transmitted. In
the embodiment where the e-mail sent to the customer contains the
actual review, the conditions are tested before the customer's
response to the review is accepted. These checks are necessary
as a review should only be sent to the customer (or the response
to the review accepted) if a job has been completed by the vendor
(based on detection of the payment request), and if no evaluation
has been previously completed by the customer.
It is first determined in step 604 whether the job
associated with the review requested by the customer has been
cancelled, thereby making any results of the review inapplicable.
If the job has not been cancelled, operation continues with step
606, where it is determined if the job is actually pending and
not a "completed" job. If the job is determined to not be still
pending, operation continues with step 608, where it is
determined if payment has been retrieved by the vendor. If the
payment has been retrieved, then operation continues with step
610, where it is determined if a review has already been
submitted for the job associated with the review. If the job has
been paid, operation continues with step 612, where the review is
presented to the customer. In the embodiment where the review
has been previously transmitted, the response to the review is
accepted at this point.
If at anytime none of the conditions described above are
met such that sending the review (or receiving the response to
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the review) is valid (e.g., sending a review or receiving the
response for a job that was never completed), the system will
proceed with step 614, where the request to retrieve the review
(or to send the response) is denied. The system may display an
error message with the reason the review is not being transmitted
(or the response is not being accepted).
Figure 10a illustrates a window displaying a review
configured in one embodiment of the present invention, where a
customer may provide feedback by assigning a numerical rating to
the vendor as well as provide written comments. The review also
inquires as to how many hours out of the total of the contracted
order was actually performed. When the customer has completed
the review, the customer may click on the "submit" button to
submit the feedback. In the example that is provided, the
customer may assign a rating between 1 (lowest rating) and 5
(highest rating).
Once the response to the review is received from the
customer, the vendor's rating information is updated. In
addition, the refundable order handling fee is refunded to the
customer, preferably using the same payment mechanism with which
the customer originally paid for the services. For example, if
the customer paid for the services with a credit card, the refund
would be applied to the same credit card. Figure 10b illustrates
the window displaying a "Thank You" message to the customer once
the review has been submitted by the customer.
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Other actions may be generated by the system based on the
ratings received in the review from the customer. For example,
if there is an unusually low rating given by the customer, an e-
mail may be sent to the customer service department of the
company operating the marketplace (i.e., e-move.com) to follow-up
with the customer, as well as an e-mail to the vendor notifying
them of the low rating and encouraging the vendor to follow-up
with the customer as well. Conversely, a high rating would
warrant a congratulatory e-mail to the vendor from the company
operating the marketplace.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an online marketplace
application in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention, which is software executing on an emove.com computer
server. An online marketplace application 1102 contains four
primary software components: a customer application 1104, a
vendor application 1106, an administrative application 1108, and
an underlying layer 1110. Customer application 1104 allows the
customer to navigate through the marketplace with the
functionality of the processes described in Figures 1, 5 and 6
and provides the customer interface as described above in Figures
7a-7g, and 10a-10b. Thus, customer application 1104 provides the
functionality of selecting and paying for a service from a
particular vendor; and after the service is completed, customer
application 1104 provides the functionality for accepting
feedback and comments from the customer regarding the vendor. It
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also allows a customer to review the transactions that have been
paid for before and after a job is completed.
Vendor application 1106 provides functionality for vendors
to complete necessary tasks such as those described in Figures 2-
4 for the online marketplace. Initially, vendor application 1106
processes vendors being added to the lists maintained by the
host. Vendor application 1106 handles the login process for
vendors entering the marketplace and processes payment codes
entered by a vendor to transfer money from an escrow account to
the vendor's account. Vendor application 1106 also processes
scheduling services for the vendors and provides schedules to
vendors. Vendor application 1106 provides the user interfaces
describe in Figures 8a-8c and 9a-9b.
Administrative application 1108 allows an administrator of
the online marketplace to oversee the entire application and
perform basic administrative functions. A few examples of this
include assigning a particular city to a service area or adding a
new category of services to the services offered in the
marketplace. It also allows an administrator to access data for
analysis and creating statistics on customer behavior.
Underlying layer 1110 provides the groundwork or foundation for
the applications to function. For example, it maps the database
containing vendor and customer information, needed by the
applications to operate, and determines the overall look and feel
of the online marketplace system.
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Although the description of the invention is directed to
vendors primarily as "service" providers, the mechanisms
described above apply to vendors providing "goods" in addition to
or instead of services. Thus, the "job" number would be related
to a particular purchase of goods and the time would be related
to the time of delivery.
Moreover, it is to be noted that although the description
contained herein describes an exemplary series of steps executed
in a particular order in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention, the sequence of operations may be altered or
certain steps may be combined or cancelled in other embodiments
of the present invention. Further, certain steps may be further
divided in these other embodiments.
The system may also be implemented using a variety of
technologies other than the client-server web system described
herein. For example, the system may be implemented using a
telephone system, where vendors may review job requests; respond
to job requests; request payments; retrieve their customer
provided ratings and feedback; and otherwise perform the same
types of vendor operations using a telephone system as would be
performed using the emove.com website. In addition, customers
may receive a listing of vendors; review and select vendors for
job requests; provide payment information; revise/review job
requests; provide feedback and review for a completed job; and
otherwise perform the same types of customer operations using a
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telephone system as would be performed using the emove.com
website.
The embodiments described above are exemplary embodiments
of the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention is to be
defined solely by the scope of the following claims.
