Method and system for establishing a communication channel between computing devices in a customer care environment

• US 10,084,903 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2016
• Issued: 09/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conduent Business Services, LLC (Conduent, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Conduent Business Services, LLC (Conduent, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kotha, Surya Prakash, Nagarajan, Ramesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Deane, Jr., William
• Application Number:
  US15/203,875
• Publication Number:
  US 20180013874A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 37926501-26514, 37926601-2661, 379309
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/254 where the visual mode comprises menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42178 by downloading data to substation equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments illustrate method and system for establishing a communication channel between computing devices in a customer care environment. The method includes receiving a first input from a customer-computing device associated with the customer. The received first input is compared with one or more pre-stored datasets. Based on the comparison, a plurality of options corresponding to each of a plurality of levels of one or more workflows is rendered on a user interface displayed on a display screen of the customer-computing device. A second input is received for one of the rendered plurality of options. The second input is representative of at least a preference of the customer for a service associated with a workflow. Based on at least the received second input, a communication channel is established between the customer-computing device and an agent-computing device associated with the customer care agent.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a communication channel between computing devices in a customer care environment, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more transceivers at an application server hosting an application, a contact number from a customer-computing device executing the application, the customer-computing device associated with a customer, wherein the contact number corresponds to a first entity;

comparing, by one or more comparators at the application server, the received contact number with one or more pre-stored datasets, wherein the one or more pre-stored datasets include at least a plurality of contact numbers associated with a plurality of entities, the plurality of entities including the first entity, wherein each of the plurality of contact numbers is further associated with a one or more workflows;

determining, based on the comparison at the application server, that the contact number is associated with the first entity from among the plurality of entities;

retrieving, from a database coupled to the application server, a first workflow from the one or more workflows, wherein the first workflow is provided to the application server by the first entity;

rendering, by one or more processors at the application server, a plurality of options corresponding to each of a plurality of levels of the first workflow associated with the first entity on a user interface displayed on a display screen of the customer-computing device;

receiving, by the one or more transceivers at the application server, a preference of the customer for one option of the rendered plurality of options from the customer-computing device, wherein the received preference is representative of a service of one or more services associated with the first workflow; and

establishing, by the one or more processors at the application server, the communication channel between the customer-computing device and an agent-computing device associated with the first entity based on at least the received preference.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of options corresponding to each of the plurality of levels of the first workflow are rendered in a sequence defined by the first entity, wherein rendering of one or more options corresponding to a level of the one or more workflows is based on the received preference pertaining to one or more previous options corresponding to a previous level of the first workflow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication channel is established between the customer-computing device and the agent-computing device when the received preference is representative of at least a selection of the one option that corresponds to an initiation of the communication channel.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting, by the one or more processors, multimedia content item associated with the first entity from a set of multimedia content items associated with the plurality of entities, based on the received preference.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising rendering, by the one or more processors, the selected multimedia content item on the user interface based on the service associated with the first workflow.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing, by the one or more processors, the one or more workflows associated with the contact number in a local memory of the customer-computing device.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising connecting, by the one or more processors, with an interactive voice response system associated with the first entity for the rendering of the plurality of options.

8. A system for establishing a communication channel between computing devices in a customer care environment, the system comprising:

an application server configured to host an application that is executed on a customer-computing device; and

one or more processors coupled to the application server, the one or more processors being configured to;

receive a contact number from the customer-computing device, the customer-computing device associated with a customer, wherein the contact number corresponds to a first entity;

compare the received contact number with one or more pre-stored datasets, wherein the one or more pre-stored datasets include at least a plurality of contact numbers associated with a plurality of entities, the plurality of entities including the first entity, wherein each of the plurality of contact numbers is further associated with one or more workflows;

determine, based on the comparison, that the contact number is associated with the first entity from among the plurality of entities;

retrieve, from a database coupled to the application server, a first workflow from the one or more workflows, wherein the first workflow is provided to the application server by the first entity;

render a plurality of options corresponding to each of a plurality of levels of the first workflow associated with the first entity on a user interface displayed on a display screen of the customer-computing device;

receive a preference of the customer for one option of the rendered plurality of options from the customer-computing device, wherein the received preference is representative of a service of one or more services associated with the first workflow; and

establish a communication channel between the customer-computing device and an agent-computing device associated with the first entity based on at least the received preference.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of options corresponding to each of the plurality of levels of the first workflow are rendered in a sequence defined by the first entity, wherein rendering of one or more options corresponding to a level of the one or more workflows is based on the received preference pertaining to one or more previous options corresponding to a previous level of the first workflow.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the communication channel is established between the customer-computing device and the agent-computing device when the received preference is representative of at least a selection of the one option that corresponds to an initiation of the communication channel.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to select multimedia content item associated with the entity from a set of multimedia content items associated with the plurality of entities, based on the received preference.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to render the selected multimedia content item on the user interface based on the service associated with the first workflow.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to store the one or more workflows associated with the contact number in a local memory of the customer-computing device.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to connect with an interactive voice response system associated with the first entity for the rendering of the plurality of options.

15. A computer program product for use with an application server, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores a computer program code for establishing a communication channel between computing devices in a customer care environment, wherein the computer program code is executable by one or more processors in the application server to:

receive a contact number from a customer-computing device executing an application hosted by the application server, the customer-computing device being associated with a customer, wherein the contact number corresponds to a first entity;

compare the received contact number with one or more pre-stored datasets, wherein the one or more pre-stored datasets include at least a plurality of contact numbers associated with a plurality of entities, the plurality of entities including the first entity, wherein each of the plurality of contact numbers is further associated with one or more workflows;

determine, based on the comparison, that the contact number is associated with the first entity from among the plurality of entities;

retrieve, from a database coupled to the application server, a first workflow from the one or more workflows, wherein the first workflow is provided to the application server by the first entity;

render a plurality of options corresponding to each of a plurality of levels of the first workflow associated with the first entity on a user interface displayed on a display screen of the customer-computing device;

receive a preference of the customer for one option of the rendered plurality of options from the customer-computing device, wherein the received preference is representative of a service of one or more services associated with the first workflow; and

establish a communication channel between the customer-computing device and an agent-computing device associated with the first entity based on at least the received preference.