System and method for developing and utilizing a contactability profile

• US 10,248,917 B1
• Filed: 10/14/2005
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Capital One Services LLC (Capital One Financial Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Capital One Services LLC (Capital One Financial Corporation)
• Inventors: Reynolds, Anthony Paul, Welker, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett, Jonathan G
• Application Number:
  US11/251,331
• Time in Patent Office: 4,918 Days
• Field of Search: 705 10, 705 711- 742, 12 10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/14 Delay circuits; Timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/22 Synchronisation circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2072 Schedules, e.g. personal calendars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server

Abstract

Systems and methods for developing and utilizing a contactability profile are disclosed. Contact information may be managed by receiving activity data associated with an entity, processing the received activity data, generating at least one contactability profile associated with the entity based upon a result of the processing, and storing the generated contactability profile.

Claims

1. A system for improving call center efficiency based on a contactability profile of an entity, comprising:

at least one memory configured to store data and instructions;

at least one processing unit configured to access the at least one memory and execute the instructions, causing the at least one processing unit to;

generate a contactability profile of an entity by;

receiving, from a transaction system, transaction card usage data associated with the entity, the transaction card usage data comprising a transaction date and time and a transaction channel associated with each of a plurality of transactions;

receiving, from a plurality of data sources, internet usage data associated with the entity'"'"'s access to a plurality of webpages, the internet usage data comprising an access time and an access channel for each of the plurality of webpages;

extrapolating, by a discriminator controlling a plurality of data enhancers and based on the transaction card usage data and internet usage data, contactability data including both contactable times and channels and non-contactable times and channels;

filtering the contactability data to remove conflicting contactability data indicating that the entity is both contactable and noncontactable at a same period of time; and

calculating, based on the filtered contactability data, a plurality of probabilities that the entity will be available for contact at a respective specified time and via one or more communication channels,

store, in the at least one memory, the contactability profile including a block of time indicating a calculated probability that the entity will be available at a specified time and via a specified channel;

and

a call generator system configured to;

receive the contactability profile of the entity;

schedule a telephone call during the block of time provided by the contactability profile;

dial a telephone number provided in the contactability profile during the block of time;

detect that the telephone call is answered by the entity; and

connect a user to the answered telephone call.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive a transaction card usage data record representative of an authorization request;

process the transaction card usage data record to identify contactability information or noncontactability information; and

update a first contactable data block of the plurality of selectable blocks based on the identified contactability and noncontactability information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive an update to the transaction card usage data or the internet usage data; and

modify one or more of the plurality of selectable time blocks based on the update.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive, as part of the transaction card usage data or the internet usage data, location information indicative of a location where transaction card usage or the internet usage occurred.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the received location information is associated with a primary residence of the entity and the contactability or noncontactability data indicates whether the entity is available for contact at the primary residence.

6. A system for improving call center efficiency based on a contactability profile of an entity, comprising:

at least one memory configured to store data and instructions; and

at least one processing unit configured to access the at least one memory and execute the instructions, causing the at least one processing unit to;

generate a contactability profile of an entity by;

receiving, from a transaction system, transaction card usage data associated with the entity, the transaction card usage data comprising a transaction date and time and a transaction channel associated with each of a plurality of transactions;

receiving, from a plurality of data sources, internet usage data associated with the entity'"'"'s access to a plurality of webpages, the internet usage data comprising an access time and an access channel for each of the plurality of webpages;

extrapolating, by a discriminator controlling a plurality of data enhancers and based on the transaction card usage data and internet usage data, contactability data including both contactable times and channels and non-contactable times and channels;

filtering the contactability data to remove conflicting contactability data indicating that the entity is both contactable and noncontactable at a same period of time; and

calculating, based on the filtered contactability data, a plurality of probabilities that the entity will be available for contact at a respective specified time and via one or more communication channels, wherein the contactability profile includes a block of time for the entity, indicating a calculated probability that the entity will be available at a specified time and via a specified channel;

store, in the at least one memory, the contactability profile; and

a call generator system configured to;

receive the contactability profile of the entity;

schedule a telephone call during the block of time provided by the contactability profile;

dial a telephone number provided in the contactability profile during the block of time;

detect that the telephone call is answered by the entity; and

connect a user to the answered telephone call.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

identify, using the contactability profile, a plurality of times and a plurality of channels in which the entity is contactable; and

generate, using a contact plan generator, a contact plan comprising instructions to contact the entity at the plurality of times and via the plurality of channels.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the contact plan further comprises information indicative of whether contacting the entity at the plurality of times and via the plurality of channels is economically advantageous.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive, via the interface, an indication of a request to contact the entity using a second channel of the one or more communication channels; and

generate, using a contact plan generator and using on the contactability profile, a contact plan comprising one or more time and date options for contacting the entity using the second channel.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive, via the interface, an indication of a request to generate a contact schedule to contact a plurality of entities;

generate, using a schedule generator and using a plurality of contactability profiles associated with a plurality of entities, a contact calendar comprising indications to contact respective entities of the plurality of entities at respective time and over respective channels; and

output, via the interface, a representation of the contact calendar.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

determine that the contactability data indicates a contactable time and channel on the same date as the transaction card usage data or internet usage data; and

output, via the interface, a selectable prompt to contact the entity at the indicated contactable time and channel.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive a transaction card usage data record representative of an authorization request;

process the transaction card usage data record to identify contactability information or noncontactability information; and

update a first contactable data block of the plurality of selectable blocks based on the identified contactability and noncontactability information.

13. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive an update to the transaction card usage data or the internet usage data; and

update one or more of the plurality of selectable time blocks based on the update.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive, as part of the transaction card usage data or the internet usage data, location information indicative of a location where the transaction card usage or the internet usage occurred.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the received location information is associated with a primary residence of the entity and the contactability or noncontactability data indicates whether the entity is available for contact at the primary residence.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at last one processing unit is further configured to:

contact the entity at the primary residence based on the contactability data indicating that the entity is available at the primary residence, the primary residence being associated with the first channel.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the at last one processing unit is further configured to:

contact the entity away from the primary residence based on the contactability data indicating that the entity is remote from the primary residence, the primary residence being unassociated with the first channel.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, further causes the at least one processing unit to:

receive the transaction card usage data record based on an authorization request;

process the transaction card usage data to identify contactability information or noncontactability information; and

update a first contactable data block of the plurality of selectable blocks based on the identified contactability and noncontactability information.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein

the received location information is associated with a primary residence of the entity and the contactability or noncontactability data indicates whether the entity is available for contact at the primary residence, and

the at last one processing unit is further configured to contact the entity at the primary residence based on the contactability data indicating that the entity is available at the primary residence, the primary residence being associated with the first channel.

18. A system for improving call center efficiency based on a contactability profile of an entity, comprising:

at least one memory configured to store data and instructions; and

at least one processing unit configured to access the at least one memory and execute the instructions, causing the at least one processing unit to;

generate a contactability profile of an entity by;

receiving, from a transaction system, transaction card usage data associated with the entity, the transaction card usage data comprising a transaction date and time, transaction location, and a transaction channel associated with each of a plurality of transactions;

receiving, from a plurality of data sources, internet usage data associated with the entity'"'"'s access to a plurality of webpages, the internet usage data comprising an access time and an access channel for each of the plurality of webpages;

extrapolating, by a discriminator controlling a plurality of data enhancers and based on the transaction card usage data and internet usage data, contactability data including both contactable times and channels and non-contactable times and channels;

filtering the contactability data to remove conflicting contactability data indicating that the entity is both contactable and noncontactable at a same period of time; and

calculating, based on the filtered contactability data, a plurality of probabilities that the entity will be available for contact at a respective specified time and via one or more communication channels;

wherein

store, in the at least one memory, the contactability profile;

determine that the contactability data indicates a contactable time and channel on a same date as the transaction card usage data or internet usage data;

determine a first block of time to contact the entity based on the contactability data; and

a call generator system configured to;

receive the contactability profile of the entity;

schedule a telephone call during the first block of time;

dial a telephone number provided in the contactability profile during the first block of time;

detect that the telephone call is answered by the entity; and

connect a user to the answered telephone call.