System and method for facilitating services
First Claim
1. A method of facilitating services, said method comprising:
- generating listing information identifying a service provider;
making said listing information available to potential clients of said service provider; and
receiving an agreement from said service provider to use a first service-enhancing system to provide services to each client obtained as a result of said making said listing information available.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This application discloses systems and methods of facilitating communication between a service professional and a client. In one embodiment, a professional submits profile data to a service facilitator who makes the profile data available to prospective clients, and the professional agrees to use a service enhancing system to provide service to any client obtained. The professional may agree to provide payment for use of the service enhancing system, may agree not to charge the client for the use of such system, may agree to use an enhanced version of the service enhancing system in exchange for enhanced availability of the profile data, may agree to specific standards of service in exchange for making the profile data available, and/or may agree to provide periodic assurance of adherence to the specific standards, or may provide a combination of those agreements.
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Citations
78 Claims
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1. A method of facilitating services, said method comprising:
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generating listing information identifying a service provider;
making said listing information available to potential clients of said service provider; and
receiving an agreement from said service provider to use a first service-enhancing system to provide services to each client obtained as a result of said making said listing information available. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method of facilitating services, said method comprising:
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generating listing information identifying a service provider;
making said listing information available to potential clients of said service provider; and
receiving an agreement from said service provider to adhere to certain standards of care in providing services to each client obtained as a result of said making said listing information available, said certain standards being more specific, or higher, than those generally accepted or legally required to practice in the industry of said service provider. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of facilitating services, said method comprising:
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providing in a profile database profile data representing characteristics of a plurality of service providers, said profile data including identification data identifying each of said plurality of service providers;
receiving profile criteria and responsively searching said profile data for said profile criteria;
determining a portion of said profile data representing characteristics of a first of said plurality of service providers at least approximately match at least a portion of said profile criteria;
automatically generating a candidate selection prompt for a client to select said first service provider as a candidate for providing services to said client, said candidate selection prompt communicating a representation of said identification data identifying said first service provider;
receiving service summary information summarizing needed services and making said service summary information available to said first service provider;
automatically generating a prompt for said first service provider to agree to provide said needed services to said client;
providing a computer-based service module for use in providing services to said client or reporting the status of said services, said computer-based service module accessible by said client and said first service provider; and
receiving a payment from said first service provider. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. Status data representing past and current statuses of services rendered by a service provider, said status data comprising:
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historic status data representing at least one non-current status of services rendered by a service provider, said historic status data accessible by a computer for read only viewing; and
current status data representing a current status of said services rendered by said service provider, said current status data accessible by a computer for read only viewing and accessible for a predetermined time for modification by said service provider, said predetermined time shorter than the time remaining to complete the rendering of said services.
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54. Status data representing past and current statuses of services rendered by a service provider, said status data comprising:
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historic service data descriptive of services rendered or to be rendered by a service provider, said historic service data accessible by a computer for read only viewing; and
current service data descriptive of services rendered or to be rendered by said service provider, said current service data more recent than said historic service data, said current service data accessible by a computer for read only viewing and accessible for a predetermined time for modification by a client of said service provider, said predetermined time shorter than the time remaining to complete the rendering of said services.
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55. A service system facilitating the rendering of services, comprising:
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profile data representing characteristics of a plurality of service providers, said profile data stored on a first computer-readable medium;
a search engine responsive to search criteria to search said profile data for portions of said profile data at least approximately matching said search criteria and to generate result data identifying service providers corresponding to said at least approximately matched portions of said profile data, said result data formatted for presentation, said search engine comprising instructions executable by a processor;
a communication module making available to a client said result data, said communication module receiving candidate data representing a candidate set of service providers comprising one or more of said service providers identified by said result data, said communication module receiving and storing said service summary data representing needed services and making said service summary data available to each of said candidate set of service providers;
a case communication module receiving status data from a selected service provider selected from said candidate set of service providers, said status data representing a status of services provided by said selected service provider, said case communication module storing said status data and making said status data available to said client; and
a billing module generating a request for payment from said selected service provider. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. A computer-based services system, comprising:
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a message archive storing on a first computer-readable medium message timing data representing a date and a time of at least one message sent from a service provider to a client or from a client to a service provider;
an update timer comprising instructions stored on a second computer-readable medium, said instructions executable by a processor to access said message timing data to determine a latest message time corresponding to the most recent of said at least one messages and to calculate a response time by comparing said latest message time and a current time; and
a message generator automatically generating a warning message when said response time is greater than a predetermined response time. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A system for facilitating services, said system comprising:
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means for representing with computer-readable data characteristics of and identification of a service provider;
means for allowing potential clients to search said characteristics over a computer network and receive a representation of data identifying said service provider; and
means for receiving agreement from said service provider to use a communication-enhancing system to provide services to each client obtained via said means for allowing potential clients to search said characteristics.
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75. A system for facilitating services, said system comprising:
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means for representing with computer-readable data characteristics of and identification of a service provider;
means for allowing potential clients to search said characteristics over a computer network and receive a representation of data identifying said service provider; and
means for receiving a representation from said service provider that said service provider meets certain minimum experience requirements, said experience requirements being more specific, or higher, than those generally accepted or legally required to practice in the industry of said service provider.
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76. A method of facilitating services, said method comprising:
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a step for providing in a profile database profile data representing characteristics of a plurality of service providers, said profile data including identification data identifying each of said plurality of service providers;
a step for using profile criteria to search said profile data and at least approximately match at least a portion of said profile criteria to characteristics of a first of said plurality of service providers;
a step for communicating an intent of said client to hire said service provider to provide services to said client;
a step for providing a computer network-based service module for use in providing said services to said client or reporting the status of said services, said computer network-based service module accessible by said client and said service provider; and
a step for receiving an agreement from said service provider to use said computer-based service module in providing services to said client. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78)
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Specification