Method for processing calls in a call center with automatic answering

• US 20040081309A1
• Filed: 10/29/2002
• Published: 04/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bickford, John Holden, Muterspaugh, Kevin James, Groves, Christopher Ryan
• Granted Patent: US 6,965,669 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6018 Subscriber or terminal logon/logoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5133 Operator terminal details

Abstract

In a call center with automatic answering, the availability of an agent is verified in order to prevent open connections when the agent unexpectedly leaves his or her station and fails to give proper notice. Verification may be provided by sensing speech activity of the agent when greeting a calling party or in response to an incoming-call signal. In other embodiments, verification may be provided by checking an audio device allocated to the agent, for example checking whether the agent is wearing his or her headset, or whether the headset is operably connected to the call center.

Claims

1. A method for processing calls in a call center with automatic answering, comprising the steps of:

signaling an agent with a signal;

determining whether the agent responds orally to the signal by checking for speech activity of the agent; and

if the agent responds to the signal, answering the call automatically for the agent.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal is a whisper command.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal is a zip tone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the agent responds orally to the signal by checking for speech activity includes the step of recognizing at least one word spoken by the agent.

5. A method for processing calls in a call center with automatic answering, comprising the steps of:

answering an incoming call from a calling party automatically for an agent;

determining whether the agent responds orally to the call by checking for speech activity of the agent after the call is answered; and

if the agent does not respond orally to the call, returning the call to queue.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the speech activity of the agent is addressed to the calling party.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining whether an agent responds orally to the call includes the step of recognizing at least one word spoken to the calling party by the agent.

8. A method for processing calls in a call center with automatic answering, comprising the steps of:

checking an audio device allocated to an agent to determine whether the agent is available to respond to a call;

if the agent is available, answering the call automatically for the agent;

if the agent is determined to be unavailable, returning the call to queue.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of checking an audio device includes the step of determining whether the agent is wearing a headset.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of checking an audio device includes the step of determining whether the audio device is operably connected to the call center.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the audio device is connected to the call center by a wireless transceiver, and the step of checking an audio device includes the step of determining a signal characteristic of the wireless transceiver.

12. A method for processing calls in a call center with automatic answering, comprising the steps of:

answering an incoming call automatically for an agent;

checking an audio device allocated to the agent, after the call is answered automatically, to determine whether the agent is available to respond to the call; and

if the agent is not available, returning the call to queue.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of checking an audio device includes the step of determining whether the agent is wearing a headset.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of checking an audio device includes the step of determining whether the audio device is operably connected to the call center.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the audio device is connected to the call center by a wireless transceiver, and the step of checking an audio device includes the step of determining a signal characteristic of the wireless transceiver.