Technique for providing information assistance including a concierge-type service
First Claim
1. A method for providing a concierge-type service at a service provider comprising:
- (a) receiving a call at the service provider from a caller;
(b) directing the call to an agent;
(c) receiving a request for a concierge-type service relating to an unidentified vendor from the caller;
(d) automatically determining information related to said request;
(e) using said information to identify an appropriate vendor; and
(f) acting to fulfill said request as a function of said appropriate vendor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user may access information assistance for a concierge-type service, whereby the user may make restaurant reservations, purchase goods and services, obtain movie listings, etc. with an agent'"'"'s (or operator'"'"'s) assistance. In accordance with the invention, the agent may suggest a vendor for providing the goods or services requested by the user, and attempt to fulfill the user request. The suggested vendor may be one of the preferred vendors pre-selected by the user; it may be one of the preferred vendors pre-selected by a group to which the user belongs; it may be one of the preferred vendors pre-selected by the provider of the concierge-type service; and it may be one of the preferred vendors pre-selected by a telephone carrier to which the user subscribes. The suggested vendor may also be a function of characteristics of the vendors that the user prefers, costs, etc. The invention resolves conflicts of preferences of different parties involved to come up with the suggested vendor.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for providing a concierge-type service at a service provider comprising:
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(a) receiving a call at the service provider from a caller;
(b) directing the call to an agent;
(c) receiving a request for a concierge-type service relating to an unidentified vendor from the caller;
(d) automatically determining information related to said request;
(e) using said information to identify an appropriate vendor; and
(f) acting to fulfill said request as a function of said appropriate vendor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for selecting a vendor with which to attempt to fulfill a service request, comprising:
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(a) receiving first vendor selection criteria from a user in conjunction with a user request;
(b) accessing stored second vendor selection criteria;
(c) determining if one or more inconsistencies exist between two or more vendor selection criteria;
(d) if no such inconsistencies exist, fulfilling said first request as a function of third vendor selection criteria; and
(e) otherwise, if said one or more inconsistencies exist, obtaining information from which said inconsistencies can be resolved, and fulfilling said user request as a function of fourth vendor selection criteria and said information. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification