Post-termination contact management
First Claim
1. A method for servicing a transaction in a contact center, comprising:
- (a) receiving a first transaction for servicing by a contact center resource, the first transaction corresponding to a first communication with a first external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator;
(b) assigning a service priority to the first transaction, wherein the first communication is terminated after the service priority is assigned to the first transaction and before servicing of the first communication is completed;
(c) determining whether to provide special treatment to the transaction initiator, wherein special treatment includes at least one of;
(i) maintaining, relative to other later transactions, the assigned service priority for the first transaction while the first communication is disconnected and assigning the assigned service priority to a second inbound communication from the transaction initiator;
(ii) scheduling a second outbound communication to at least one external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator, wherein the second outbound communication is to be initiated before the assigned service priority is eligible for delivery to an agent;
(iii) assigning to the transaction initiator a favored service priority when the second inbound communication is received by the contact center, wherein the favored service priority is entitled to receive service in less time than a default service priority that would have been provided to the second inbound communication in the absence of special treatment being provided to the transaction initiator; and
(iv) when, during the first communication, the transaction initiator selected at least one item as part of an electronic order and the first communication was terminated before the electronic order was completed, maintaining the at least one item in memory and providing the at least one item to the transaction initiator when the transaction initiator makes a further communication with the contact center.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method for servicing a transaction in a contact center. When a communication associated with a transaction is terminated prematurely, special treatment may be provided to the transaction initiator. The special treatment includes: (a) maintaining, relative to other transactions, the assigned service priority for the transaction while the communication is disconnected and assigning the assigned service priority to a subsequent inbound communication from the transaction initiator; (b) scheduling a subsequent outbound communication to an external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator; (c) assigning to the transaction initiator a favored service priority when the subsequent inbound communication is received by the contact center; and (d) when, during the first communication, the transaction initiator selected at least one item as part of an electronic order and the first communication was terminated before the electronic order was completed, maintaining the item(s) in memory and providing the item(s) to the transaction initiator when the transaction initiator makes a further communication with the contact center.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A method for servicing a transaction in a contact center, comprising:
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(a) receiving a first transaction for servicing by a contact center resource, the first transaction corresponding to a first communication with a first external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator;
(b) assigning a service priority to the first transaction, wherein the first communication is terminated after the service priority is assigned to the first transaction and before servicing of the first communication is completed;
(c) determining whether to provide special treatment to the transaction initiator, wherein special treatment includes at least one of;
(i) maintaining, relative to other later transactions, the assigned service priority for the first transaction while the first communication is disconnected and assigning the assigned service priority to a second inbound communication from the transaction initiator;
(ii) scheduling a second outbound communication to at least one external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator, wherein the second outbound communication is to be initiated before the assigned service priority is eligible for delivery to an agent;
(iii) assigning to the transaction initiator a favored service priority when the second inbound communication is received by the contact center, wherein the favored service priority is entitled to receive service in less time than a default service priority that would have been provided to the second inbound communication in the absence of special treatment being provided to the transaction initiator; and
(iv) when, during the first communication, the transaction initiator selected at least one item as part of an electronic order and the first communication was terminated before the electronic order was completed, maintaining the at least one item in memory and providing the at least one item to the transaction initiator when the transaction initiator makes a further communication with the contact center. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A contact center for servicing a transaction, comprising:
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(a) an input operable to receive a first transaction for servicing by a contact center resource, the first transaction corresponding to a first communication with a first external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator;
(b) a selector operable to assign a service priority to the first transaction, wherein the first communication is terminated after the service priority is assigned to the first transaction and before servicing of the first communication is completed;
(c) a contact manager operable to determine whether to provide special treatment to the transaction initiator, wherein special treatment includes at least one of;
(i) maintaining, relative to other later transactions, the assigned service priority for the first transaction while the communication is disconnected and assigning the assigned service priority to a subsequent inbound communication from the transaction initiator;
(ii) scheduling a subsequent outbound communication to at least one external endpoint associated with the transaction initiator, wherein the subsequent outbound communication is to be initiated before the assigned service priority is eligible for delivery to an agent;
(iii) assigning to the transaction initiator a favored service priority when the subsequent inbound communication is received by the contact center, wherein the favored service priority is entitled to receive service in less time than a default service priority that would have been provided to the subsequent inbound communication in the absence of special treatment being provided to the transaction initiator; and
(iv) when, during the first communication, the transaction initiator selected at least one item as part of an electronic order and the first communication was terminated before the electronic order was completed, maintaining the at least one item in memory and providing the at least one item to the transaction initiator when the transaction initiator makes a further communication with the contact center. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. The contact center of claim, wherein the determining step is based on at least one of the following factors:
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(a) information associated with the transaction initiator, (b) the contact center destination of the first communication, (c) the channel and/or communication medium used by the first communication, (d) an information identifier digit associated with the first communication, (e) a Quality of Service (QoS) metric for the first communication, and (f) the contact center state at least one of when the first communication was terminated and when the subsequent inbound communication is received - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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Specification