Generalized customer profile editor for call center services

• US 5,953,406 A
• Filed: 05/20/1997
• Issued: 09/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: LaRue, David L., Ivey, James Brian, Leonard, Timothy M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zele, Krista
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wolinsky, Scott
• Application Number:
  US08/859,421
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201, 379/265, 379/266, 379/309, 379/93.24, 379/207, 379/9, 379/10, 379/15, 379/16, 379/17, 379/242
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing

Abstract

A profile editor is provided for creating and editing customer profiles. The customer profiles hold information regarding customers of a call center. Each customer profile encapsulates information regarding call flow of a call serviced by the call center on behalf of the customer. For example, a customer profile may hold product information, pricing information, shipping information, call flow information, scripts, and other information for a customer that may be used by an operator to service a call on behalf of the customer. The profile editor may also include a test operator console program to test how an operator console program that is used to assist an operator in servicing calls on behalf of a customer in the call center will use a customer profile.

Claims

1. In a computer system, a method for gathering data for a call center, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

providing a profile editor for editing a customer profile for a customer of the call center;

using the profile editor to create the customer profile for the customer, said customer profile specifying a call flow for calls to the call center for the customer;

uploading the customer profile via electronic mail over a first network;

validating data in the customer profile; and

downloading the customer profile via a second network to applications running on a plurality of agent consoles in the call center.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls in the call center and wherein the customer profile specifies a script for use by one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer sells certain items and the customer profile specifies what items the customer sells.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the customer profile contains pricing information regarding the items that the customer sells.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forwarding the customer profile to at least one additional call center.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using the profile editor to create an additional customer profile for an additional customer.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of forwarding the additional customer profile to the call center for use in the call center.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls, wherein the operators each have computers that run an application that assists the operators in servicing calls and wherein the customer profile that is forwarded to the call center is used by the application on at least one of the computers to assist one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of modifying the customer profile via the profile editor.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a test operator console program that simulates operation of one of the agent consoles; and

running the test operator program to simulate call flows for calls to the customer based on the customer profile.

11. In a computer system, a computer-readable medium holding computer-executable instructions for performing a method for gathering data for a call center, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

providing a profile editor for editing a customer profile for a customer of the call center;

using the profile editor to create the customer profile for the customer, said customer profile specifying a call flow for calls to the call center for the customer;

uploading the customer profile via electronic mail over a first network;

validating data in the customer profile; and

downloading the customer profile via a second network to applications running on a Plurality of agent consoles in the call center.

12. The computer-readable medium of claims 11 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls in the call center and wherein the customer profile specifies a script for use by one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls in the call center and wherein the customer profile specifies a script for use by one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 wherein the customer profile contains pricing information regarding the items that the customer sells.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the method further comprises the step of forwarding the customer profile to at least one additional call center.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the method further comprises the step of forwarding the additional customer profile to the call center for use in the call center.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the call center includes operators for servicing calls, wherein the operators each have computers that run an application that assists the operators in servicing calls and wherein the customer profile that is forwarded to the call center is used by the application on at least one of the computers to assist one of the operators in servicing a call for the customer.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, further comprising:

providing a test operator console program that simulates operation of one of the agent consoles; and

running the test operator program to simulate call flows for calls to the customer based on the customer profile.