Method and system for automated customer support services

• US 6,542,601 B1
• Filed: 04/16/1999
• Issued: 04/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: WorldCom, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Mir, Kamran, Hernandez, David
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US09/293,666
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.01, 379/266.01, 379/309, 379/91.01, 379/93.03, 379/113, 379/114
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

A system and method for accepting customer calls for product related services and directing these calls to an appropriate customer care center. The system contains a customer support network and a customer transaction database for storing a plurality of product information and vendor/customer data. A transaction processor is arranged to process calls routed through the network and determine the appropriate call center for a particular customer from the entry of a customer personal identification number provided to the customer. The number accompanies a telephone access number. Both numbers may be imprinted on a support card.

Claims

1. A system for receiving customer telephone calls for product and customer related services and routing the calls to pre-selected customer care centers, said system comprising in combination:

a customer support card for displaying an access telephone number and a personal identification number (PIN), said support card associated with said product; and

a switched network, for receiving at least one telephone call placed by dialing said access telephone number, said network further comprising at least one database for storing customer and product information therein, and said network facilitating the routing of said telephone call based on said customer and product information to at least one of said pre-selected customer care centers.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a call center in telecommunication with said switched network, said call center providing said customer and product support services, and said call center receiving said routed telephone call.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said network further comprises a central intelligent bridge switch for electronically connecting a plurality of network elements and said at least one databases, and said bridge switch facilitating routing of said telephone call to a call center, said call center providing said customer and product support services.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said plurality of network elements further comprise:

an originating switch (OSW) positioned within said network for initially receiving said telephone call after said telephone call is made by said customer and selective routing said telephone call to other network elements;

an internal routing platform (DAP) comprising a DAP database for storing network call routing data therein, said DAP positioned within said network so as to facilitate transmission of select network routing data with said OSW so as to further facilitate said selective routing;

a switching service control point (SSCP) for facilitating voice interaction and receipt of information from said customer via said telephone call and generating queries for information, said SSCP positioned within said network so as to receive said routed telephone call, generate said queries to said customer via said telephone call, receive said information from said customer and selectively communicate with other network elements;

a service data point (SDP) comprising a SDP database for storing information therein, said SDP positioned within said network so as to facilitate transmission of SDP data stored in said SDP database to said SSCP in response to selective queries from said SSCP;

a call detail platform (CDP) comprising a CDP database for storing CDP data therein, said CDP positioned within said network so as to facilitate gathering of network data related to network traffic and storing said network data in said CDP database; and

a terminating switch (TSW) positioned within said network for facilitating routing of said call from said network to said call center.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein said network is configured such that a telephone call received at said OSW is routed to said bridge switch based on information obtained by said OSW from said DAP, said telephone call is then routed from said bridge switch to said SSCP wherein said customer is queried by said SSCP and routing information is gathered from said SDP based on customer responses to said customer queries, said telephone call is then routed from said SSCP to said TSW based on said routing information;

and said telephone call is routed from said TSW to said call center.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein said SSCP further comprises:

a database for storing customer account data and voice prompts data therein;

an interactive voice response unit for generating voice prompts to said customer over a telephone connection effected by said telephone call;

first means for detecting and interpreting human voice or said dial tone manufactured frequencies generated by said customer over said telephone connection;

second means for creating second data based on comparing said detected and interpreted dial tone with said customer account data stored in said database; and

third means for routing said call, second data, customer and product information to said SDP.

7. The system according to claim 4, wherein said SDP data stored in said SDP database includes call routing information and customer and product identification.

8. The system according to claim 4, wherein said network data relates to usage time and incident number of customer access to said network.

9. The system according to claim 3, wherein said bridge switch further includes a processor, in electrical communication therewith, said processor providing processing intelligence for said bridge switch.

10. The system according to claim 4, said telephone access number is a toll free number.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

said call center further comprises a computer telephone integration unit for providing customer and product identification to a select operator within said center contemporaneously with routing said telephone call to said operator; and

said PIN further identifies an expiration date after which said PIN is no longer accepted by the system.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein said call center further comprises an automatic call distribution unit for routing calls received by said call center to agents.

13. A method of making a system for providing customer and product support services from a call center, including the steps of:

(a) providing a customer with a telephone access number and a personal identification number (PIN), said telephone access number facilitating remote access to a telecommunications network and said PIN identifying said customer and said product; and

(b) programming said network to provide remote access by a customer to said center, said center staffed by agents providing said customer with said support services.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said step of providing further includes providing the customer with a support card, said card having said telephone access number and PIN imprinted thereon.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein said PIN further identifies a number of incidents of accessing said network.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said number of incidents is stored in a database in said network;

and access to said network is limited to a number of incidents.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of providing the customer the option to acquire additional incidents.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein said center further comprises a computer telephone integration unit for providing customer and product identification to said center while said remote access is being routed to said center.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein said network further comprises a central intelligent bridge switch connecting an originating switch (OSW), a terminating switch (TSW), a switching service control point (SSCP), a service data point (SDP), a call detail platform (CDP), and an internal routing platform (DAP) for routing a customer telephone call to said center via said network.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein:

said OSW is positioned within said network for initially receiving said telephone call after said telephone call is made by said customer and selective routing said telephone call to other network elements;

said DAP comprises a DAP database for storing network call routing data therein, said DAP positioned with said network so as to facilitate transmission of select network routing data with said OSW so as to further facilitate said selective routing;

said SSCP facilitating voice interaction and receipt of information from said customer via said telephone call and generating queries for information, said SSCP positioned within said network so as to receive said routed telephone call, generate said queries to said customer via said telephone call, receive said information from said customer and selectively communicate with other network elements, and said SSCP further comprising a database for storing customer account data and voice prompts data therein, an interactive voice response unit for generating voice prompts to said customer over a telephone connection effected by said telephone call, first means for detecting and interpreting said dial tone manufactured frequencies generated by said customer over said telephone connection, second means for comparing said detected and interpreted dial tone with said customer data stored in said database, and third means for routing said call, second data, and customer and product information to said SDP;

said SDP comprising a SDP database for storing information therein, said SDP positioned within said network so as to facilitate transmission of SDP data stored in said SDP database to said SSCP in response to selective queries from said SSCP, and said SDP data stored in said SDP database including call routing information and customer and product identification;

said CDP comprising a CDP database for storing CDP data therein, said CDP positioned within said network so as to facilitate gathering of network data related to network traffic and storing of said network data in said CDP database, and said network data relate to usage time and incident number of customer access to said network;

said TSW positioned within said network for facilitating routing of said call from said network to said call center; and

said network is configured such that said telephone call received at said OSW is routed to said bridge switch based on information obtained by said OSW from said DAP;

said telephone call is then routed from said bridge switch to said SSCP wherein said customer is queried by said SSCP and routing information is gathered from said SDP based on customer responses to said customer queries, said telephone call is then routed from said SSCP to said TSW based on said routing information, and said telephone call is routed from said TSW to said call center.

21. The method according to claim 13, wherein said PIN further identifies an expiration date after which said PIN no longer provides identification of said customer and said product.

22. Method according to claim 14, wherein said PIN further identifies an expiration date after which said PIN no longer provides identification of said customer and said product.

23. A system for receiving customer telephone calls for product and customer related services and routing the calls to preselected customer call centers, said system comprising:

a customer support card for displaying an access telephone number and a personal identification number (PIN), said support card associated with said product;

a customer support communication network for receiving and facilitating routing of telephone calls resulting from dialing of said access telephone number;

a transaction processor for processing and routing said telephone calls received by said network, said transaction processor communicably linked to said customer support communication network, said processor identifying appropriate customer call center for said telephone calls received by said network and facilitating the routing of said telephone calls to said appropriate call centers; and

at least one database for storing product, vendor, customer and customer call center data, said database communicably linked to said transaction processor such that said transaction processor queries said database for data when said transaction processor processes and routes said telephone calls.

24. The system according to claim 23, further comprising an interactive voice recognition application (IVR) communicably connected to said customer support communication network and said transaction processor, said IVR receiving and routing said telephone calls to said transaction processor.

25. The system according to claim 24 wherein said IVR further queries a dialer of said access number for and receives entry of said PIN and said queries are routed to said transaction processor for matching against a data list stored a within said at least one database.

26. The system according to claim 25, further comprising a second database, communicably linked to said IVR, said second database receiving and retrievably storing customer information from said IVR, said customer information including customer identification information and PIN.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein said customer information includes by the IVR, expiration dates for PINs and incidents numbers for customers identified by said PINs.

28. The system according to claim 24, further comprising at least one computer telephone integration (CTI) communicably linked between said network and said customer call center such that said CTI receives information from said network and facilitates communication of said information to said customer call center.

29. The system according to claim 23, wherein said support card is provided to said customer when said customer acquires said product.

30. The system according to claim 23, wherein said support card is made available to said customer in a distinct transaction from said product being made available to said customer.

31. The system according to claim 23, wherein said telephone access number is a dedicated 800 number.

32. The system according to claim 23, wherein said transaction processor is configured to determine the incident number corresponding to a specific customer and said incident number is stored in said first or second database.

33. The system according to claim 32, wherein said transaction processor is configured to reject calls after a predetermined threshold number of incidents has been reached.

34. The system according to claim 33, wherein said transaction processor is configured to reject calls after the number of incidents is exhausted.

35. A method of providing customer support services to a customer having a customer support card by programming and configuring a switched network to perform the following steps:

(a) receiving a call from a customer who has dialed a telephone access number and said telephone access number associated with said support card;

(b) prompting the customer to enter a PIN and said PIN associated with said support card;

(c) detecting and routing said PIN to a transaction processor for said transaction processor determination of validity of said PIN;

(d) determining an appropriate call center for said PIN if said PIN is valid; and

(e) routing the call to said call center.

36. The method according to claim 35, further comprising the following step:

(f) providing the customer with a support card, said support card having said telephone access number and said personal identification number (PIN) imprinted on said support card.

37. The method according to claim 35, wherein said transaction processor is communicably linked with a first database containing lists of valid PINs.

38. The method according to claim 35, wherein step (b) further comprises the step of:

(b1) playing a greeting to the customer using an interactive voice response (IVR).

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein step (b) further comprises the steps of:

(b2) using DTMF detection means to determine if a PIN was entered;

(b3) repeating the step of prompting the customer for entry of PIN if no PIN was detected;

(b4) repeating steps (b2)-(b3) up to three times if no PIN was detected; and

(b5) playing an error message and disconnecting said call if no DTMF is detected at the third performance of step (b2).

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein step (b) further comprises the steps of:

(b6) using said IVR to playback said entered PIN to said customer;

(b7) prompting said customer to verify said playback PIN matches said entered PIN;

(b8) repeating the step of prompting the caller to enter said PIN, if the caller indicates that said playback PIN does not match said entered PIN;

(b9) repeating steps (b6)-(b8) at least three times if the caller indicates at step (b8) that the playback PIN does not match said entered PIN; and

(b10) playing an error message and disconnecting the call if no DTMF is detected at the third performance of step (b6).

41. The method according to claim 35, wherein step (c) further comprises the steps of:

(c1) determining if the caller is a first time caller; and

(c2) commencing support card activation if the caller is determined to be a first time caller.

42. The method according to claim 35, wherein further comprising the steps of:

(g) identifying at least one product associated with said customer based on said verified PIN,

(h) identifying said customer based on said verified PIN identification; and

(i) forwarding the identifications of steps (g) and (h) to said call service center with said call when said call is forwarded to said call service center.

43. The method according to claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

(j) identifying a number of incidents for said customer based on said verified PIN;

(k) routing said call to said call center if said number exceeds a minimum number of incidents for said customer; and

(l) routing said call to a support card customer service center agent if said number does not exceed a minimum number of incidents for said customer.

44. The method according to claim 43, further comprising the step of:

(m) displaying said verified PIN to said agent.

45. The method according to claim 43, further comprising the step of:

(n1) decrementing the incident count if the customer is routed to said customer call center.

46. The method according to claim 45, further comprising the steps of:

(n2) decrementing the incident count if said call is handled by a live agent and the customer is satisfied with said customer support services.

47. The method according to claim 43, wherein step (l), further comprises the steps of:

(l1) establishing a connecting between said agent and said transaction processor;

(l2) requesting an administrator password and authenticating said password;

(l3) requesting said PIN;

(l4) authenticating said PIN;

(l5) indicating to said agent the number of incidents remaining for said PIN;

(l6) requesting a new number of incidents for said PIN;

(l7) authenticating said new number of incidents;

(l8) changing said number of incidents remaining to said new number of incidents

(l9) requesting another PIN; and

(l10) repeating steps (l1) through (l9) if another PIN is entered; and

(l11) terminating said connection if another PIN is not entered.