Digital multimedia contact center with tier escalation and deescalation in response to changed criteria

• US 7,254,641 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2001
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intervoice Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Intervoice Incorporated
• Inventors: Stine, Art, Ho, Roy, Rodgers, Elizabeth, Covdy, Ivan, Broughton, Justin, Rodgers, Robert S., McCalmont, D. Thompson, McPartlan, Kevin J., Kowalski, Carl Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder; Patrice L.
• Application Number:
  US09/774,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20030018702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,380 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/206, 709/244, 370/260, 370/352, 370/356, 370/389, 370/392, 379/265.01, 379/265.05, 379/265.06, 379/265.09, 379/265.13
• US Class Current: 709/240
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

A tiered service model for a digital multimedia contact center assigns an entering contact to an initial service tier based on routing criteria for the contact and may escalate or de-escalate the contact to a different service tier if the routing criteria changes. The routing criteria is initially determined based on a media type associated with the contact. The digital multimedia contact center contains a set of media routers, each of which passes a contact of a particular media type to a workflow engine which executes workflows to direct the processing of contacts at service tiers that require agent activity. Agents are allocated to contacts by a dynamic automate contact distributor and the appropriate media router is used to route the contact to an agent. The workflow engine also executes workflows for agents to control the allocation of agents to contacts.

Claims

1. A computerized method for determining a service tier for a contact in a digital multimedia contact center, each tier having a queue, the method comprising:

determining an initial service tier for the contact based on routing criteria for the contact and placing the contact into the queue for that tier;

de-escalating the contact to a lower service tier if a change in the routing criteria does not satisfy pre-defined criteria for the initial service tier and placing the contact into the queue for the lower service tier; and

escalating the contract to a higher service tier if a change in the routing criteria satisfies pre-defined criteria for the higher service tier and placing the contact into the queue for the higher service tier.

2. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising initially determining the routing criteria based on a media type associated with the contact.

3. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising changing the routing criteria through a workflow for the contact.

4. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising changing the routing criteria based on contact activity.

5. A computer-readable medium comprising a storage device, having computer-executable instructions comprising:

receiving a contact and assigning to a queue of an initial service tier for the contact in a digital multimedia contact center based on routing criteria for the contact, wherein each tier has a queue;

de-escalating the contact to a lower service tier if a change in the routing criteria does not satisfy pre-defined criteria for the initial service tier and placing the contact into the queue for the lower service tier; and

escalating the contract to a higher service tier if a changer in the routing criteria satisfies pre-defined criteria for the higher service tier and placing the contact into the queue for the higher service tier.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 having further computer-executable instructions comprising:

initially determining the routing criteria based on a media type associated with the contact.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 having further computer-executable instructions comprising changing the routing criteria through a workflow for the contact.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 having further computer-executable instructions comprising changing the routing criteria based on contact activity.

9. A computer system comprising:

a processing unit;

a memory coupled to the processing unit through a bus; and

a service tiering process executed from the memory to cause the processing unit to determine an initial service tier having a queue for a contact in a digital multimedia contact center based on routing criteria for the contact, wherein each tier has a queue, to de-escalating the contact to a lower service tier if a change in the routing criteria does not satisfy pre-defined criteria for the initial service tier and placing the contact into the queue for the lower service tier, and to escalate the contract to a higher service tier if a change in the routing criteria satisfies pre-defined criteria for the higher service tier and placing the contact into the queue for the higher service tier.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the service tiering process further causes the processing unit to initially determine the routing criteria based on a media type associated with the contact.

11. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the service tiering process further causes the processing unit to change the routing criteria through execution of a workflow for the contact.

12. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the service tiering process further causes the processing unit to change the routing criteria based on contact activity.