Universal multi-browser interface for customer service representatives

• US 7,623,650 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2004
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Vanguard Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: The Vanguard Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Lanyon, Saundra K., Dowds, Jeffrey E., Dalton, Richard, Krauss, Catherine B., Lehman, James G., Dalton, John W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quynh H
• Application Number:
  US10/910,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,939 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.01, 379/265.02, 379/265.09, 379/266.1, 379/309, 705/1
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for providing customer service, comprising providing an external user interface (UI) remotely accessible by customers via a global computer information network; providing an internal UI accessible by call-center customer service representatives (CSRs); retrieving from databases and displaying information on the internal and external UIs; automatically storing information entered via the internal UI and information entered via the external UI in the databases; and receiving and automatically processing instructions entered via the internal UI and instructions entered via the external UI. The internal and external UI each include a shared website browser that displays information in a specific format, has a specific functionality, and receives information for processing. The internal UI also comprises one or more limited access browsers accessible only by the CSR, including a client search and/or data display browser; a contact history browser; a customer needs assessment browser, or a combination thereof.

Claims

1. A method for providing customer service by a service provider, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing via a computer system an external user interface remotely accessible by a plurality of customers via a global computer information network, the external user interface comprising a shared website browser that displays information in a specific format, has a specific functionality, and receives information entered by the customers for processing;

(b) supplying via a computer system an internal user interface accessible by a plurality of call-center customer service representatives (CSRs), the internal user interface comprising a plurality of browsers and access to an integrated computerized work distribution system displayed on a computerized desktop, the internal user interface comprising (i) the shared website browser that displays information in the specific format, has the specific functionality, and receives information entered by the CSRs for processing, (ii) one or more limited access browsers accessible only by the CSRs, the one or more limited access browsers configured to provide;

a client search function that allows the CSRs to locate computerized records for the customers;

a client data function that displays information about the customers;

a contact history function that displays previous contacts to the service provider by the customers;

a customer needs assessment function that displays information for assisting the CSRs in conversing with the customers;

or a combination thereof, and (iii) access to images of paper-based documents including mail correspondence;

(c) displaying information retrieved from one or more databases on the internal user interface and the external user interface, including displaying critical information about the customers in the shared website browser of only the CSRs, said critical information highlighted relative to information viewable by both the customers and the CSRs;

(d) automatically storing in the one or more databases information entered via the internal user interface and information entered via the external user interface; and

(e) receiving and automatically processing transaction instructions entered via the internal user interface and transaction instructions entered via the external user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the contact history function displays information regarding previous telephone calls, website transactions, and mail correspondence with the service provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the critical information includes customer address, customer social security number, and customer phone number information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of limited access browsers are further configured to provide a client data function that displays the critical information about the customers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the client search function and the client data function are integrated together in a single browser.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared website browser displays information about client preferences regarding set-up of the user interface of the customer, such client preference information viewable only by the CSRs.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the needs assessment function displays prompts for engaging the customers in a dialogue for identifying additional needs of the customers that may be serviceable by the CSRs.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provider is a provider of financial services.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared website browser is also accessible by mail-processing CSRs.

10. The method of claim 9, the method steps further comprising:

(f) the internal user interface automatically populating the shared website browser and the one or more limited access browsers with client information based upon information automatically communicated from the computerized work distribution system.

11. The method of claim 9, the method steps further comprising:

(f) automatically navigating the internal user interface shared website browser to one of a plurality of selected menus or screens within the shared website browser based upon the information received from the computerized work distribution system.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the internal user interface provides display screens for the computerized work distribution system overlaid upon the shared website browser and the plurality of limited access browsers, when the computerized work distribution system is activated.

13. A method for providing customer service for a financial services provider, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing via a computer system an external user interface remotely accessible by customers via a global computer information network, the external user interface comprising a shared website browser that displays information in a specific format, has a specific functionality, and receives information entered by customers for processing;

(b) supplying via a computer system an internal user interface accessible by one or more call-center customer service representatives (CSRs), the internal user interface comprising a plurality of browsers and access to an integrated computerized work distribution system displayed on a computerized desktop, the internal user interface comprising (i) the shared website browser that displays information in the specific format, has the specific functionality, and receives information entered by the CSRs for processing, the shared website browser displaying, in addition to information viewable by the customers, critical information about the customers viewable only by the CSRs, said critical information highlighted relative to information viewable by both the customers and the CSRs, (ii) an integrated client search and client data function that allows the CSRs to access and display critical information about a selected customer;

(iii) a contact history function that displays previous telephone calls, website transactions, and mail correspondence with the service provider by the selected customer;

(iv) access to images of paper-based documents including mail correspondence; and

, optionally, (v) a customer needs assessment function that displays information for assisting the CSRs in conversing with the selected customer;

(c) retrieving from one or more databases and displaying information on the internal user interface and the external user interface;

(d) automatically storing information entered via the internal user interface and information entered via the external user interface, in the one or more databases; and

(e) receiving and automatically processing transaction instructions entered via the internal user interface and transaction instructions entered via the external user interface.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the internal user interface is also accessible by mail-processing CSRs and integrated with the computerized work distribution system, the method steps further comprising:

(f) automatically populating the internal user interface shared website browser and the one or more limited access browsers with client information based upon information automatically communicated from the computerized work distribution system; and

(g) automatically navigating the internal user interface shared website browser window to one of a plurality of selected menus or screens within the shared website browser based upon the information received from the computerized work distribution system.

15. A computerized system for facilitating interaction with a caller to a call-center of a service provider, the system comprising:

means for providing an external user interface remotely accessible by customers via a global computer information network, the external user interface comprising a shared website browser that displays information in a specific format, has a specific functionality, and receives information entered by customers for processing;

means for supplying an internal user interface accessible by one or more call-center customer service representatives (CSRs), the internal user interface comprising a plurality of browsers and access to an integrated computerized work distribution system accessible on a computer desktop, the internal user interface comprising (i) the shared website browser that displays information in the specific format, has the specific functionality, and receives information entered by the one or more CSRs for processing, the shared website browser configured to display, in addition to information viewable by the customers, critical information about the customers viewable only by the CSRs, said critical information highlighted relative to information viewable by both the customers and the CSRs, (ii) one or more limited access browsers accessible only by the one or more CSRs, the one or more limited access browsers configured to provide;

a client search function that allows the one or more CSRs to locate computerized records for a selected one of the customers;

a client data function that displays information about the selected customer;

a contact history function that displays previous contacts with the service provider by the selected customer;

a dialogue-prompting function that displays suggested dialogue for use by the one or more CSRs in conversing with the selected customer;

or a combination thereof, and (iii) access to images of paper-based documents including mail correspondence;

means for storing one or more databases accessible by the internal user interface and the external user interface, from which information is retrieved and displayed by the external user interface and the internal user interface and in which information entered via the internal user interface and information entered via the external user interface, is automatically stored; and

means for receiving and automatically processing transaction instructions entered via the internal user interface and transaction instructions entered via the external user interface.

16. The computerized system of claim 15, wherein the internal user interface is accessible to both call-center and mail-processing CSRs and is integrated with the computerized work distribution system, the system further comprising:

(f) means for automatically populating the internal user interface shared website browser and the one or more limited access browsers with client information based upon information automatically communicated from the computerized work distribution system; and

(g) means for automatically navigating the internal user interface shared website browser to one of a plurality of selected menus or screens within the shared website browser based upon the information received from the computerized work distribution system.

17. A computer system for facilitating interaction with a caller to a customer service call center, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memory media accessible by the one or more processors, the memory media containing one or more databases and containing instructions for controlling the processor, the instructions causing the processor to effect steps of;

(a) providing an external user interface remotely accessible by customers via a global computer information network, the external user interface comprising a shared website browser that displays information in a specific format, has a specific functionality, and allows entry of information by the customers for processing;

(b) providing an internal user interface comprising a plurality of browsers and access to an integrated computerized work distribution system accessible on a computer desktop of a customer service representative (CSR), the internal user interface comprising (i) the shared website browser that displays information in the specific format, has the specific functionality, and receives information entered by the customer for processing, (ii) one or more limited access browsers accessible only by the CSR, the one or more limited access browsers configured to provide;

a client search function that allows the CSR to locate computerized records for the customers;

a client data function that displays information about the customers;

a contact history function that displays previous contacts by the customers;

a customer needs assessment function that displays information for assisting the CSR in conversing with the customers;

or a combination thereof, and (iii) access to images of paper-based documents including mail correspondence;

(c) retrieving from the one or more databases and displaying information on the internal user interface, external user interface, or both, including displaying client data comprising critical information about the customers in the shared website browser of only the CSR, said critical information highlighted relative to information viewable by both the customers and the CSR;

(d) automatically storing information entered via the internal user interface and information entered via the external user interface in the one or more databases; and

(e) receiving and automatically processing transaction instructions entered via the internal user interface and transaction instructions entered via the external user interface.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors and the one or more memory media comprises one or more legacy systems and one or more mid-tier systems for passing data and instructions between the user interfaces and the legacy systems.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the internal user interface is accessible to both call-center and mail-processing CSRs and is integrated with the computerized work distribution system, the system further comprising instructions for causing the processor to effect steps of:

(f) automatically populating the internal user interface of the shared website browser and the one or more limited access browsers with client information based upon information automatically communicated from the computerized work distribution system; and

(g) automatically navigating the shared website browser window to one of a plurality of selected menus or screens within the shared website browser based upon the information received from the computerized work distribution system.