Method and system for user interaction within a queue

• US 8,014,512 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2007
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Walker, Keith Raymond, Chen, Yen-Fu, Morgan, Fabian F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar; Ahmad F
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAH, ANTIM G
• Application Number:
  US11/736,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20080260138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,602 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.02, 379/265.09, 379/265.1, 379/265.11, 379/266.01, 379/266.02, 379/266.03, 379/266.04
• US Class Current: 379/266.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0045 where the text-based messaging service is an instant messaging service

Abstract

A system for providing caller interaction within a queue. In response to receiving a call, it is determined whether a wait time exists before a caller is connected to a customer service representative. In response to determining that the wait time exists, it is determined whether the caller is interested in an interaction. In response to determining that the caller is interested in the interaction, a profile associated with the caller is loaded. In response to detecting a connection with an interactive system, interactive options are loaded from the interactive system and presented to the caller based on the profile. In response to receiving a selection from the interactive options, it is determined whether the selection includes a group interaction. In response to determining that the selection includes the group interaction, the group interaction is loaded based on the profile. Then, the caller is entered into the group interaction.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for providing caller interaction within a queue, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to receiving a call from a caller, determining if a wait time exists before the caller is connected to a customer service representative;

responsive to determining that the wait time exists, determining if the caller is interested in an interaction;

responsive to determining that the caller is not interested in the interaction, placing the caller in the queue, wherein the caller is asked if the caller is interested in the interaction at predetermined time intervals while the caller continues to wait in the queue after the caller was placed in the queue in response to a determination that the caller was not interested in the interaction;

responsive to determining that the caller is interested in the interaction, loading a profile associated with the caller;

responsive to detecting a connection with an interactive system, loading interactive options from the interactive system based on the profile associated with the caller;

presenting the interactive options to the caller;

responsive to receiving a selection from the interactive options from the caller, determining if the selection includes a group interaction with other callers within the queue;

responsive to determining that the selection includes the group interaction with other callers within the queue, loading the group interaction based on the profile associated with the caller;

entering the caller into the group interaction after receiving consent from the caller to enter the caller into the group interaction, wherein one or more commercial advertisements provided by a third party service are presented to the caller prior to entering the caller into the group interaction;

responsive to monitoring the wait time, determining if the wait time is less than a predetermined alert time; and

responsive to determining that the wait time is less than the predetermined alert time, alerting the caller.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to alerting the caller, determining if the caller does not want to continue in the interaction; and

responsive to determining that the caller does not want to continue in the interaction, connecting the caller with a next available customer service representative based on a need of the caller.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the determining, loading, presenting, entering, alerting, and connecting steps are performed by a queue system.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the loading steps are based on criteria.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the criteria is at least one of the wait time, preference settings, or type of communication connection.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interaction is gaming.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, wherein at an end of a gaming interaction an interactive system awards a prize to a game winner, and wherein the interactive system funds the prize by presenting the one or more commercial advertisements provided by the third party service to game participants prior to a game start.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interaction is chatting.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the queue is a plurality of different queues, and wherein the plurality of different queues are connected together for cross-queue interaction among callers within the plurality of different queues based on the criteria.

10. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer usable program code that is executable by a computer for providing caller interaction within a queue, the computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer usable program code configured to determine if a wait time exists before a caller is connected to a customer service representative in response to receiving a call from the caller;

computer usable program code configured to determine if the caller is interested in an interaction in response to determining that the wait time exists;

computer usable program code configured to place the caller in the queue in response to determining that the caller is not interested in the interaction, wherein the caller is asked if the caller is interested in the interaction at predetermined time intervals while the caller continues to wait in the queue after the caller was placed in the queue in response to a determination that the caller was not interested in the interaction;

computer usable program code configured to load a profile associated with the caller in response to determining that the caller is interested in the interaction;

computer usable program code configured to load interactive options from an interactive system based on the profile associated with the caller in response to detecting a connection with the interactive system;

computer usable program code configured to present the interactive options to the caller;

computer usable program code configured to determine if a selection from the interactive options from the caller includes a group interaction with other callers within the queue in response to receiving the selection;

computer usable program code configured to load the group interaction based on the profile associated with the caller in response to determining that the selection includes the group interaction with other callers within the queue;

computer usable program code configured to enter the caller into the group interaction after receiving consent from the caller to enter the caller into the group interaction, wherein one or more commercial advertisements provided by a third party service are presented to the caller prior to entering the caller into the group interaction;

computer usable program code configured to determine if the wait time is less than a predetermined alert time in response to monitoring the wait time; and

computer usable program code configured to alert the caller in response to determining that the wait time is less than the predetermined alert time.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to determine if the caller does not want to continue in the interaction in response to alerting the caller; and

computer usable program code configured to connect the caller with a next available customer service representative based on a need of the caller in response to determining that the caller does not want to continue in the interaction.