System and method for providing call-back options
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented call routing method implemented by a call routing system for regulating activity of multiple call centers, the call routing system including at least a central server system having a processing unit, the method comprising:
- receiving notification of inbound calls at the call routing system;
collecting information from at least one caller;
selecting, based on the collected information, a call target at one of multiple call centers for the at least one caller;
determining, using the processing unit, unavailability of the call target at the selected call center selected based on the collected information for at least one of the inbound calls;
providing multiple selectable call-back options as instructed by the processing unit in response to the at least one inbound call, the call-back options providing for at least one inbound caller to receive a call-back;
receiving a selection of at least one of the multiple call-back options and sending the selection to the processing unit;
scheduling, using the processing unit, a call-back based on the selected call-back option and storing scheduled call-back information in a database;
dynamically assessing demands on the call routing system in relation to available resources;
reallocating resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the selected call-back option;
retrieving, using the processing unit, the scheduled call-back information from the database and forwarding the call-back information to a voice response unit; and
calling, using the voice response unit, the at least one caller from the selected call center based on the selected call-back option.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for providing call-back options is disclosed. The method comprises receiving a call in a call routing system, providing at least one call-back option for a caller to receive a call-back, re-allocating resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the at least one call-back option, and calling the caller based on the at least one call-back option. The caller may specify a specific time, a relative time, or a time range when a call-back is preferred. The caller may also specify one or more telephone numbers in combination with the time preferences. The call-back may be initiated by a voice response unit (VRU) and additional call-back options may be presented to the customer who responds to the call-back.
76 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A computer-implemented call routing method implemented by a call routing system for regulating activity of multiple call centers, the call routing system including at least a central server system having a processing unit, the method comprising:
-
receiving notification of inbound calls at the call routing system; collecting information from at least one caller; selecting, based on the collected information, a call target at one of multiple call centers for the at least one caller; determining, using the processing unit, unavailability of the call target at the selected call center selected based on the collected information for at least one of the inbound calls; providing multiple selectable call-back options as instructed by the processing unit in response to the at least one inbound call, the call-back options providing for at least one inbound caller to receive a call-back; receiving a selection of at least one of the multiple call-back options and sending the selection to the processing unit; scheduling, using the processing unit, a call-back based on the selected call-back option and storing scheduled call-back information in a database; dynamically assessing demands on the call routing system in relation to available resources; reallocating resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the selected call-back option; retrieving, using the processing unit, the scheduled call-back information from the database and forwarding the call-back information to a voice response unit; and calling, using the voice response unit, the at least one caller from the selected call center based on the selected call-back option. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A computer-implemented call routing system including a processing unit, voice response unit, and a storage device, the system for providing call-back options to callers making inbound calls to a call center, the system comprising:
-
a receiver module that receives inbound calls at a call routing system; a central server implementing the processing unit for collecting information related to at least one inbound call from at least one caller, the central server selecting, based on the collected information, a call target located at one of multiple call centers for the at least one caller and determining unavailability of the call target at the selected call center based on the collected information for the at least one inbound call; an interactive module implementing the processing unit, the voice response unit and the storage device, that provides multiple call-back options in response to the at least one inbound call for the at least one caller to receive a call-back and receives at least one selected call-back option from the caller; a resource module implementing the processing unit that dynamically assesses demands on the call routing system in relation to available resources that reallocates resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the selected call-back option; and a telephone module that calls the at least one caller from the selected call center based on the at least one selected call-back option. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification