Agent-enabled queue bypass to agent

• US 8,855,292 B1
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Brunson, Gordon R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoque, Nafiz E
• Application Number:
  US11/518,096
• Time in Patent Office: 2,951 Days
• Field of Search: 379/266.01, 379/266.02, 379/266.03
• US Class Current: 379/266.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2005 Temporarily overriding a service configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2088 Call or conference reconnect, e.g. resulting from isdn terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/408 Customer-specific call routing plans
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms

Abstract

A contact center is provided that has (a) a database 114 operable to contain customer records; (b) a plurality of agent communication devices 134-1 to -N corresponding to a plurality of agents; (c) a switching fabric 110, 130 to connect incoming contacts with agent communication devices; (d) a plurality of contact queues 208a-n to enqueue contacts awaiting servicing by an agent; and (e) a queue bypass module that receives, from a first agent of a contact center, a queue bypass request for a specified first customer and updates a set of data structures associated with the specified first customer to indicate that the first customer is entitled to bypass queue positions when the first customer again contacts the contact center.

Claims

1. A method for servicing a contact, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, from a first human agent of a contact center, a queue bypass request for a first customer, wherein the queue bypass request authorizes the first customer to be placed at a head of a queue associated with the first human agent, wherein the queue bypass request is received without an associated failure of the first incoming contact;

in response to receiving the queue bypass request, retrieving, by the processor, a set of data structures associated with the first customer, wherein the set of data structures includes an address for each of two or more communication devices associated with the first customer; and

updating, by the processor, the set of data structures with the queue bypass request to indicate that the first customer is authorized, by the first human agent, to be placed at the head of the queue associated with the first human agent, when the first customer again contacts the contact center.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first customer is associated with a prior first contact with the contact center and further comprising:

receiving a further second contact;

determining, based on digit analysis or source address, whether a customer associated with the second contact is the first customer; and

in response to determining that the second contact is from the first customer, the second contact being placed at the head of the queue associated with the first human agent.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining that the second contact is from a person other than the first customer and further comprising;

an automated response unit determining that the second contact is not from the first customer; and

the second contact not being placed at the at the head of the queue associated with the first human agent.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second contacts are made using different contact media.

5. A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium comprising processor executable instructions operable to perform the steps of claim 1.

6. A contact center, comprising:

a database operable to contain customer records, the customer records including a data structure associated with a first customer;

a plurality of agent communication devices corresponding to a plurality of agents;

a switching fabric operable to connect a first incoming contact with an agent communication device, wherein the first incoming contact is associated with a first communication device address associated with the first customer;

a plurality of contact queues operable to queue contacts awaiting servicing by an agent; and

a server including a processor and memory, the server executing a queue bypass module, the queue bypass module operable to;

receive, from a first agent of the contact center, a queue bypass request associated with the first customer, wherein the queue bypass request authorizes the first customer to bypass at least one queue position in a queue associated with the first agent, wherein the queue bypass request is received without an associated failure of the first incoming contact;

update the data structure associated with the first customer to include the queue bypass request to indicate that the first customer is entitled to bypass at least one queue position when the first customer again contacts the contact center;

receive a second incoming contact from the first customer, wherein the second incoming contact is associated with a second communication device address;

based on the second communication device address, determine that the second incoming contact is associated the first customer; and

in response to determining that the second incoming contact is from the first customer, cause the second incoming contact to be placed at a head of the queue associated with the first agent.

7. The contact center of claim 6, wherein determining that the second incoming contact is associated the first customer comprises:

at least one of digit analysis or analysis of the source address of the second incoming contact; and

locating the second communication device address in the data structure.

8. The contact center of claim 7, wherein the queue bypass module initially determines that the second contact is from a person other than the first customer and further comprising:

an automated response unit determining that the second contact is not from the first customer; and

wherein the queue bypass module is further operable, in response to the automated response unit, to prevent the second contact from being placed at the head of the queue associated with the first agent.

9. The contact center of claim 7, wherein the second contact is not placed at the head of the queue associated with the first agent when a queue bypass period has expired before the second contact is received.

10. The contact center of claim 7, wherein the first and second contacts are made using different contact media.

11. A method for directing contacts in a contact center, comprising:

receiving a queued first contact, from a first communication device associated with a first customer;

receiving, by a processor, from a first human agent of a contact center, a queue bypass request for the first customer, wherein the queue bypass request authorizes the first customer to be placed at a head of a queue associated with the first human agent, wherein the queue bypass request is received without an associated failure of the first incoming contact;

automatically updating a data structure associated with the first customer to indicate that the first customer is entitled to preferential treatment when the first customer again contacts the contact center, wherein the preferential treatment is for the first customer to be placed at the head of the queue associated with the first human agent;

receiving a second contact, from a second communication device associated with the first customer;

based on an address associated with the second communication device, retrieving the data structure; and

based on the indication that the first customer is entitled to preferential treatment in the data structure, altering the queue position for the second contact by placing the customer at the head of the queue associated with the first human agent.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second contact is placed in a same queue as the first contact, the method further comprising upon receiving the second contact, providing the first customer an option to opt-out to a next available agent.

13. A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium comprising processor executable instructions operable to perform the steps of claim 11.