Securely and efficiently processing telephone orders

• US 9,026,464 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2014
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teleperformance SE
• Original Assignee: Service 800 Teleperformance SA (Teleperformance International)
• Inventors: Truitt, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Airapetian, Mila
• Application Number:
  US14/198,384
• Publication Number:
  US 20150052015A1
• Time in Patent Office: 426 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/305 using wired telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

An apparatus for processing telephone orders includes a communications module that establishes a telephonic connection between a customer service representative of a merchant and a customer, and an identification module that receives an identifier linking the customer to a customer billing profile a billing profile access module that receives electronic access to the customer billing profile. The customer billing profile includes billing information of the customer. The apparatus includes a transaction module that processes a sales order using the customer billing profile of the customer in response to a customer approval of the sales order. The sales order is for a product and/or a service offered by the merchant. The billing information of the customer billing profile is unavailable for viewing by the customer service representative.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a communications module that establishes a telephonic connection between an automated attendant of a merchant and a customer;

an identification module that receives an identifier, the identifier alerting the merchant that the customer has a customer billing profile, the identifier received in conjunction with the telephonic connection, the identifier comprising an electronic signal;

a billing profile access module that receives electronic access to the customer billing profile in response to one or more of the identification module receiving the identifier and an action by the customer during the telephonic connection providing the electronic access, the customer billing profile comprising one or more of billing information, contact information and shipping information of the customer, the customer billing profile stored electronically in a computer system external to a computer system available to the merchant and to the automated attendant; and

a transaction module that processes a sales order using the customer billing profile of the customer in response to a customer approval of the sales order, the customer billing profile received from the billing profile access module, the sales order for one or more of a product and a service offered by the merchant, the sales order one or more of received and identified via the automated attendant,

wherein at least a portion of the communications module, the identification module, the billing profile access module, and the transaction module comprise one or more of hardware and executable code, the executable code stored on one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media executable on a processor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a customer order module that receives, through the automated attendant, information to identify one or more of products and services of the sales order.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identification module receives the identifier from the customer by the customer pressing one or more buttons on an electronic device used by the customer for the telephonic connection.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein pressing one or more buttons by the customer comprises one or more of:

pressing a button that is identified on the electronic device used by the customer for the telephonic connection as having a connection to the identifier; and

pressing a plurality of buttons on the electronic device used by the customer for the telephonic connection to enter a code.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transfer module that transfers the telephonic connection to a customer sales representative of the merchant to receive customer billing and shipping information in response to establishing the telephonic connection and not receiving the identifier.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the customer billing profile is received in response to an action by the customer, the action approving transmitting the customer billing profile to the billing profile access module.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the action by the customer comprises one or more of

an action by the customer to transmit the customer billing profile during the telephonic connection;

a default setting that provides permission to transmit the customer billing profile in response to a telephonic connection with an automated attendant of a merchant in which the identifier is sent; and

an action by the customer to approve the sales order.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a data communications module that establishes a data connection, in conjunction with the telephonic connection, between the merchant and the customer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the data connection and the telephonic connection are established using a single electronic device of the customer.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identifier comprises a link to the customer billing profile, the link operable to access the customer billing profile.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a confirmation module that receives the customer approval of the sales order prior to processing the sales order.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a registration module that receives and stores the customer billing profile of the customer, the registration module receiving and storing the customer billing profile in a transaction unrelated to the sales order.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein information passed among the merchant, the customer, and third-parties comprises one or more tokens, wherein one or more of the identifier and the customer billing profile are transmitted using one or more tokens.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the automated attendant of the merchant comprises an electronic system that receives one or more of voice commands from the customer and selections from the customer made by pressing buttons on an electronic device used by the customer for the telephonic connection and wherein the automated attendant responds with automated voice responses.

15. A method comprising:

establishing a telephonic connection between an automated attendant of a merchant and a customer;

receiving an identifier, the identifier alerting the merchant that the customer has a customer billing profile, the identifier received in conjunction with the telephonic connection, the identifier comprising an electronic signal;

receiving electronic access to the customer billing profile in response to one or more of receiving the identifier and an action by the customer during the telephonic connection providing the electronic access, the customer billing profile comprising billing information of the customer, the customer billing profile comprising one or more of billing information, contact information and shipping information of the customer, the customer billing profile stored electronically in a computer system external to a computer system available to the merchant and to the automated attendant;

receiving a customer approval of a sales order, the sales order for one or more of a product and a service offered by the merchant, the sales order one or more of received and identified via the automated attendant; and

processing the sales order using the electronically stored customer billing profile of the customer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving an identifier comprises receiving the identifier from the customer by the customer pressing one or more buttons on an electronic device used by the customer for the telephonic connection.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising transferring the telephonic connection to a sales representative of the merchant to receive customer billing and shipping information in response to establishing the telephonic connection and not receiving the identifier.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising establishing a data connection, in conjunction with the telephonic connection, between the merchant and the customer, wherein one or more of the identifier, the customer billing profile, and the customer approval are transmitted via the data connection.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving and storing the customer billing profile of the customer, wherein receiving and storing the customer billing profile comprises a transaction unrelated to the sales order and to the merchant.