Cloud based contact center platform powered by individual multi-party conference rooms

• US 9,049,309 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2012
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Vasquez, Juan, Osborn, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsu, Alpus H
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAM, YEE F
• Application Number:
  US13/722,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20140056419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/01 Customer relationship services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1053 IP private branch exchange [PBX] functionality entities or arrangements circuit switched PBXs H04M3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1089 by adding media; by removing media
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/06 Simultaneous speech and data transmission, e.g. telegraphic transmission over the same conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/404 Collaboration among agents
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1324 Conference call

Abstract

The present disclosure includes a system and method for handling customer service requests in a virtual computing environment supporting multimedia interactions. In some embodiments, the system includes an automated management tool for receiving a customer service request from a client device, a server for establishing an individualized communication session, and a plurality of available resources capable of being connected to the individualized communication session. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving and establishing a connection between an automated management tool and a client device, receiving a customer service request from the client device, establishing an individualized communication session, and providing resources to the individualized communication session.

Claims

1. A system supporting multimedia customer service requests in a networked environment, the system comprising:

a contact center manager application receiving a customer service request from a client device over a network; and

a server connected to the contact center manager application and establishing a multimedia service request session at a session address with the client device over the network;

wherein the contact center manager application is configured to;

instruct an electronic device associated with a first resource of a plurality of contact center resources to connect to the multimedia service request session at the session address to assist in resolving the customer service request,

receive information regarding the customer service request from the electronic device associated with the first resource while the electronic device associated with the first resource interacts in the multimedia service request session, and

analyze the information received from the electronic device associated with the first resource and instruct an electronic device associated with a second resource of the plurality of contact center resources to connect to the multimedia service request session at the session address to assist in resolving the customer service request,

wherein the client device remains connected to the multimedia service request session at the session address as electronic device associated with the first resource and the electronic device associated with the second resource are connected to and disconnected from the multimedia service request session to avoid service interruption.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic device associated with the first resource and the electronic device associated with the second resource are connected to the multimedia service request session simultaneously to assist in resolving the customer service request.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact center resources include at least one of a recorder, an interactive response application, a customer service agent, a customer service supervisor, and entertainment applications.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is configured to connect at least one additional client device to the multimedia service request session.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one additional client device is associated with one of

a customer service agent to assist in resolving the customer service request, and

a second customer service request related in subject matter to the customer service request.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the multimedia service request session is a virtual hangout.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the session address is a location in a cloud computing environment.

8. A method for handling customer service requests in a networked environment, the method comprising:

receiving a customer service request from a client device over a network;

establishing and hosting a multimedia service request session at a session address;

connecting the client device to the multimedia service request session;

instructing an electronic device associated with a first resource of a plurality of contact center resources to connect to the multimedia service request session at the session address to assist in resolving the customer service request;

receiving information regarding the customer service request from the electronic device associated with the first resource while the electronic device associated with the first resource interacts in the multimedia service request session; and

based on the information, instructing an electronic device associated with a second resource of the plurality of contact center resources to connect to the multimedia service request session at the session address to assist in resolving the customer service request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the electronic device associated with the first resource and the electronic device associated with the second resource are connected to the multimedia service request session simultaneously to assist in resolving the customer service request.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein further comprising analyzing the information received from contact center resources to determine a status of the customer service request.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of contact center resources include at least one of a recorder, an interactive response application, a customer service agent, a customer service supervisor, and entertainment applications.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising connecting at least one additional client device to the multimedia service request session.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one additional client device is associated with one of:

a customer service agent to assist in resolving the customer service request, and

a second customer service request related in subject matter to the customer service request.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the multimedia service request session is a virtual hangout.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the session address is a location in a cloud computing environment.