Method for activating services associated with a product via a service center supporting a variety of products

• US 9,173,090 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2011
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teletech Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Teletech Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Tuchman, Kenneth D., Sharpe, Bruce A., Truong, Henry D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ORTIZ ROMAN, DENISSE Y
• Application Number:
  US13/234,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20130073403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/265 for initial activation of new user

Abstract

A service center receives a request for activating a subscribed service on a first device that has been registered with the service center, where the service center provides services to a plurality of products on behalf of a plurality of product providers. In response to the request, device information about the registered first device is retrieved from an internal database, where the device information was collected when the first device was registered with the service center. Subscription information including credentials of a user who has subscribed the subscribed service is obtained for authentication. The device information and the credentials are transmitted to a service provider that provides the subscribed service to allow the service provider to activate the subscribed service on the first device, without having the user to directly contact the service provider for activating the subscribed service.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for activating a service, comprising:

receiving, at a server running on server hardware representing a support center, an electronic receipt of a first device from a remote point of sale (POS) location of a retailer at which the first device was purchased by a user, wherein the first device was manufactured by a first manufacturer, wherein the support center provides support services to a plurality of products on behalf of a plurality of product providers, and wherein the support services include establishing a communication session between a customer and a support agent of the support center to conduct a live support session concerning a product that has been registered with the support center;

automatically registering the first device with the support center by communicating with a backend system of the retailer and a backend system of the first manufacturer to obtain device information of the first device and storing the device information in a user asset store of the user maintained by the support center, wherein the device information is obtained from the backend system of the manufacturer automatically based on the electronic receipt without receiving the same information from the user;

receiving, at the server, a request for activating a subscribed service on the first device, the request being received from a mobile application running within a mobile device associated with the user;

in response to the request, retrieving device information about the registered first device from the user asset store of the user, the device information including a manufacturer, a product model, and a serial number of the first device;

obtaining subscription information including one or more credentials of a user who has subscribed the subscribed service for authentication; and

transmitting, over a network on behalf of the user, the device information and the subscription information to a service provider that provides the subscribed service to allow the service provider to activate the subscribed service on the first device, without having the user to directly contact the service provider for activating the subscribed service, wherein the subscribed service is to allow the first device to access one or more services provided by the service provider over a network based on a subscribed plan.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to receiving a request for activating the subscribed service, receiving a request for registering the subscribed service with the support center from the mobile device; and

storing subscription information of the subscribed service in a subscription store associated with the user, including a subscription identifier and the one or more credentials for accessing the service provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic receipt is automatically received by the server from the POS location of the retailer without user intervention or knowledge of the user.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

identifying the subscribed service that can be activated on the first device based on the device information; and

transmitting a notification to a mobile device of the user indicating that the first device has been automatically registered and requesting whether the user wishes to activate the identified subscribed service on the first device, wherein the request for activating the first device is received from the mobile device based on a positive response from a user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising upon having successfully activated the subscribed service on the first device, transmitting a video stream to the mobile device providing illustration of operating the first device with the subscribed service.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the video stream is retrieved from a remote facility associated with a provider of the first device or a service provider of the subscribed service without user directly accessing the remote facility.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the support center, whether a number of existing devices activated with the subscribed service reaches a predetermined threshold; and

deactivating the subscribed service from a second device of the existing devices such that the first device can be activated replacing the second device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

transmitting a notification to the mobile device notifying the user that the number of the existing devices associated with the subscribed service reaches the predetermined threshold;

transmitting to the mobile device a summary of existing devices that are currently activated with the subscribed service;

causing the mobile device to prompt the user to select one or more of the existing devices to be deactivated; and

receiving from the mobile device a request for deactivating the second device that was selected from the summary of the existing devices.

9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for activating a service, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server running on server hardware representing a support center, an electronic receipt of a first device from a remote point of sale (POS) location of a retailer at which the first device was purchased by a user, wherein the first device was manufactured by a first manufacturer, wherein the support center provides support services to a plurality of products on behalf of a plurality of product providers, and wherein the support services include establishing a communication session between a customer and a support agent of the support center to conduct a live support session concerning a product that has been registered with the support center;

automatically registering the first device with the support center by communicating with a backend system of the retailer and a backend system of the first manufacturer to obtain device information of the first device and storing the device information in a user asset store of the user maintained by the support center, wherein the device information is obtained from the backend system of the manufacturer automatically based on the electronic receipt without receiving the same information from the user;

receiving, at the server, a request for activating a subscribed service on a first device, the request being received from a mobile application running within a mobile device associated with the user;

in response to the request, retrieving device information about the registered first device from the user asset store of the user, the device information including a manufacturer, a product model, and a serial number of the first device;

obtaining subscription information including one or more credentials of a user who has subscribed the subscribed service for authentication; and

transmitting, over a network on behalf of the user, the device information and the subscription information to a service provider that provides the subscribed service to allow the service provider to activate the subscribed service on the first device, without having the user to directly contact the service provider for activating the subscribed service, wherein the subscribed service is to allow the first device to access one or more services provided by the service provider over a network based on a subscribed plan.

10. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to receiving a request for activating the subscribed service, receiving a request for registering the subscribed service with the support center from the mobile device; and

storing subscription information of the subscribed service in a subscription store associated with the user, including a subscription identifier and the one or more credentials for accessing the service provider.

11. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the electronic receipt is automatically received by the server from the POS location of the retailer without user intervention or knowledge of the user.

12. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying the subscribed service that can be activated on the first device based on the device information; and

transmitting a notification to a mobile device of the user indicating that the first device has been automatically registered and requesting whether the user wishes to activate the identified subscribed service on the first device, wherein the request for activating the first device is received from the mobile device based on a positive response from a user.

13. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises upon having successfully activated the subscribed service on the first device, transmitting a video stream to the mobile device providing illustration of operating the first device with the subscribed service.

14. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the video stream is retrieved from a remote facility associated with a provider of the first device or a service provider of the subscribed service without user directly accessing the remote facility.

15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

determining, at the support center, whether a number of existing devices activated with the subscribed service reaches a predetermined threshold; and

deactivating the subscribed service from a second device of the existing devices such that the first device can be activated replacing the second device.

16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting a notification to the mobile device notifying the user that the number of the existing devices associated with the subscribed service reaches the predetermined threshold;

transmitting to the mobile device a summary of existing devices that are currently activated with the subscribed service;

causing the mobile device to prompt the user to select one or more of the existing devices to be deactivated; and

receiving from the mobile device a request for deactivating the second device that was selected from the summary of the existing devices.

17. A data processing system of a support center, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor storing instructions, which when executed from the memory, cause the processor to

receive an electronic receipt of a first device from a remote point of sale (POS) location of a retailer at which the first device was purchased by a user, wherein the first device was manufactured by a first manufacturer, wherein the support center provides support services to a plurality of products on behalf of a plurality of product providers, and wherein the support services include establishing a communication session between a customer and a support agent of the support center to conduct a live support session concerning a product that has been registered with the support center,

automatically register the first device with the support center by communicating with a backend system of the retailer and a backend system of the first manufacturer to obtain device information of the first device and storing the device information in a user asset store of the user maintained by the support center, wherein the device information is obtained from the backend system of the manufacturer automatically based on the electronic receipt without receiving the same information from the user,

receive a request for activating a subscribed service on a first device, the request being received from a mobile application running within a mobile device associated with the user,

in response to the request, retrieve device information about the registered first device from the user asset store of the user, the device information including a manufacturer, a product model, and a serial number of the first device,

obtain subscription information including one or more credentials of a user who has subscribed the subscribed service for authentication, and

transmit, over a network on behalf of the user, the device information and the subscription information to a service provider that provides the subscribed service to allow the service provider to activate the subscribed service on the first device, without having the user to directly contact the service provider for activating the subscribed service, wherein the subscribed service is to allow the first device to access one or more services provided by the service provider over a network based on a subscribed plan.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein prior to receiving a request for activating the subscribed service, a request for registering the subscribed service with the support center is received from the mobile device, and wherein subscription information of the subscribed service is stored in a subscription store associated with the user, including a subscription identifier and the one or more credentials for accessing the service provider.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the electronic receipt is automatically received by the server from the POS location of the retailer without user intervention or knowledge of the user.

20. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at a mobile device, a notification received from a support center over a network indicating that a device acquired by a user of the mobile device has been registered with the support center, wherein the support center provides support services to a plurality of products on behalf of a plurality of product providers, the support services including establishing a communication session between a user who has registered a product purchased by the user with the support center and a support agent of the support center to conduct a live support session concerning the registered product, wherein a product provider is one of a retailer, a distributor, a manufacturer, and a service provider associated with at least one of the products;

in response to the notification, displaying on the mobile device a list of one or more subscribed services that are eligible to be activated on the device, wherein the one or more subscribed services have been subscribed and registered with the support center by the user, and wherein each of the displayed subscribed services is associated with a selectable control for selecting the corresponding subscribed service; and

in response to a user selection of one of the one or more subscribed services, transmitting a service identifier of the selected subscribed service to the support center to allow the support center to activate the selected subscribed service on the device on behalf of the user without having the user to directly contact a service provider of the selected subscribed service, wherein the support center is configured to gather device information of the registered device and transmit the device information to the service provider for activation of the device, wherein the device information includes a manufacturer, a product model, and a serial number of the first device, wherein the device information was automatically collected by the support center by communicating with a backend system of a manufacturer, a distributor, or a retailer of the first device in response to a request for registration for the first device, without requiring a user to provide the same information.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the device is automatically registered with the support center without user intervention, wherein the support center is configured to compile device information based on an electronic receipt automatically received from a remote point of sale (POS) location where the device was acquired by the user.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

upon having successfully activated the subscribed service on the device, downloading a media stream from the support center; and

playing using a media player of the mobile device the media stream to demonstrate operations of the device with the activated subscribed service.