ROUTING OF CONTACTS BASED ON PREDICTED ESCALATION TIME

• US 20120020471A1
• Filed: 07/20/2010
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Erhart, George, Matula, Valentine, Skiba, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,644,487 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history recording a computer conference H04L12/1831
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms

Abstract

Systems and methods that employ contact escalation periods as criterion for managing routing procedures of a contact center. A prediction component can predict when a customer is likely to escalate a contact that is forwarded to a contact center, and hence facilitate resource matching based on such prediction. Accordingly, proactive and anticipatory contact interaction is enabled, wherein routing of contacts occur in-part based on predicted likelihood of escalations.

Claims

1. A contact center comprising:

a prediction component that predicts likelihood of an escalation for a contact,

the escalation represented by abandonment of an initial request—

in favor of—

an additional request requiring a resource of the contact center that is more expensive than a resource required by the initial request; and

a routing component that routes the contact based on likelihood of the escalation.

2. The contact center of claim 1 further comprising an analysis component that performs cost-benefit analysis for contacts and resources of the contact center.

3. The contact center of claim 1 further comprising a queuing model generated based in-part on likelihood of the escalation for the contact.

4. The contact center of claim 1, the escalation is represented by the follow-up of the initial request, via a channel that is more expensive than an original channel that the initial request is sent thereby to the contact center.

5. The contact center of claim 1, the prediction component is associated with a monitor component that monitors a social network.

6. The contact center of claim 5, the monitor component further comprises a search engine that searches for queries submitted to the social network.

7. The contact center of claim 1 further comprising an evaluation component that evaluates history of a customer, to facilitate prediction of contact escalation.

8. The contact center of claim 7 further comprising an instigation component that initiates operation for the routing component.

9. The contact center of claim 1 further comprising an artificial intelligence component that facilitates prediction of contact escalation.

10. A method of routing a contact in a contact center, comprising:

predicting an escalation likelihood for a contact of the contact center via a prediction component; and

routing the contact based on the escalation likelihood.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising prioritizing the contact based on the escalation likelihood.

12. The method of claim 10, the predicting act is based on subject matter of the contact, or character traits of a customer generating the contact, or contact environment, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 10, the contact submitted to a social network before received by the contact center.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising engaging in remedial measures for appeasing a customer who submitted the contact, in exchange for prolonging an escalation period.

15. The method of claim 10, the predicting act based on employing queuing models with Markov chains.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising dynamically updating the queuing models.

17. The method of claim 10 further comprising matching the contact to resources of the contact center based on the predicting act.

18. The method of claim 10 further comprising facilitating the predicting act via inferences supplied by an inference component.

19. A contact center comprising:

means for predicting likelihood of an escalation for a contact; and

means for routing the contact based on likelihood of the escalation.

20. The contact center of claim 19 further comprising means for analyzing cost-benefits for the contact center.