Customer interaction system

• US 6,778,660 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2001
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alvaria Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Concerto Software Incorporated (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Inventors: Fromm, Laurence J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S.
• Application Number:
  US09/827,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20020146110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 379/68, 379/69, 379/70, 379/84, 379/85, 379/88.22, 379/88.26, 379/265.01, 379/265.02, 379/265.09, 379/265.11, 379/265.12, 379/265.13, 379/266.01, 379/266.02, 379/266.03
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems

Abstract

An improved contact center is disclosed in which voice contacts may be processed by agents simultaneously by storing incoming voice and responding to it in near real time. The technique permits an agent at a contact center to process incoming voice contacts in near real time, but to simultaneously handle plural customers in a manner similar to that utilized in web chat applications.

Claims

1. A contact center for servicing contacts from users, the contact center comprising a plurality of agents terminals, each agent terminal being associated with an agent, the contact center comprising:

a network interface for receiving a contact from a user and for routing said contact to an agent for processing;

a storage device for storing audio input by said user if said agent is unavailable to process said call;

a monitoring and playout device for monitoring the contact, and for playing out the stored audio immediately upon said agent becoming available, whether or not said user has completed storing said audio.

2. The contact center of claim 1 wherein said monitoring a playout device plays out recorded audio at faster than real time.

3. The contact center of claim 2 wherein said monitoring and playout device includes a frequency maintaining played out audio at a correct frequency when said playout occurs in faster than real time.

4. The contact center of claim 3 configured such that if said agent becomes available during the time said audio signal is being stored, said monitoring and playout device plays out said stored audio in faster than real time while continuing to store incoming audio, and when said stored audio is fully played out, said monitoring and playout device switches over such that said actual incoming audio is delivered to said agent instead of said stored audio.

5. A method of processing plural audio signals at a contact center, each audio signal corresponding to that received from a separate contact, the method comprising the steps of:

Receiving the audio signals from the users as they are submitted;

Storing the incoming audio signals from said contacts in memory;

Routing said incoming audio to agents from memory while said users are still connected to said contact center by transmitting said audio signals from said memory to one or more agents in faster than real time for portions first stored in memory until said memory is fully emptied, and in real time for portions of audio signals thereafter.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising responding to the audio signal from one of said contacts, and then processing other ones of said contacts from a stored audio signal.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising setting a parameter in advance of said contact being received, the parameter being determinative of whether a contact that arrives and that is to be processed by a selected agent is to be processed by a different agent if said selected agent is unavailable, or should be processed by storing an incoming audio signal if said selected agent is unavailable.

8. A method of processing voice calls by an agent at a contact center, the method comprising the steps of storing plural incoming audio signals, one from each of plural customers, and responding to each of the customers orally, the response going in real time, the incoming audio signals not being conveyed in real time, the responses going while communications sessions between the customers and the agent remains open.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said incoming audio signals are conveyed to said agent partially in real time and partially in slower than real time.

10. Apparatus for connecting users with agents in a contact center, said apparatus comprising a application server for analyzing incoming voice contacts and determining an ordered list of possible agents to process said incoming voice contact;

A network interface for routing said contact to the first agent on said list and if said first contact is unavailable, either storing said incoming voice contact or routing it to a different agent, depending upon a parameter set in advance by a user.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein an agent sequentially responds to plural incoming contacts while communications sessions between each of the users corresponding to the contacts remain active.

12. Apparatus for use in a contact center comprising means for establishing near real time communications sessions between said contact center and plural users, means for storing plural incoming voice signals from different users, means for playing out said stored voice signals in an order selected by an agent to interact with said users, and means for conveying an audio signal back to said users in real time while said communications sessions remain active.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said incoming voice signals are played to said agent in faster than real time.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein parts of said incoming voice signals are played to said agent in real time, and parts of said audio signals are played to said agent in faster than real time.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said parts of said audio signal played in faster than real time are so played while portions of said audio signals are being recorded, and said parts of said audio signal played in real time are played while no other portion of said audio signal is being recorded.