Apparatus, system, and method for disposing of a call

• US 7,653,195 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2005
• Issued: 01/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Noguar Lc
• Original Assignee: Noguar Lc
• Inventors: Baker, Forest III, Baker, Forest IV, Shimpi, Anirudha, Sirstins, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quynh H
• Application Number:
  US11/083,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20050207558A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,776 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.01, 379/265.02, 379/265.05, 379/265.07, 379/265.1, 379/265.11, 379/266.01, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for disposing of calls. The apparatus includes a call initiation module, a transfer module, and a presentation module. The call initiation module initiates a plurality of calls. The transfer module transfer a plurality of calls to at least one agent. The presentation module simultaneously presents a plurality of transferred calls to an agent for disposition.

Claims

1. An apparatus to dispose of a plurality of calls, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a viewer in electronic communication with the processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor;

instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable to;

initiate a plurality of calls;

transfer a plurality of calls to an agent, each transferred call corresponding to a phone connection with a person, and wherein said transfer of plurality of calls is staggered such that the start of a second transferred call to an agent occurs after the start of a first transferred call to said agent;

selectively display call interaction options corresponding to each of the transferred calls to a location on the viewer, wherein when call interaction options corresponding to a first transferred call occupy a first location on the viewer, call interaction options corresponding to a second call transferred to the agent during the first transferred call occupy a second location on the viewer distinct from the first location, to allow the agent to control the interaction with more than one called person at the same time;

play the call on one or more speakers, wherein a first transferred call is played to a first speaker and a second call transferred during the first call is played on a second speaker; and

wherein the call interaction options each correspond to an executable file configured to play a prerecorded script to said person, and wherein the selection of a call interaction option by an agent is dependent upon one or more actions by said person, said actions comprising a verbal input, a sound generated by the person, a pause, and combinations thereof.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable adjust the rate at which calls are transferred.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the call interaction options are displayed to locations based upon the order in which transferred calls are first received by the agent.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein call interaction options for playing prerecorded scripts to a called party are highlighted when a person associated with the transferred call is audible.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable to play a transferred call that has elicited an audible response to a speaker.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein simultaneous transferred calls that have elicited simultaneously audible responses are played to separate and distinct speakers.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a transferred call which presently contains an audible response is played to a speaker based upon the order in which the audible response is first received by the agent.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the transferred call is inaudible to the agent unless a voice associated with the transferred call is audible.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable to display the progress of transferred calls to an agent.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein displaying the progress of calls to the agent comprises identifying when the calls will be highlighted.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a rate control module for controlling the rate of transferred calls by playing scripts of variable length before transferring the call.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable to automatically disposition the call based on one or more predetermined call statuses.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the status is one of encountering a recording, encountering a wrong number, a disconnect, dead air, and a failed transfer.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable to allow an agent to interact with a person associated with the transferred call.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein interacting with the call comprises allowing an agent to select and play one or more prerecorded scripts.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable to allow the agent to choose to use live voice with the person associated with the call.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising instructions stored in the memory executable to keep statistical information regarding each transferred call.

57. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the selective display of call interaction options to the viewer corresponds to an event comprising at least one of a status of the call, the playing of an audio file, and a sound from the called person.

18. A system for disposing of telephone calls, the system comprising:

a dialer configured to connect to and utilize a phone system;

a controller coupled to the dialer;

input/Output (I/O) devices configured to interact with a user;

a script player;

a memory containing modules for execution on a processor, the modules comprising;

a call initiation module configured to initiate a plurality of calls;

a transfer module configured to transfer a plurality of calls to at least one agent, said plurality of calls each associated with a phone connection established between a caller and a person associated with a phone number called, and wherein said transfer of plurality of calls is staggered such that the start of a second transferred call to an agent occurs after the start of a first transferred call to said agent;

a presentation module capable of selectively displaying call interaction options corresponding to each of the transferred calls to a location on a viewer, wherein when call interaction options corresponding to a first transferred call occupy a first location on the viewer, call interaction options corresponding to a second call transferred to the agent during the first transferred call occupy a second location on the viewer distinct from the first location, and wherein a first transferred call is played on a first speaker and a second call transferred during the first call is played on a second speaker, to allow the agent to control the interaction with more than one called person at the same time, wherein the call interaction options each correspond to an executable file configured to play a prerecorded script to said person, and wherein the selection of a call interaction option by an agent is dependent upon one or more actions by said person, said actions comprising a verbal input, a sound generated by the person, a pause, and combinations thereof; and

a communication network coupling the dialer, controller, processor, I/O devices, and memory.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory further comprises a rate control module for controlling the rate of calls transferred by the transfer module.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory further comprises an interaction module allowing an agent to interact with a person associated with a call transferred by the transfer module.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory further comprises a tracking module for keeping statistical information regarding calls transferred by the transfer module.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory further comprises an automatic disposition module for automatically dispositioning the call based on one or more predetermined call statuses.

58. The system of claim 18, wherein the selective display of call interaction options to the viewer corresponds to an event comprising at least one of a status of the call, the playing of an audio file, and a sound from the called person.

23. A method for disposing of a plurality of telephone calls, the method comprising:

initiating a plurality of telephone calls from a dialer;

transferring a plurality of initiated calls to an agent workstation corresponding to a telephone connection with a person, wherein said transfer of plurality of calls is staggered such that the start of a second transferred call to an agent occurs after the start of a first transferred call to said agent; and

utilizing computer instructions to selectively display call interaction options corresponding to each of the transferred calls to a location on a viewer, wherein when call interaction options corresponding to a first transferred call occupy a first location on the viewer, call interaction options corresponding to a second call transferred to the agent during the first transferred call occupy a second location on the viewer distinct from the first location, and wherein a first transferred call is played on a first speaker and a second call transferred during the first call is played on a second speaker, to allow the agent to control the interaction with more than one called person at the same time, wherein the call interaction options each correspond to an executable file configured to play a prerecorded script to said person, and wherein the selection of a call interaction option by an agent is dependent upon one or more actions by said person, said actions comprising a verbal input, a sound generated by the person, a pause, and combinations thereof.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein transferring comprises adjusting the rate at which calls are transferred.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the call interaction options are displayed to locations based upon the order in which transferred calls are received by the agent.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein call interaction options for playing prerecorded scripts to a called party are highlighted when a person associated with the transferred call is audible.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein presenting a call comprises playing the call that has elicited an audible response to a speaker.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein simultaneous transferred calls that have elicited simultaneously audible responses are played to separate and distinct speakers.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the call which presently contains an audible response is played to a speaker based upon the order in which the audible response is first received by the agent

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the transferred call is inaudible to the agent unless a voice associated with the transferred call is audible.

31. The method of claim 23, further comprising displaying the progress of transferred calls to an agent.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein displaying the progress of calls to the agent comprises identifying when the calls will be highlighted.

33. The method of claim 23, further comprising controlling the rate of transferred calls by playing scripts of variable length before transferring the call.

34. The method of claim 23, further comprising automatically dispositioning the call based on one or more predetermined call statuses.

35. The method of claim 23, further comprising interacting with the call.

36. The method of claim 23, wherein interacting with the call comprises allowing an agent to select and play one or more prerecorded scripts.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein interacting with the call comprises speaking in live voice to the person called.

38. The method of claim 23, further comprising keeping statistical information regarding each transferred call.

59. The method of claim 23, wherein the selective display of call interaction options to the viewer corresponds to an event comprising at least one of a status of the call, the playing of an audio file, and a sound from the called person.

39. A tangible computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform an operation to dispose of calls, the operation comprising:

initiating a plurality of telephone calls;

transferring a plurality of calls to at least one agent, each transferred call corresponding to a phone connection with a person, wherein said transfer of plurality of calls is staggered such that the start of a second transferred call to an agent occurs after the start of a first transferred call to said agent; and

selectively displaying call interaction options corresponding to each of the transferred calls to a location on a viewer, wherein when call interaction options corresponding to a first transferred call occupy a first location on the viewer, call interaction options corresponding to a second call transferred to the agent during the first transferred call occupy a second location on the viewer distinct from the first location, and wherein a first transferred call is played on a first speaker and a second call transferred during the first call is played on a second speaker, to allow the agent to control the interaction with more than one called person at the same time, wherein the call interaction options each correspond to an executable file configured to play a prerecorded script to said person, and wherein the selection of a call interaction option by an agent is dependent upon one or more actions by said person, said actions comprising a verbal input, a sound generated by the person, a pause, and combinations thereof.

40. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein transferring comprises adjusting the rate at which calls are transferred.

41. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein presenting a call comprises displaying call interaction options, corresponding to each transferred call, to a viewer.

42. The computer readable storage medium of claim 41, wherein the call interaction options for simultaneous transferred calls are presented to separate and distinct locations on the viewer.

43. The computer readable storage medium of claim 41, wherein the call interaction options are displayed to locations based upon the order in which transferred calls are received by the agent.

44. The computer readable storage medium of claim 41, wherein call interaction options for playing scripts to a called party are highlighted when a person associated with the transferred call is audible.

45. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein presenting a transferred call comprises playing an audible portion of the transferred call to a speaker.

46. The computer readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein respective audible portions of simultaneous transferred calls are played to separate and distinct speakers.

47. The computer readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein an audible portion of a transferred call is played to a speaker based upon the order in which the audible portions of the transferred calls are received by the agent.

48. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the call is inaudible to the agent unless a voice associated with the transferred call is audible.

49. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions further comprise an operation to display the progress of transferred calls to an agent.

50. The computer readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the instructions further comprise an operation to display the progress of calls to the agent by identifying when the calls will be highlighted.

51. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions further comprise an operation to control the rate of transferred calls by playing scripts of variable length before transferring the call.

52. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions further comprise an operation to automatically disposition the call based on one or more predetermined call statuses.

53. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions further comprise an operation to interact with the call.

54. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein interacting with the call comprises allowing an agent to select and play one or more prerecorded scripts.

55. The computer readable storage medium of claim 53, wherein interacting with the call comprises allowing an agent to speak in live voice to the person called.

56. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions further comprise an operation to track each transferred call.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 39, wherein the selective display of call interaction options to the viewer corresponds to an event comprising at least one of a status of the call, the playing of an audio file, and a sound from the called person.