Abstract:
The present invention relates to the operation of interconnected switches or call centers. In particular, the present invention allows communication bandwidth to be conserved, by providing audible feedback from a switch that is relatively local to a caller, even though a call center that is remote to the caller has accepted responsibility for routing the call to an agent. In addition, the present invention simplifies the administration of audible feedback by allowing such feedback to be provided from a centralized or common location. The present invention allows for the reliable operation of call center arrangements, without requiring that communication channels interconnecting switches or call centers that are grossly oversized in proportion to the data required to be carried in association with conversations between callers and agents. In addition, the present invention allows for call center processing features to be fully functional on a receiving switch, while audible feedback is provided to a caller on hold from a sending switch.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the efficient use of communication trunk bandwidth in a geographically dispersed enterprise. In particular, the present invention relates to the routing of requests for information made in connection with a geographically dispersed enterprise.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Large enterprises may have a geographically dispersed network of agents to service client requests for information and services. At times, the number of requests for information or service received at a service center exceeds the number of agents available to respond to such requests. Accordingly, callers initiating requests for service often must be placed on hold. While on hold, callers are often provided with a continuous stream of general information, which may include music and announcements. The provision of music is intended to make the wait for an available agent more palatable. Announcements may include information of a general nature that is provided as a service to the caller or they may include advertisements regarding products and services available from the enterprise or affiliated companies. The stream of general information is typically interrupted when a call is routed to an available agent for servicing.  
           [0003]    The designers of communication networks for an enterprise typically have data available to them concerning the number of agents that will be associated with a call center, and the typical duration of such calls. However, the number of callers that may be on hold, awaiting service at any one time, is difficult to predict. Furthermore, the continuous nature of the general information that is provided to callers while they are waiting for an available agent makes the sizing of communications channels difficult.  
           [0004]    In many enterprises, the bulk of incoming requests for information originate within the United States or the European Union. However, because of high labor costs in the United States and the countries of the European Union, staffing call centers to respond to requests for service generated within those regions can be prohibitively expensive. Accordingly, there is a trend towards locating call centers in low labor cost nations, such as India and the Philippines. In connection with such arrangements, requests for information are typically received at a call center located in the region in which the request for information originated. If no agents are available at that call center, the request for information is forwarded to a remote call center and is placed in a queue maintained by the remote call center. In a typical implementation, music and announcements are provided by the remote call center to the caller while the caller is awaiting service. This situation requires the transmission of a continuous stream of data over long distances, and can result in the consumption of significant amounts of communication channel bandwidth. In addition, it is typically desirable to synchronize the music and announcements provided by the various call centers associated with an enterprise. However, the synchronization of such general information among a number of distantly located call centers can pose a significant administrative burden.  
           [0005]    Still other systems delay the routing of a call to remote call centers. Such systems instead create tokens that are distributed to each remote call center. In such systems, a call is not routed to a remote system until notification is received from a remote system indicating that the remote call center is able to service the call. However, such systems are disadvantageous because they do not allow for the use of sophisticated features for handling calls and for routing calls to particular agents that might otherwise be available after responsibility for a call has been assigned to a particular call center.  
           [0006]    For the reasons set forth above, there is a need for a method and apparatus that efficiently utilizes communication channel bandwidth in connection with geographically dispersed enterprises. In addition, there is a need for a method and an apparatus for providing general information after a call has been assigned to a particular service center for routing to an agent that is easily administered.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention is directed to solving these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. According to the present invention, requests for information (or calls) are received at a first call center (also referred to herein as a first service center or switch). The request for information may then be assigned to a second call center that is responsible for routing the request for information to an associated agent, and a communication link (i.e. an operative interconnection over a communication channel) between the first and second call centers is established for the call. While a request for information is waiting to be assigned to an agent or source of information, general information is provided to the requester from the first call center.  
           [0008]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the provision of general information from the first call center reduces the bandwidth requirements for the communication channel between the first and second call centers. In addition, the provision of general information from the first call center removes the need to synchronize such general information between multiple switches.  
           [0009]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the first call center is located in a region or country where the request for information originated, while the second call center is located at a distance from the first call center. For example, the second call center may be located in a different region or country than the first call center.  
           [0010]    In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a call assigned to a second call center for routing to an agent may be further assigned to a third call center for routing to an agent, in place of the second call center. General information in connection with a request for information that has been assigned to a third call center for routing to an agent may continue to be provided by the first call center.  
           [0011]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, once a call center assigned to route a request for service to an agent has an agent available, a signal is sent to the first call center. Upon receiving the signal indicating that an agent is available, the first call center terminates the provision of general information to the caller, and the caller can communicate with the agent at the second call center. Where a request for information has been routed to a third call center through a second call center, communications between the requester and the agent at the third call center may be made via the first and second call centers.  
           [0012]    These and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of illustrative embodiments of the invention, taken together with the drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is block diagram depicting a call center arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a call center in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the handling of a call in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a table depicting the operation of a call center arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    With reference now to FIG. 1, a call center arrangement  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In general, the call center arrangement  100  includes a first call center  104  (also referred to herein as sending switch  104 ) and a second call center  108  (also referred to herein as a receiving switch  108 ). As used herein, a call center may refer to a system comprising a switch. Furthermore, switch is hereby defined to include a server, such as a web server or communications server, or other suitable architecture capable of maintaining incoming calls in queues and/or of routing or forwarding calls to associated agents (or sources of information) or to other call centers for servicing. It should also be appreciated that, as used herein, call may refer to any request for information. As such, “call” may refer to a request for information delivered in a form other than an audible communication. For example, the request may comprise a request for a web page. In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, additional call centers may be included. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a third call center  112  may be included in the call center arrangement  100 .  
         [0018]    The first call center  104  is typically located in a first region or country  116 . In general, the first call center  104  is located in a region or country  116  in which a request for information or a telephone call from a first communication device or telephone  120  is located. As used herein, in addition to a telephone, the communication device  120  may comprise any device for enabling or facilitating communications, such as a computer terminal, a television, a video telephone, or a personal digital assistant or other handheld communication device. However, the first call center  104  and the first communication device  120  are not required to both be in the same region or country. The first communication device  120  and the first call center  104  may be interconnected by a communication channel  124  that comprises the public switched telephony network. Alternatively or in addition, the communication channel  124  may comprise a computer network, such as the Internet, and may utilize voice over Internet protocols (VoIP) for transferring information between the first call center  104  and the communication device  120 .  
         [0019]    The second call center  108  may be located in a region or country  128  that is different than the region or country  116  in which the first call center  104  and the first communication device  120  are located. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the first region or country  116  may be separated from the second region or country  128  by a great distance. As an example, the first region  116  may comprise the nations of the European Union, while the second region or country  128  may be India. As a further example, the first region or country  116  may be the United States, and the second region or country  128  may be the Philippines. It should also be appreciated that the present invention may be used to interconnect call centers (e.g., call centers  104  and  108 ) without regard to the location of the caller (i.e. of telephone  120 ). For example, the first region or country  116  may be a city, such as Chicago, at which the first switch or call center  104  is located, and the first communication device  120  may be located in Los Angeles. The second region  128  in this example may be a city remote from the first, such as Denver, at which the second switch or call center  108  is located. Accordingly, the present invention may be applied to call center arrangements in which all calls are initially received at a first call center  104 , and in which additional call centers  108  and/or  112  may be utilized to service those calls.  
         [0020]    The first call center  104  is interconnected to the second call center  108  by a communication channel  132 . The communication channel  132  may comprise a switched circuit or a packet data channel network. In general, the communication channel  132  has a finite bandwidth. Accordingly, controlling or limiting the amount of data passed over the channel  132  by one or more consumers of the channel bandwidth is desirable. Furthermore, where, for example, the communication channel  132  comprises leased lines or lines that result in toll charges being incurred when data is transferred using the channel  132 , cost savings can be realized by limiting the amount of data passed over the channel  132  by consumers of the channel bandwidth.  
         [0021]    In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, a call center arrangement  100  may comprise additional call centers located in the same or additional regions or countries. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a third call center  112  maybe located in a third region or country  136 . The third region or country  136  may be located at a distance from either or both of the first  116  or second  128  regions or countries. For example, a call center arrangement  100  may have a first call center  104  located in a first region or country  116  that comprises the United States, a second switch or call center  108  located in a second region or country  128  that comprises India, and a third switch or call center  112  located in a third region or country  136  that comprises the Philippines.  
         [0022]    The third call center  112  may be interconnected to the second call center  108  by a communication channel  140 . The communication channel  140  may comprise a switched circuit network. Alternatively or in addition, the communication channel  140  may comprise a packet data network. Furthermore, the third call center  112  may be interconnected to the first switch or call center  104  by a communication channel  144  that is not routed through the second switch or call center  108 .  
         [0023]    With reference now to FIG. 2, a call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  is depicted in block diagram form. In general, the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  comprises a first network interface  204  for interconnecting the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  to a communications device  120  (e.g., in the case of a first switch or call center  104 ) and/or to a remote call center. In addition, the call center  116 ,  128 ,  136  may comprise a second network interface  208  for interconnection to a remote call center or centers.  
         [0024]    Data is routed through a data switch  212  included as part of the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112 . The data switch  212  may be operated to pass information (e.g. voice data) between the first  204  and second  208  network interfaces. Alternatively, the data switch  212  may be operated to pass data between data storage  216  included as part of the switch or call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  and either of the first  204  or second  208  network interfaces. As still a further alternative, the data switch  212  may pass data between any one of a plurality of information sources or agents  220  and the first network interface  204 , the second network interface  208 , and the data storage  216 . Furthermore, the data switch  212  can be operated to pass data from a first information source or agent (e.g. agent  1   220   a ) to a second information source or agent (e.g., agent  2   220   b ). Accordingly, it can be appreciated that, in general, the data switch  212  can be operated to interconnect a component of the switch or call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  that handles data to any other component of the switch or call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  that handles data.  
         [0025]    The data storage  216  may comprise a device or devices capable of storing programs and data for use in connection with the operation of the associated switch  104 ,  108 ,  112  and/or the call center arrangement. In addition, and in particular in connection with a first call center  104 , the data storage  216  may store general information that is played back to a caller through a communication device  120 . The data storage may comprise magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, and/or solid state storage devices.  
         [0026]    In addition to human agents, it should be appreciated that the information source or sources  220  associated with a call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  may comprise any source of information or limited resource. For instance, an information source  220  may comprise a database. In addition, the information source  220  may comprise processor capable of performing operations in response to instructions received from a communication device  120 . Other types of information sources  220  may include communication ports, applications, and threads running on a software processor.  
         [0027]    In addition, the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  may include intelligence, such as may be associated with a processor  224 , for controlling the operation of the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112 . For example, the processor  224  may comprise a general purpose computer processor running programming code implementing the functions of the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  in accordance with a call center arrangement  100  as described herein. As a further example, the processor  224  may be provided as part of a general purpose or personal computer comprising all or a portion of the call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  that is operatively connected to appropriate peripherals (e.g., network interfaces  204 ,  208 , a data switch  212  and input and output devices for use in association with the agents  220 ). In addition, the switch or call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  may comprise a server or other computer implementing the functions described in connection with FIG. 2. As a further example, the switch  104 ,  108 ,  112  may comprise an automatic call distribution system (ACD), such as the Definity® private-branch exchange (PBX) based ACD system available from the assignee of the present invention.  
         [0028]    With reference now to FIG. 3, a flow chart depicting the operation of a call center arrangement  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In general, at step  300 , a request for information (e.g., a telephone call) is received at the first call center  104 . In response to receiving the call, the call center  104  plays back stored data or general information (step  304 ). The general information may include generic information related to the information or services that may be obtained by the caller. In addition, the general information may comprise music or other entertainment. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the general information comprises a mixture of announcements and entertainment. In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, announcements may include information regarding the anticipated time that the caller will be required to wait before an agent  220  is available. The general information may be delivered as audible information, for example, in connection with a request for information initiated using a first communication device  120  comprising a telephone. In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, the general information may comprise a slide show, such as a PowerPoint® presentation, or a series of web pages, for example, in connection with a request for information initiated using a first communication device  120  comprising a computer terminal. In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, the general information may be provided as an audio/video presentation, for example in connection with a request for information using a first communication device  120  comprising a video telephone.  
         [0029]    The received call is then placed in a queue established at the call center  104  for the appropriate skill (step  308 ). In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a queued call is passed to the next available agent  220  having the skill required to service the call on a first in first out basis. The determination of the appropriate skill to associate with a call may be made in a variety of ways. For example, separate addresses (e.g., telephone numbers) may be assigned for different skills. As a further example, the caller may provide information regarding the nature of the call, and thus the appropriate skill to associate with the call, by entering a touch tone or a voice command in response to a query made by the first call center  104 .  
         [0030]    Next, a determination is made as to whether the wait for the appropriate skill is less than some predetermined amount of time (time x) (step  312 ). If the expected wait time is less than the predetermined amount of time, the call may be placed in a queue maintained at the first call center  104  (step  316 ). When it is determined at step  320  that an agent is available, the playback of general information is stopped, and the call is routed to the available agent  220  (step  324 ). If it is determined at step  320  that no agent  220  is available, the call is maintained in the queue at the first call center  104  (step  316 ).  
         [0031]    If at step  312  it is determined that the expected wait time for the skill associated with the call is equal to or greater than the predetermined time x, the call is routed to the second call center  108 , at which time a communication link for the call is established between the first call center  104  and the second call center  108 , for example over the communication channel  132  (step  328 ). A determination is then made as to whether the expected wait time for the appropriate skill at the second call center  108  is less than a predetermined amount of time y (step  332 ). If the expected wait time for the appropriate skill is less than the predetermined time y, the second call center  108  signals the first call center  104  that the second call center  108  will accept responsibility for routing the call to an agent  220  (step  336 ). Upon receiving the signal that the second call center  108  will accept responsibility for routing the call, the first call center  104  removes the call from the queue maintained at the first call center  104  (step  340 ). The call is then placed in a queue for the appropriate skill maintained at the second call center  108  (step  344 ).  
         [0032]    At step  348 , a determination is made as to whether an agent  220  is available to handle the call. If an agent  220  is not available, the call continues to be held in the queue maintained on the second call center  108 .  
         [0033]    If at step  348  it is determinated that an agent  220  is available to handle the call, the second call center  108  signals the first call center  104  to stop playback of the general information (step  352 ). The second call center  108  then routes the call to an agent  220  for handling, and the communication link for the call is terminated to the agent  220  (step  356 ). In particular, the second call center  108  may operate the data switch  212  to establish a communication channel between an agent (e.g. agent  1   220   a ) and the first communication device  120  via the first network interface  204  of the second call center  108 , the communication channel  132 , and the first call center  104 .  
         [0034]    If the expected wait time is not less than the predetermined time (time y), a determination may be made as whether a third call center  112  is available (step  360 ). If a third call center is available, the call may be routed to the third call center  112  (step  364 ). Alternatively, if a third call center is not available, the call may be returned to step  308 , or the call may be maintained in a queue at the second call center  108  regardless of the wait time for an agent  220  associated with the second call center  108 . As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art, if the call is routed to a third call center  112 , steps similar to steps  336  to  356  may be performed in routing the call to an agent  220  associated with the third call center  112 .  
         [0035]    With reference now to FIG. 4, a sequence of events that may be followed in connection with the operation of a call center arrangement  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 4, a caller may originate a call  404  using a first communication device  120  that is received by a first call center or sending switch  104 , for example over a communication channel  124  comprising the public switched telephony network. According to the present example, both the caller utilizing the first communication device  120  and the first switch  104  may be considered to be in a first region or country  116  comprising the United States. In response to receiving the call, a vector, or small program running on the processor  224  of the first call center  104 , operates to queue the call at the sending switch  408  (i.e. the first call center  104 ). Next, the first call center  104  operates to provide audible feedback (ie. general information) to the caller. Accordingly, the caller hears audible feedback  412  provided by the sending switch  104 .  
         [0036]    Next, the first call center  104  places a lookahead interflow call attempt  416  to the receiving switch (e.g., second call center)  108 . In connection with the lookahead interflow call attempt, the first call center  104  sends a setup signal  420  to the second call center  108 . As shown in FIG. 4, the setup signal  420  may comprise an integrated services digital network (ISDN) signal. The use of ISDN type signaling is particularly convenient where the communication channel  132  between the first call center  104  and the second call center  108  is a packet data communication channel. In response to the setup signal  420 , vector processing running in connection with the second call center  108  operates to check the acceptance conditions  424 . For example, the second call center  108  determines whether expected wait times and/or other criteria are such that the second call center  108  can accept responsibility for routing the call to an agent  220 . According to the present example, the call is accepted by the second call center  108  and placed in an appropriate queue  428 . As shown in the ISDN messaging column of FIG. 4, the second call center  108  sends a progress signal  432  to the first call center  104  to inform the first call center  104  that responsibility for routing the call to an agent  220  has been accepted by the second call center  108 .  
         [0037]    In response to receiving the progress signal  432 , the first call center  104  dequeues the call  436  in the queue maintained on the first call center  104  for that call type or skill. Although the first call center  104  no longer maintains the call in a queue of calls awaiting service by an agent  220  associated with the first call center  104 , vector processing is not terminated  440 . In particular, general information, such as audible feedback  448 , continues to be provided to the first caller by the first call center  104  uninterrupted  444 . Accordingly, the caller continues to hear audible feedback  448  provided by the first call center  104 .  
         [0038]    Next in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, an agent  220  associated with the second call center  108  is assigned to handle the call that has been waiting in the queue  452  maintained on the second call center  108 . In conjunction with the assignment of an agent  220  to the call by the second call center  108 , an alerting signal  456  is passed to the first call center  104 . In response to receiving the alerting signal  456 , vector processing in connection with the call is terminated  460  on the first call center  104 . In addition, the provision of audible feedback is terminated  460 . The caller hears ringback from the receiving switch  464  in conjunction with the assignment of the agent  220  to the call. The agent  220  then answers the call  468  at which time a connect signal  472  is passed from the second call center  108  to the first call center  104 . The caller may then speak to the agent  476 .  
         [0039]    From the examples of the operation of call center arrangements  100  in accordance with the present invention provided in FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be appreciated that general information is provided to the caller by the sending switch or first call center  104 , even though the receiving switch or second call center  108  has accepted responsibility for routing the call to an agent  220 . This allows the relatively heavy communication channel bandwidth requirements associated with audible feedback to be supplied by the call center  104  that is relatively local with respect to the first communication device  120 . Accordingly, the bandwidth of the communication channel  132  interconnecting the sending  104  and receiving  108  call centers can be sized in accordance with the number of agents or information sources  220  associated with the receiving switch  108 . In addition, the present invention allows general information to be stored and played back in connection with the sending switch  104 . This arrangement simplifies administration of the general information provided to callers, by allowing announcements and music or other general information to be stored on a storage device  216  associated with the sending switch  104 . Accordingly, coordination of general information among various switches or call centers (e.g., first  104 , second  108 , and third  112  call centers) is not required.  
         [0040]    Although the dequeuing of a call from a first call center  104  in response to the acceptance of responsibility for routing the call by a second call center  108  has been described, it should be appreciated that dequeuing is not required. For example, a call may be simultaneously maintained in a number of call center  104 ,  108 ,  112  queues, while general information is provided by the first call center  104 . The call may be removed from the various queues, and the provision of general information from the first call center  104  terminated, upon assignment of the call to an agent  220  associated with one of the call centers  104 ,  108 ,  112 .  
         [0041]    Although the decision to route a call to a second  108  or third  112  call center has been described in examples given above in response to excessive wait times on a first  104  or second  108  call center, it should be appreciated that the present invention is not so limited. For example, various other reasons may result in the passing of a call from the first call center  104  to another call center (e.g., call center  108  or  112 ). Examples of such other reasons include the cost associated with the use of an information source  220  associated with a particular call center  104 ,  108  or  112 , the quality of an information source  220  associated with a particular call center  104 ,  108  or  112 , and load balancing considerations. As a further example, various reasons may be considered simultaneously using intelligent systems, such as are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,740,238, 5,754,639, and 6,049,547, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.  
         [0042]    The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such or in other embodiments and with various modifications required by their particular application or use of the invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include the alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.