Abstract:
A system includes a computer workstation associated with an agent of a call center and a subsystem that includes automatic call distributor (ACD) functions for connecting a caller to the computer workstation of the agent, the subsystem being connected with a device of the caller via an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The agent transmits a first message over the IP network to a device of the caller during the call. The first message contains notes electronically recorded by the agent. Prior to or coincident with an end of the call, the caller sends a second message back to the system confirming the agent&#39;s notes. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to the fields of telephony and call center communications; more specifically, to systems and methods for providing interactive services between a caller and a call center agent.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Interactive voice response (IVR) systems that provide information and channel calls to service agents in response to the spoken words or touch tone signaling of a telephone caller have been deployed for more than a decade. The traditional call center for handling service calls was based on a private branch exchange (PBX) that included core automatic call distributor (ACD) functions for connecting a caller to one of a plurality of agents. During the 1990s, the advent of the Internet, electronic commerce, and computer telephony integration (CTI) transformed the call center in ways that enabled delivery of caller data to agents, thereby enabling agents to become more efficient and to improve customer service levels. Today, many enterprises use multiple call or contact centers (both terms are used synonymously and interchangeably in the present application) that extend across different geographic regions, with communications taking place through the public switched telephone networks (PSTN) and Internet protocol (IP) enabled networks that support multi-channel (voice, e-mail, text chat, and Web collaboration) customer interaction.  
         [0003]     By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,798,877 teaches a system in which a caller utilizes a personal computer (PC) for establishing an Internet connection to an ACD and for permitting a caller to select a particular agent. A system for providing information about a telephone caller to a telephone agent, wherein caller-specific data of the caller is used to generate a web page that displays the identified information to the agent is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,212. U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,715 discloses a system for operatively integrating an ACD and an IVR unit in which an interaction input from a caller is stored and then transmitted to an appropriate agent workstation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,798,768 teaches multimedia call routing in an IP network. An Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT) call center system wherein calls are routed to remote agents over the Internet in accordance with a set of business rules is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,586.  
         [0004]     Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,963 teaches a system that allows an IVR system to gain control over an ACD call that has been routed to the IVR over Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) facilities employing Q-signaling (QSIG) protocol. The IVR informs the ACD server, such as a PBX or Private Integrated Services Network Exchange (PINX), that a critical transaction is occurring that should not be interrupted by the ACD. QSIG is a well known signaling protocol based upon ISDN Q.931 that is commonly used for signaling between nodes of a Private Integrated Services Network (PISN). Basically, QSIG allows products from different vendors to interwork together. QSIG can be used in multi-vendor PBX networking, attachment of ancillary equipment (e.g., voicemail systems, paging equipment, etc.) to a PBX network, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), broadband private networks, linking Trans-European Trunked Radio (TETRA) areas, and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications.  
         [0005]     According to a standard practice in call center systems, the call center agent takes notes of the call session by typing information into a computer, thereby creating an electronic record that may be stored in the ACD system. These notes generally contain special orders, information that the caller requested, and account agreements reached between the agent and the caller. For example, a caller may call to complain about an erroneous service charge to his account and request that the charge be reversed. In another instance, a cellular phone user may request that his service be temporarily disabled for a time period and request a waiver of the service fee during the period of nonuse. In cases such as these, the caller and agent usually arrive at a negotiated oral agreement, the terms of which are typically recorded in the ACD system by entry of the servicing agent&#39;s electronic (e.g., typed) notes. In the examples given, when the call is over the caller reasonable expects to receive a credit or fee waiver that will appear in his next billing statement.  
         [0006]     The problem is that in many cases miscommunication or misunderstanding occurs between the caller and the agent. In other cases, the agent records or enters mistaken information, such that the agent&#39;s notes or user information entered into the ACD system does not reflect what the caller expected or understood. Unfortunately, when the user later calls back to the call center to complain about the mistake or misunderstanding, the notes recorded in the ACD system do not support the caller&#39;s recollection of the original agreement. As a result, human errors and misunderstandings that commonly happen during call center sessions can lead to customer dissatisfaction.  
         [0007]     One solution to the problem of avoiding errors and misunderstandings between the caller and the agent involves sending an email to the caller after the end of the call session. The email notifies the caller of the content information entered into the ACD system by the agent. The drawback of this approach, however, is that it is not real-time communication. Not only have the agent&#39;s notes already been entered into the ACD, but there also is a delay between the time that the email message is transmitted and the time that the caller actually reads the email message. During this delay period, which may be several days or weeks, memories fade and the information content of the email message may differ from what the caller recollects. In the event that the caller disagrees with the information conveyed in the email notification, he must then try to correct the misunderstanding or error, e.g., by sending a reply email message or by placing another call to the call center. In either case, further delay is introduced and the likelihood of obtaining a satisfactory resolution to the matter is diminished.  
         [0008]     What is needed is a mechanism that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and which permits a caller to acknowledge and confirm negotiated agreements with a call center agent, as reflected in the agent notes that are recorded in the ACD system, in real-time (i.e., during the call).  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description that follows and from the accompanying drawings, which however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown, but are for explanation and understanding only.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a conceptual block diagram of a system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an ACD system according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of a system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  shows an IP telephone utilized in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a portion of an IP telephone illustrating an exemplary transaction in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a flow diagram of a method of operation for a call center system according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]     A system and method that provides a caller with the ability to confirm a call center agent&#39;s notes during the call session is described. In the following description specific details are set forth, such as device types, system configurations, protocols, methods, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, persons having ordinary skill in the relevant arts will appreciate that these specific details may not be needed to practice the present invention.  
         [0017]     According to one embodiment of the present invention, a call center includes an ACD system that routes a call to an available agent, who records notes on a computer workstation during the call session with the caller. These notes may include information regarding the nature of the call as well as terms of any service agreement reached between the agent and the caller. At the end of the session, i.e., when the agent is through servicing the call, the agent electronically communicates either all of the notes, or a portion of the notes that contains the terms of the agreement, to the caller. In a particular implementation, the agent notes are communicated to the caller via an Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) text message sent to the caller over an IP network. The agent typically ends his participation in the call session after transmitting the notes to the caller.  
         [0018]     The caller stays connected to the call center while reviewing the agent notes, and then either confirms or rejects those notes. That is, the call is not ended or terminated until the caller either hangs up or sends a response back to the call center. Confirmation of an agent&#39;s notes by a caller implies that—from the service provider&#39;s perspective—the caller has understood and accepted the deal presented by the agent (or the agreement negotiated between the agent and the caller). From the caller&#39;s perspective, confirmation also serves as verification of the same information.  
         [0019]     In the case where the caller agrees with the content of the agent&#39;s notes, he may respond by entering a command (e.g., keypad entry) on his telephone that automatically sends a confirmation message back to the call center via the IP network. Alternatively, in certain implementations confirmation may be communicated back to the call center simply by the caller hanging up to end the call. When the ACD system of the call center receives confirmation of the agent notes from the caller, it enters those notes in an associated memory or database that provides an archival storage function.  
         [0020]     In the event that the caller disagrees with the agent&#39;s notes of their call session, he may send a rejection reply message which, when received by the ACD system, causes the caller to be placed in a priority position in a queue. The caller is transferred out of the queue to speak with the agent who recorded the notes when that agent is available. The original notes of the agent are not archived by the ACD until the caller confirms or verifies the agent notes. In this way, the caller and agent may resume their call session to correct any misunderstanding or error in the agent&#39;s notes. Upon reaching a verbal agreement, the above process, which involves communication of the notes to the caller, followed by confirmation or rejection by the caller, is repeated.  
         [0021]     The media path for the call center session between the caller and the agent may include audio (voice), text, and even video transmissions over an IP protocol network with connections that span across multiple services, systems, and devices (e.g., private branch exchange (PBX) systems, VoIP gateways, etc.). In a specific embodiment, the present invention may be implemented by software or hardware (firmware) installed in an ACD system of a call center. The caller telephone device may comprise any telephone with IP communication capabilities, a so-called “softphone” (a PC that has phone capabilities installed), or other IP phone/communication products. Alternative embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in PBX, telephony, telephone, and other telecommunications systems.  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary system  10  for caller confirmation of call center agent notes in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown including a call center  30  connected with a plurality of users or callers (e.g.,  11 - 13 ) via an IP network  20 . For example, a caller may communicate with call center  30  across IP network  30  directly from a voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone  12 , or from traditional time-division multiplexing (TDM) telephone device  13  connected to IP network  20  via a VoIP gateway  14 . In another instance, the user may communicate with call center  30  utilizing a PC  11  that has telephony, telephone, and/or other telecommunications functions installed for placing packet-based calls over IP network  20 . It is appreciated that PC  11  may also include a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising a collaborative web-based application (provided by the call center) that is accessed by the browser software running on PC  14 . In other instances, the GUI running on PC  11  may comprise a downloaded application of computer-executable code that may be loaded or accessed by PC  11 .  
         [0023]     Continuing with the example of  FIG. 1 , call center  30  is shown including an ACD system  31  coupled with a plurality of agents  33 , an addressable memory or database  34 , an input/output (I/O) system  16  coupled with IP network  20 , and a supervisor workstation  14 . ACD  11  is normally configured to receive and service calls from a variety of sources via I/O system  16 , which interfaces with devices (e.g., routers) associated with IP network  20 . When an incoming call is received at call center  30 , it is normally routed by ACD  11  to a computer workstation of the next available agent  33 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of ACD  31  according to one embodiment, which shows ACD  31  including a processor subsystem  41  comprising one or more processors coupled with various hardware (or software) units or modules  43 . Commonly included is a historical reporting module that operates to build up the call history as it develops for use by the various agents during the call center session. In certain implementations, modules  43  may include known text-to-speech (TTS) and speech-to-text (STT) converters for use with an interactive voice response (IVR) system  44 . Modules  43  may also optionally include code for generating a visual user interface for a caller communicating with the call center via a personal computer. Processor subsystem  41  is also shown coupled with an addressable memory  42  and an input/output (I/O) subsystem  45 . Data may be transferred between memory  42  and processor subsystem  81  over a dedicated memory bus, and between the processor and I/O subsystems over a system bus  46 .  
         [0025]     In this example, IVR system  44  is coupled with processor subsystem  41  via bus  46 , and provides information and channels calls to call center service agents in response to the spoken words or touch tone signaling of a telephone call. In other embodiments, IVR  44  may be configured as a separate system from ACD  31  within call center  30 . In a particular implementation, IVR  44  may be utilized to communicate an agent&#39;s notes to a caller via speech (e.g., text-to-speech) and/or to receive a spoken confirmation or rejection message from a caller.  
         [0026]     In an alternative embodiment, contact center  30  may be implemented as single-server, integrated “contact-center-in-a-box” that receives and routes calls to a plurality of service agents. A single-server approach may enhance contact-center efficiency, reduce business costs, and improve customer response by simplifying business application integration, easing agent administration, increasing agent flexibility, and providing efficiency gains in network hosting. For example, a single (or multiple) server contact center architecture may provide ACD functions, including conditional routing, call-in-queue and expected-wait-time messages, enterprise data displays, real-time data, and historical reporting.  
         [0027]     There are a number of different mechanisms by which a caller may receive and then confirm/reject an agent&#39;s recorded notes. In each case, the notes are communicated to the caller&#39;s telephone device across IP network  20  and either displayed as text or played out to the caller as speech on the caller&#39;s telephone device. After receiving the notes, the caller may either confirm or reject the notes. For example, if the notes reflect his understanding of the agreement reached during the call session with the agent, the caller may confirm the notes by entering a command that triggers an appropriate response message, or simply by speaking an appropriate response. If, on the other hand, the caller disagrees with the content of the agent&#39;s notes, or if he wants clarification, he may respond in like manner to reject the notes that have been communicated.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an IP phone  60  that may be utilized by a caller to a call center in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. IP phone  60  includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel  61 , dynamic softkeys  62 , a handset  63 , and an alphanumerical keypad  64 . Softkeys  62  support information services including XML text messaging capabilities that may be used for confirming or rejecting agent notes. By way of example,  FIG. 5  shows an agent&#39;s notes displayed as a text message on LCD panel  61 , with softkeys  62 A and  62 B functioning as single-button inputs to allow the caller to either confirm (i.e., accept) or reject the notes being displayed. In this case the agent notes communicated to the caller state, “Provider agrees to credit Alice Smith&#39;s account no. 1256XW in the amount of $53.61.” In response, the caller may either press softkey  62 A or softkey  62 B, the effect of which respectively causes IP phone  60  to send either a confirmation or rejection message back to the call center.  
         [0029]     In certain embodiments, the call center applications may provide a predefined input key or command that gives a caller the option to request confirmation of the agent&#39;s notes. In other words, instead of having the agent send his or her notes routinely at the end of each call session, the caller is provided with the option of requesting the notes from the agent at the end of the session. When the caller invokes the request confirmation option (e.g., via softkey command or IVR response), the agent&#39;s notes are either displayed as XML text on the caller&#39;s IP phone or played out as speech, e.g., using a text-to-speech converter. (It is appreciated that during the confirmation process, only the user relevant information is sent to the caller; that is, call center private data is not shared with the caller.)  
         [0030]     In a particular embodiment, to avoid having the agent wait on the line during the confirmation process the agent leaves the call once the notes have been communicated to the caller. This approach increases productivity by allowing the agent to service other callers. As discussed above, if the caller rejects the notes during the confirmation process (e.g., due to errors in the notes or further questions/clarification) the caller is then queued back by the ACD system as a next caller for the same agent.  
         [0031]     In another alternative embodiment,  FIG. 3  illustrates a network architecture for caller confirmation of agent notes in which a call may be placed using a VoIP phone  51  that connects to an Internet Protocol (IP) software-based business PBX phone system  52  that provides call routing of voice over IP (VoIP) calls. An IP-PBX system  57  associated with call center  58  may comprise software or hardware (firmware) that includes executable code to implement the functionality and features described herein.) By way of example, Q-signaling (QSIG) protocol may be utilized between IP-PBX systems  52  and  57  to accommodate different vendor PBX networking and for interworking among different products/systems that may include a variety of telephone devices from different vendors.  
         [0032]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart diagram that illustrates a method of operation according to one embodiment of the present invention. The process starts (block  71 ) when a call is received and routed by the ACD to an agent associated with the call center. The agent then types notes in his computer workstation to record salient points of discussion, issues, and/or agreements reached during the call session (block  72 ). At the end of the call session between the agent and the caller, or in response to a request for confirmation sent by the caller, all or a portion of the agent&#39;s notes are electronically transmitted to the caller over the network connection (block  73 ).  
         [0033]     Once the notes have been transmitted to the caller, the agent may leave the call in order to service other callers. Meanwhile, the caller, who receives the notes either as text or as speech on his telephone device, has to decide whether to confirm or reject the communicated notes (decision block  74 ). In the event that the caller confirms the notes, a confirmation message is sent back to the call center, which results in the notes being entered into the ACD system; that is, stored in a memory or database (block  75 ). It should be understood that the confirmation response of the caller may be sent prior to or coincident with an end of the call, i.e., when the caller hangs up. At this point the call session ends (block  76 ).  
         [0034]     In the alternative case where the caller rejects the agent notes, the caller is placed in a waiting queue to be eventually returned to the same agent (block  77 ). After further discussion between the agent and the caller, the agent may revise, alter, or append his notes (block  78 ), with the confirmation process then being repeated.  
         [0035]     It is appreciated that there may be situations in which no agreement or confirmation can be reached. In other words, the above process—wherein the caller rejects the agent&#39;s notes, the notes are revised, and then the revised notes are communicated to the caller—may be repeated a number of times without a mutually satisfactory resolution of the issue presented by the caller. In certain implementations, after a predetermined number of iterations, or upon a determination by the agent (or supervisor) that no agreement can be reached, the call may be terminated and an appropriate notation entered into the ACD system.  
         [0036]     It should also be understood that elements of the present invention may also be provided as a computer program product which may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer (e.g., a processor or other electronic device) to perform a sequence of operations. Alternatively, the operations may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnet or optical cards, propagation media or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. For example, elements of the present invention may be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer or telephonic device to a requesting process by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).  
         [0037]     Additionally, although the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, numerous modifications and alterations are well within the scope of the present invention. For example, in certain implementations the waiting room may be subdivided into areas that provide different categories of meeting participation. For example, there may be an area that allow individuals to audit (i.e., listen but not speak) main conference room discussions in addition to an area that completely isolates individuals from the main conference room. Yet another subdivision area might be used to preclude persons from entering into a breakout session while in the waiting room. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.