Abstract:
A network operation center is provided. The network operation center provides a message to a customer over a communication link and waits for a reply to the message from the customer. When the reply is received, the network operation center determines whether the reply indicated the customer is receptive to contact from a call center. If the reply indicates the customer is receptive, the network operation center provides a notification to the call center along with customer contact information. The call center contacts the customer based on the notification.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/550,698, filed Mar. 5, 2004, titled M ETHOD AND  A PPARATUS TO  A LLOW  C USTOMERS TO  I NITIATE  C ALL  C ENTER  C ONTACT , incorporated herein by reference as if set out in full. This application also is related to U.S. Design Patent Application No. ______, filed Jan. ______, titled T WO  W AY  P AGER , which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design Patent Application No. 29/200,652, filed Mar. 1, 2004, titled T WO  W AY  P AGER , now U.S. Design Patent Des. ______, incorporated herein by reference as if set out in full. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to companies that solicit customer orders using call centers or telemarketers (generically referred to as call centers) and, more particularly, methods and apparatuses that allow customers to initiate call center contact to place orders, requests, or the like to be fulfilled by the companies.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Many companies provide delivery services to customers on a regular basis. For example, medical device companies regularly provide standard orders to customers on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Many companies deliver groceries, prepared meals, or the like on specified dates and/or times. As used herein, home delivery should be construed broadly to include both products and services as well as commercial and residential locations.  
         [0004]     Other companies similarly use call centers for pre or advance purchase options so customers can secure products, such as specialties or discount items. The purchased items may be delivered or held for customer pickup.  
         [0005]     For delivery systems, some customers have prearranged deliveries, similar to most milk or dairy delivery companies, but many of the delivery companies simply stop at the customer&#39;s address on the prearranged delivery day. During that stop, the customer is presented with purchase options, and the transaction is consummated. Alternatively, some companies allow customers to prepare a list of items they wish instead of and/or in addition to their normal delivery.  
         [0006]     Companies allowing pre or advance purchase typically don&#39;t have a prearranged delivery network, but solicit purchases from pre-identified customers. For example, Costco provides members with the ability to purchase specialty items.  
         [0007]     As can be appreciated, soliciting the order during the delivery stop may be time consuming and is not overly cost effective. Moreover, it is difficult to estimate and load the proper inventory onto the delivery vehicle without some pre-existing knowledge of what the customers on a given route will purchase. For pre or advance purchase of specialties items, it would be beneficial to have a preexisting estimate of expected purchases prior to acquiring inventory.  
         [0008]     In the delivery business, instead of stopping for each customer, many delivery companies attempt to solicit preorders from their customers. For example, a frozen meat company may send coupons or postcards soliciting the customer to contact the company and arrange a pre-purchase. A grocery delivery company may call the customer to discuss a grocery delivery for a particular day. Similarly, facsimiles, emails, and text messages could be sent all in an attempt to solicit a preorder from the customer prior to the delivery date so the delivery company can quickly and cost efficiently drop off a prearranged order.  
         [0009]     Of course, with today&#39;s anti-spam, anti-faxing, and other similar laws, pre-soliciting orders is difficult and potentially illegal. Even without the legal hurdles, pre-soliciting orders is problematic. For example, when calling a customer to solicit a preorder, the customer inevitably receives the call at an inopportune time, such as, for example, during dinner.  
         [0010]     Thus, it would be desirable to develop methods, apparatuses, and systems in which the customer can initiate the preorder contact.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     To attain the advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method that allows a customer to initiate call center contact is provided. The method includes receiving at a network operation center a message to be transmitted to a customer and transmitting the message. After the message is transmitted, the network operation center waits for a reply from the customer. The network operation center determines whether the reply is received and if the received reply is a positive reply. On indication of a positive reply, the network operation center alerts a call center and provides the call center with customer contact information.  
         [0012]     Another aspect of the present invention provides systems to allow a customer to initiate call center contact. The system includes a network operation center for delivering content to a customer and providing instruction to a call center that the customer is receptive to communication. Specifically, the network operation center comprises a transmitter to transmit content to the customer. A receiver at the center waits for a reply from the customer. Once the reply is received, a determinator determines whether the reply is a positive reply. And, on a positive relpy, a notifier delivers a notification to a call center that includes contact information of the customer.  
         [0013]     The foregoing and other features, utilities and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles thereof. Like items in the drawings are referred to using the same numerical reference.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a system environment consistent with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a representation of a wireless device associated with the system of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a functional block diagram of the wireless device of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart exemplary of one possible methodology associated with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a functional block diagram of a region in which the invention of  FIG. 1  may operate consistent with embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic representation of a delivery vehicle interacting with the system of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  shows an alternative shape for the device shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     The present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.  1  to  7 . While the present invention will be explained in the context of home grocery and frozen food delivery, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize on reading the disclosure that the present invention could be used in other contexts, such as, for example, business deliveries, medical supply deliveries, office supply deliveries, consumer household deliveries, and the like. Moreover, home delivery company or delivery company is used generically to refer to any company that solicits pre or advance purchases from customers using a call center to solicit the purchase, such as, for example, membership companies like Costco.  
         [0023]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a system  100  consistent with the present invention is shown. System  100  includes a network operations center (NOC)  102 , a delivery company  104 , a call center  106 , and a home (or office)  108 . Delivery company  104  as explained above is exemplary and could be other companies that solicit customer orders using call centers whether or not the company actually delivers the purchased product or service to the customer. While shown as separate entities for convenience, NOC  102 , delivery company  104 , and call center  106  could be a single integrated unit, as desired. NOC  102  could one or more processors and/or servers. First communication link  110  connects NOC  102  to delivery company  104 , communication link  112  connects NOC  102  to home  108 , second communication link  110  connects NOC  102  to call center  106 , and communication link  114  connects call center  106  to home  108 . Home  108  could be a residence or commercial location, but is referred to generically as a home for convenience. First communication link  110  and second communication link  110  could be any of a conventional POTS communication link (such as, for example, a telephone connection), a conventional wireless communication link (such as, for example, a cellular connection or pager connection), or the like. It is envisioned that first and second communication links  110  would be network connections, such as, a LAN, WAN, WLAN, Ethernet, Internet, VoIP, or World Wide Web connection. Although envisioned that first and second communication links  110  would be the same, first and second communication links  110  could be different types of links. Communication link  112  could be a conventional wireless, POTS, or network connection, but it is envisioned that communication link  112  would be a wireless connection, such as, for example, a cellular telephone, two-way radio, or a pager connection, such as, for example, a ReFLEX pager, as will be explained further below. Finally, communication link  114  could also be a conventional wireless, POTS, or network connection, but it is envisioned that communication link  114  will comprise a simple POTS style telephone connection, as will be explained below. Although with the advances of VoIP, communication link  114  may be a networked connection such as the above. Further, each of the connections could be one or two ways as needed.  
         [0024]     Assuming at least a partial wireless system  100 ,  FIG. 2  shows a two-way wireless device  200  that would reside in home  108 .  FIG. 7  shows an alternative shape for deice  200 . Device  200  is capable of receiving wireless transmissions and displaying the transmissions on display  202 . (Receiving and transmitting wireless transmissions is conventional and will not be further explained herein). When a message is displayed on display  202 , the customer could reject the message using no button  204 , accept the message using yes button  206 , save the message using save button  208 , view a saved message using view saved button  210 , and scroll through messages using up and down arrows  212  and  214 , respectively. Ideally, the customer&#39;s actions (reject, accept, or save) would be broadcast to NOC  102  so NOC  102  could save, record, and deliver demographic data and the like. As can be appreciated, device  200  has a processor, a memory, a transmitter, and a receiver (or a transceiver instead of a separate transmitter and receiver). The internal portions of device  200  are not further described, as the operation of the wireless device for receiving saving, and transmitting messages is generally known in the art. As mentioned above, one possible communication protocol useful for the present invention would be pager technology.  FIG. 3  shows the internal portions of device  200  assuming the use of, for example, ReFLEX pager technology. As shown in  FIG. 3 , device  200  contains a processor  302  (which is shown as a microchip processing unit), a first memory  304  (which is shown as flash ROM), a power supply  306  (which is shown as plug in line voltage, but could be a battery or the like), a ReFLEX modem  308  (which could be other communication protocol devices), a second memory  310 , (which is shown as DataFlash memory), an LCD controller  312 , buttons  206 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 , and  214 , and an LED  314  (which is an optional message indicator light). As these parts are relatively standard in the industry, they will not be further explained herein. Also, the parts are shown separate for convenience and many of the pieces could be combined into a single integrated unit, such as the two memories could be combined into a single memory, the LCD controller could be integrated into the processor, or the like. Further, as one of ordinary skill in the art would now recognize, other communication protocols, such as VoIP, WAP, other conventional wireless protocols, or the like, could be replaced for the ReFLEX technology. Advantages of the ReFLEX technology, or other two way radio technology, include, for example, a delivery vehicle could contain a similar radio transmitter and/or receiver to broadcast updated information to, for example, second memory  310 , and/or poll devices  200  to ensure operation during deliveries, which is explained further below.  
         [0025]     Operation of system  100  and device  200  will now be explained with reference to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  shows a flowchart  400  illustrative of a method of operation of the system consistent with an embodiment of the present invention. The delivery company  104  initially composes a message to be sent to its customers, step  402 . The delivery company  104  then transmits the composed message to NOC  102  for delivery, step  404 . For example, assuming a network connection between delivery company  104  and NOC  102 , the delivery company logs onto the NOC web page and composes a message. Once finished, the delivery company may click on send, ok, or the like, which transmits the message to the NOC for delivery. Once NOC  102  receives the message, NOC  102  packages the message for delivery to home  108  (via device  200 ), step  406 . Packaging the message for delivery could include protocol conversions. In this case, the NOC  102  received the message in a network protocol, such as, HTML. The NOC  102 , however, delivers the message to the home using ReFLEX technology, or other wireless technology. Thus, NOC  102  converts the message from a HTML data package into a ReFLEX data package. Once the message is packaged, NOC  102  delivers the message to home  108 , step  408 . The message could be audio, textual, visual, video, audiovisual, graphical, still images, or the like.  
         [0026]     Once any particular message is delivered, NOC  102  waits for a reply to the message, step  410 . Optionally, NOC  102  may be programmed to wait for a reply at a predetermined time. If no reply is received within the predetermined time, NOC  102  may be programmed to retransmit the message, record an error, or provide a default message, such as, for example, if no reply is received within 3 hrs of any given message, NOC  102  records the reply as a no (denial or rejection by the customer). As contemplated, the reply to the message would be a yes (accept), no (deny or reject), or save, although much more comprehensive reply messages are possible. For example, device  200  could have a full keyboard in place of the 6 buttons provided. The full keyboard would allow for more comprehensive reply messages. Once the reply is received, NOC  102  determines whether the reply was a yes message, step  412 . If NOC  102  determines the message is a yes message, NOC  102  transmits the message and contact information to call center  106 , step  414 . Call center  106  then places a call to home  108  to solicit a preorder at the customer&#39;s request, step  416 .  
         [0027]     If at step  412  it is determined that the reply was not a yes message, NOC  102  next determines whether the customer sent a no reply, step  418 . If the reply is no, NOC  102  saves the information and delivers it to delivery company  104  for their use, step  420 . Delivery company  104  may elect to cease sending those types of messages to home  108 , modify the message, or continue with the same message at its choice. Delivery of the information to delivery company  104  could be via electronic means (as email, web page access, or the like), facsimile, voice messages, telephone calls, regular postal service, or the like.  
         [0028]     If at step  418  it is determined that the reply was not a no message, NOC  102  next determines whether the customer saved the message, step  422 . If the reply is a save, NOC  102  saves the information and delivers it to delivery company  104  for their use, step  420 . Optionally, if at step  422  it is determined that a reply was not received to the message, NOC  102  can resend the message, step  408 , or send an error signal step  426 .  
         [0029]     While not specifically shown, yes replies can be saved by NOC  102  and delivered to delivery company  104  as well. The compilation of data provides demographic information and the like.  
         [0030]     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , system  100  may also include advertisers  120 . Advertisers  120  may contract with delivery company  104  to send a certain number of messages to homes  108 . Once established, advertisers  120  would be connected to NOC  102  through a third communication link  110 . Again, it is envisioned that communication links  110  would be the same, but they could each be different as desired. The process for advertisers  120  would be similar to delivery company  104 . Although advertisers  120  could send a message to which a yes reply would prompt a call from a call center, it is envisioned that yes replies would indicate the customer is interested in receiving or pursuing additional communication and no replies would indicate a lack of interest. NOC  102  would tally this information and deliver it to the third party advertiser  120 .  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a functional block diagram of a system  500  operating on a wide area is shown. System  500  includes, for example, a plurality of homes  501 - 505  and a plurality of transmission towers  506 - 508 . Messages to be delivered to homes  501 - 505  are sent from NOC  102  to transmission towers  506 - 508  for broadcast, as explained above for the single home. Homes  501 ,  502 , and  503  and transmission tower  506  reside in area  509 ; home  504  and tower  507  in area  510 ; and home  505  and tower  508  in area  511 . While delivery company  104  may elect to deliver any particular message to all its homes, if delivery company  104  only wanted to send a message to homes  501 ,  502 ,  503 , and  504 , the message would instruct only transmission towers  506  and  507  to broadcast the message. Alternatively it may instruct all towers in areas  509  and  510  to broadcast the message, or the like. Similarly, if delivery company  104  elected to only send a message to home  502 , it may send a message instructing all devices  200  in homes  501 ,  503 ,  504 , and  505  to not receive the message. In other words, each device has a unique identifier so messages could be tailored to particular customers. Thus, messages could be packaged by NOC  102  such that only identified devices receive the message. This would be useful for advertisers  120  who may exist in area  509  but not in area  511  as the advertisers could target only the relevant locations.  
         [0032]     As mentioned above, one advantage of pager or two way radio technology for device  200  is that a vehicle with a transmitter or receiver can broadcast information or poll device  200 . Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a vehicle  600  is shown. Vehicle  600  has a radio  602 . As vehicle  600  approaches home  108 , radio  602  broadcasts or receives signals from device  200 . Broadcast signals  604  from radio  602  may, for example, upload memory updates to device  200 , such updates may include, for example, graphics, text, video, advertisements, programming changes, or the like. Signals  606  received from device  200  may include some of the demographic information outlined above and/or other demographic information, polling information regarding the status of device  200 . Polling information may include minute viewing, whether and how much a device has been used over a period of time, operational status, or the like.  
         [0033]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.