Abstract:
A system and method are provided for reducing the wait time for a caller waiting to speak with an agent in an automatic call distribution system. The system and method receive a call from a caller, and receive an indication that the caller is to speak with one of a plurality of agents. The system and method inform the caller of a delay before the caller can speak to one of the plurality of agents and offers the caller an opportunity to establish a reservation to call back at a particular time. The system and method receive an indication that the caller would like to accept the reservation. The system and method provide the caller with a reservation code, and inform the caller to call back at the particular time.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to automatic call distribution systems, and more particularly to providing alternatives to waiting in long queues for an agent. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     An automatic call distribution system (hereinafter ‘ACD system’) is a telephone facility that manages incoming calls and handles them based on the number called and an associated database of handling instructions. Many companies offering sales and service support use ACD systems to validate callers, make outgoing responses, gather usage statistics, forward calls to agents, and provide other services. 
     ACD systems are utilized in call centers to provide information automatically to callers based on programmed database handling instructions, and to forward callers to operators, referred to as “agents” in ACD terminology. When a caller calls into a call center, the ACD system within the call center can provide information to the caller. The ACD system can be configured to allow the caller to request an agent. Callers request an agent by depressing the keys on their telephone dial pad. After requesting an agent, the ACD system typically routes the caller through a queue before connecting the caller to an agent. The caller has the option to indicate the requested service or skill, e.g., home insurance vs. car insurance, and the ACD system will queue the caller for the right agent. Some ACD systems inform the caller how long the wait will be for an agent. This allows callers to chose whether they want to wait in the queue or whether they want to call back at a different time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, disadvantages and problems associated with waiting for an agent on an ACD system have been reduced or eliminated. In particular, a caller can request a reservation to call back at another time when the wait time for the caller may be reduced. 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method for reducing the wait time of a caller in an ACD system is provided. An aspect of the invention includes receiving a call from a caller, receiving an indication that the caller is to speak with one of a plurality of agents, and determining a particular time for the caller to speak with one of the plurality of agents. 
     Another aspect of this invention includes sensing that a queue of calls is below a threshold indicative of an availability of an agent, and transmitting a message to a caller that an agent is about to become available. 
     Yet another aspect of this invention includes receiving a call from a caller, and receiving an indication that the caller is to speak with one of a plurality of agents. The caller is informed of a delay before the caller can speak to one of the plurality of agents and offered an opportunity to establish a reservation to call back at a particular time. The caller indicates that the caller would like to make the reservation. The caller may be able to specify the preferred time for the reservation. The caller is provided with a reservation code, and informed to call back at the agreed upon time. 
     Important technical advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention include shorter wait times when waiting to speak with an agent after calling into an ACD system, reducing the cost a company must expend for supplying toll-free calls, reducing the time callers spend in queues, reducing the number of servers required to operate call centers, increasing the volume of calls at times that historically have low volumes of calls, and improved ability to predict the number of incoming calls at a given time and thus schedule agents to handle the incoming calls more appropriately. 
     Other technical advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a call center system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is a flow chart illustrating a process of the present invention for responding to a caller requesting an agent; 
         FIG. 2B  is a flow chart illustrating a part of the process shown in  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process of the present invention for informing a caller to call a call center. 
     
    
    
     Throughout the figures, unless otherwise stated, the same reference numerals and characters are used to denote like features, elements, components, or portions of the illustrated embodiments. Moreover, while the subject invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures, and in connection with the illustrative embodiments, changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit of the subject invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a call center system  100  of the present invention. The call center system  100  including a call center  101 , a communications network  150 , a communications link  152 , a group of callers  140 , and a group of phone lines  142  is provided. In a certain embodiment, the communications network  150  is the public telephone network. The call center  101  includes an ACD system  102  and a group of agents  130 . 
     A caller from the group of callers  140  calls into the call center  101  through the communications network  150 . The caller can use by way of example a conventional telephone, a soft phone, which runs on a personal computer, or an Internet protocol enabled phone. Once the call center  101  receives the call, the caller&#39;s call is routed to the ACD system  102 . The ACD system  102  includes a central processing unit  104 , an automatic speech recognition system  106 , a data storage element  108 , a database  110 , and a drop-in queue  120 . The ACD system  102  interacts with the caller, providing the caller with the information the ACD system  102  is programmed to provide. In some systems, if the ACD system  102  is not programmed to provide the caller with the information the caller needs, the caller can be routed to one of the agents from the group of agents  130 . 
     If the caller indicates that the caller wants to speak with one of the agents from the group of agents  130 , the caller is routed through the drop-in queue  120  to one of the agents from the group of agents  130 . Routing the caller through the drop-in queue  120  allows for the eventuality that all call center agents are busy. If all agents are busy, the caller can wait in the drop-in queue  120  along with other callers until one of the agents from the group of agents  130  is available. Typically, the drop-in queue  120  is a first-in-first-out queue. If the caller wants to speak with one of the agents from the group of agents  130 , the caller can wait in the drop-in queue  120 . 
     The wait time while a caller is in the drop-in queue  120  can vary widely. Some call centers  101  provide the caller with a projected length of time before the caller will be able to speak with an agent. This is typically done by taking the total number of callers in the drop-in queue  120  and multiplying that number by the average time it takes an agent to answer a caller&#39;s questions. 
     If the caller does not want to wait in the drop-in queue  120  along with other callers until an agent is available, the caller is routed to a reservation center  121  for the caller to make a reservation. The caller is routed to a reservation queue  122  if the caller has a reservation and if the caller calls at the “reserved” time slot. In a certain embodiment, the drop-in queue  120  and the reservation queue  122  are first-in-first-out queues. In a certain embodiment, the order in the reservation queue is according to the time of the reservation provided the caller called in at the time the caller was assigned. In a certain embodiment, the reservation queue  122  has a higher priority than the drop-in queue  120 , such that each of the callers waiting in the reservation queue  122  are routed to one of the agents from the group of agents  130  sooner than the caller would have been routed to one of the agents of the group of agents  130  from the drop-in queue  120 . This may be controlled by directing all or a portion of all calls in the reservation queue  122  to one of the agents prior to routing the next call in the drop-in queue  120  scheduled to be routed to one of the agents. 
     In an alternate embodiment, callers from the drop-in queue  120  are routed to a first group of agents and callers from the reservation queue  122  are routed to a second group of agents. Wait time may be controlled by limiting the number of reservations allocated for a particular time frame and/or by assigning the right number of agents to handle the callers with reservations. In an alternative embodiment the callers with reservations call in using phone lines/numbers different from the callers without reservations. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate a process  200  of the present invention for responding to a caller requesting an agent. The call center  101  receives a call from a caller of the group of callers  140  at step  202  and connects the caller with the ACD system  102 . The caller is queried as to whether the caller would like to speak with an agent at step  204 . If the caller does not want to speak with an agent, the process  200  exits. If the caller would like to speak with an agent, the process  200  advances to step  206 . 
     At step  206 , the caller is queried as to whether the caller has a reservation to speak with an agent. If the caller indicates that the caller does have a reservation to speak with an agent, the process  200  advance to step  216 . If the caller does not have a reservation to speak with an agent, the process advances to step  208 . 
     At step  208 , the ACD system  102  calculates a wait time for the drop-in queue  120 . The ACD system  102  calculates the wait time by determining the number of callers currently waiting in the drop-in queue, and multiplying that number by the average length of time the agents of the group of agents  130  spend speaking with a caller. At step  210 , the ACD system  102  informs the caller of the wait time for the drop-in queue  120 . 
     After informing the caller of the wait time, the ACD system  102  gives the caller the opportunity to make a reservation at step  212 . If the caller would like to make a reservation, the process  200  advances to step  214  and the reservation is made at the reservation center  121 . If the caller does not want to make a reservation, the process advances to step  213 . At step  213 , the ACD system  102  places the caller in the drop-in queue, then exits the process  200 . 
     The ACD system  102  issues the caller a reservation at step  214 . The ACD system  102  informs the caller of a reservation time for the caller, and issues the caller a reservation code. The reservation time is a time frame within which the reservation code will be recognized by the ACD system  102 . The reservation code may be an alphanumeric code which can be inputted through the keypad of a traditional phone. After the reservation code and time are issued and stored in the ACD system  102 , the process  200  exits. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the reservation code is suggested by the caller. In another alternate embodiment, the reservation code is a recording of the caller speaking his or her name or some other identification. When the caller calls back, the ACD system  102  uses the ASR system  106  to match the recording stored in the data storage element  108  with the name or other identification the caller spoke over the phone. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the reservation time is negotiated between the caller and the ACD system  102 . The negotiation may include by way of example, the amount of time the caller is willing to wait and/or when the caller is available. At certain times, the caller may be willing to wait longer than at other times. The caller may use the phone keypad or employ the ASR system  106  to convey information to the ACD system  102  during the negotiation. 
     In another alternate embodiment, the ACD system  102  presents the caller with a number of alternative reservation time frames from which the caller can pick the most convenient. In an alternative embodiment, the caller indicates the time frame within which the caller wants to call back and the ACD system  102  informs the caller of the next available time and/or day. 
     At step  216 , the caller is prompted to enter the previously issued reservation code. The caller enters the reservation code and indicates that he or she has finished entering the reservation code. The ACD system  102  verifies that the reservation code is valid at step  218 . The ACD system  102  verifies that the code is valid by looking for the entered code within the database  110 . If the entered code is stored as a valid code for the current time within the database  110 , the process  200  advances to step  220  where the caller is transferred or directed to the reservation queue  122 . If the entered code is not stored as a valid code for the current time or the code is not valid, the process  200  advances to step  222 . 
     At step  222 , the ACD system  102  informs the caller of the reason the reservation code is not valid. At step  224 , the caller is directed as appropriate. 
       FIG. 2B  shows in greater detail how the caller is directed at step  224 . It is determined at step  226  whether the entered reservation code exists. If the ACD system  102  does not find the entered reservation code in the database  110  at step  228 , the caller is informed that the entered reservation code does not exist and the process  200  advances to step  208  to determine whether the caller wants to make a new reservation. If the ACD system  102  finds the entered reservation code, at step  230  the ACD system  202  determines whether the reservation code is valid for a later time. If the reservation code is valid at a later time, at  232  the caller is informed of the proper time to call and the process  200  exits. Alternatively, the call may be placed in the reservation queue  122  which is sorted by the time of the reservation. If the ACD system  102  finds the entered reservation code was valid at an earlier time, at step  234  the caller is informed that the reservation time has passed, and the process  200  advances to step  208  to determine whether the caller would like to make another reservation for a later time. 
     Returning to  FIG. 2A , if at step  218  the reservation code is found to be valid, the ACD system  102  transfers the caller to the reservation queue  122  at step  220 . After the caller is transferred to the reservation queue  122 , the process  200  exits. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a process  300  for notifying a caller with a reservation that it is a good time to call the call center  102 . At step  302 , the ACD system  102  senses that the number of callers in the drop-in queue  120  has decreased to a currently set threshold. The currently set threshold may be fixed or may be set in accordance with any number of parameters including the time of day, day of the week, season, number of agents available, empirical or statistical data or any other parameter that may correspond to an acceptable waiting time. In other words, the ACD system  202  senses that agents are about to become available. Once the ACD system  102  senses this current set threshold, the process  300  advances to step  304 . 
     At step  304 , the ACD system  102  notifies a number of callers with reservations that it would be a good time to call the call center, because the group wait time is short. Callers can be notified any number of ways, including instant messaging, pager, cell phone, work phone, and home phone. Alternatively, the ACD system  102  can call the callers instead of informing them that it is a good time to call. After the callers are informed, the process  300  exits. In an alternative embodiment, the caller selects the threshold that corresponds to a certain wait time. In other words, if a caller is willing to wait 15 minutes, the caller will be connected at step  304  when that threshold is reached. Another caller may set the threshold for 5 minutes. 
     Although the present invention has been described with several embodiments, a myriad of changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present invention encompass such changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.