Patent ID: 6978307

Claim:
An apparatus for communicating to customer service representatives in real-time, comprising: a communication interface configured to establish a real-time communication session with a remote communication device in response to a user request for contacting a customer service representative; an input interface configured to receive input data from a user of said apparatus during said established communication session; and logic configured to transmit, during said real-time communication session, said input data to said remote communication device via said communication interface, said logic further configured to automatically retrieve a product identifier in response to said user request and to transmit said retrieved product identifier to a remote routing device, said product identifier identifying at least a component of said apparatus, wherein said remote routing device is configured to route said input data to said remote communication deviced based on said product identifier, and wherein said remote communication device is configured to interface said input data with a customer service representative, thereby assisting said customer service representative to diagnose an operational problem associated with said apparatus.