Patent ID: 8566135

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for providing assistance to a customer of a company through a web based system, the method comprising: a. providing a web page on a web portal, the web page acting as an interface between the customer and a customer service center of the company; b. providing one or more options on the web page to be selected by the customer, the one or more options corresponding to one or more modes of contact between the customer and customer service representatives at the customer service center; c. providing an estimated wait time on the web page, for at least one of the one or more modes of contact; d. providing a less busy time on the web page for at least one of the one or more modes of contact based on a type of request, a number of incoming calls received by the customer service center in proportion to the number of customer service representatives at the customer service center, and an average amount of time required by the customer service representatives to handle the type of request; e. providing a knowledge database search option; and f. providing a prediction system that uses mathematical/statistical algorithms to mine the knowledge database and customer profile information and providing prediction-driven automated responses that correspond to a customer query including information derived from previous interactions between customers and customer service representatives.