Patent ID: 7890345

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, the method comprising: establishing, by a computer, a first communication channel as a real-time, text-based communication between a consumer and a service provider; and subsequent to establishing the first channel, establishing a second, different voice-based communication channel between the service provider and the consumer, by: receiving, at a central computer based system, a first telephone number provided by the consumer via a first user interface and a second telephone number provided by the service provider via a second user interface; calling, from the central computer based system, the first telephone number to establish a call between the central system and the first telephone number; calling, from the central computer based system, the second telephone number to establish a call between the central system and the second telephone number; and bridging the calls between the central system and the first telephone number and the central system and the second telephone number to establish the second, different voice-based communication channel between the service provider and the consumer.