CN1257370A - Method and system for reducing telephone call cost of service provider - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for overall reducing the unit cost of a user-directed telephone call to a recipient. In this application, an Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) is provided in the user's local office to receive customer requests at low tariffs over ordinary telephone lines. Directs attention requests from the IVR to (ACD) over low-cost communication lines to maintain a queue of calls waiting for attention. When the request arrives at a predetermined place in the queue, the ACD notifies the IVR and reroutes the call from the IVR to the ACD over the normal telephone line.

Description

Method and system for reducing the cost of telephone calls to service providers

The present invention relates to providing services by telephone.

With the advent of computer telephony integration, it has become common for various service providers to provide toll-free service numbers and use an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to handle inquiries. Figure 1 shows a typical, well-known Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) that routes customer service inquiries through toll-free numbers. When dialing a toll-free service number, the local central office switch 11 switches the calling party 10 to a service control point (SCP) 12 that is common to many service providers. The service control point 12 cross-references the dialed number in the lookup table and processes the call according to the lookup table data. The lookup table can return an actual number with which the call is actually connected to the remote central office switch 14 via the PSTN 13.

Most calls of this type terminate at the call center 15, which provides some product support or service sales. Typically, the calling party 10 has an interactive voice answering machine 16 which provides detailed options in the form of spoken menus. The user selects the desired option by pressing one or several keys on the telephone's dial pad. With this approach, the initial processing of user inquiries can be automated, thereby saving personnel costs for the service provider.

After receiving the user inquiry, the IVR 16 transfers call control to an automatic call distribution point (ACD) 17. The ACD 17 responds to user inquiries in a timely manner and directs the call internally to the customer service representative most qualified to handle the call. If the customer service representative is busy, the inquiry is added to the pending call queue of the customer service representative group, any customer representative in the customer service representative group is suitable to provide the requested service. When this happens, the user is usually "on hold" until an internal line to an appropriate customer service representative becomes free. Depending on factors such as the number of users waiting for the same customer service representative, the number of service representatives qualified to handle the inquiry, and how long each inquiry lasts, this can take a considerable amount of time. The typical average time for the initial processing of a user inquiry by an interactive voice answering machine can be up to 1 minute; the user may also wait several minutes before connecting the user to the correct destination.

Clearly, to the extent that a user must wait in some queue to become free before the service provider can process the user's inquiry, it can be expected that the increased connection cost will be proportional to the waiting time. However, it is worrisome that the above "waiting" costs are based on high tariffs proportional to long-distance connections, so it would be a significant improvement for the payee (usually the service provider) if the above costs could be reduced.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for overall reducing the unit cost of a telephone call, wherein the telephone call is directed to a receiving party through an automatic call distribution system (ACD).

According to the following specific execution process of the present invention, above object is achieved:

(a) locate an Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) locally at the Subscriber to receive Customer requests over low-tariff ordinary telephone lines,

(b) directing the attention request from the IVR to the automatic call distribution system (ACD) over a low-cost data communication line in order to maintain a queue of calls awaiting attention therein,

(c) the ACD notifies the IVR when the request reaches a predetermined position in the queue, and

(d) Reroute the call from the IVR to the ACD over the normal telephone line.

At a more fundamental level, the idea of the present invention resides in the realization that any telephone call includes a request signal alerting or alerting the recipient and the media constituting the content of the message being delivered, wherein the request signal and the media need not be routed on the same channel . Specifically, data communication networks such as the Internet can be used in parallel with ordinary telephone lines to route request signals that do not require high-quality communication lines, while media is delivered over ordinary telephone lines when the media requires high-quality communication lines.

In the present invention, this is embodied in step (b), which sends a signal to the recipient, and step (d), which transmits the actual data to the recipient. That is, initial signaling from the local IVR to the ACD is carried over the data communications network, while media is only routed over the normal telephone network when the recipient indicates that it is (or will soon be) ready to receive the media. The user is "on hold" for the period of time between initiating the signal to the local IVR in step (b) and transferring the media to the ACD in step (d). However, the cost of maintaining a connection between the user and the recipient is low since during this time period (which may be several minutes) the request signal is transmitted over the low cost data communication network.

At this point, the present invention can be simplified into the following steps:

(a) provide low-cost data communication lines parallel to the public telephone network,

(b) identifying request signals and media portions within a telephone call used to alert a recipient, and

(c) The request signal and the media part are transmitted independently on the data communication line and the less expensive line in the telephone network.

The recipient is preferably a remote service provider accessed through a low cost or toll-free number at a local office. The connection between the service control point and the service provider, usually a long-distance connection, bears a higher price tag. Thus, the present invention provides a standard connection on a phone by allowing another connection over a data network (typically the Internet) subject to the availability of the service provider. Since the connection cost is borne by the service provider, the service provider receives a direct cost benefit. However, since the connection cost from the IVR to the ACD is inevitably reflected in the service cost of the service provider, ultimately the calling party also benefits.

These costs can be further reduced by using a low-cost connection between the calling party and the IVR to play local commercials whose proceeds are used to fund the cost of the call.

Thus, service calls are initially handled by low cost local office calls due to proximity to the customer's IVR. Whether the cost is borne directly by the service provider or by the user, the user also benefits because the customer's tariff inevitably reflects the service provider's "free" cost. Thereafter, once the call is rerouted to the service provider, the connection bears a high tariff proportional to the now routed long-distance connection.

Often, low-cost communication lines are part of the Internet, which even allows routing of long-distance telephone calls for the unit cost of a local office call. It is well known that the Internet is not suitable for real-time voice communication due to its limited bandwidth. This method is feasible when the caller does not have to have a voice conversation with the receiver, such as when the user is waiting for attention. During the above waiting period, the calling party is not connected with the receiving party but only with the IVR. Thereafter, when a normal conversation can be maintained, the connection is made on a normal telephone line.

In order to understand the invention and appreciate how it may be carried out in practice, certain best embodiments will be illustrated, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally representing a typical prior art telephone system interrogated by a toll-free number delivery service;

Figure 2 is a block diagram functionally representing a telephone system for delivering service inquiries via toll-free numbers in accordance with the present invention; and

Figures 3a and 3b are a flowchart showing the main operational steps associated with various configurations of the system shown in Figure 2 .

FIG. 2 functionally illustrates a system 20 for overall reduction in unit cost of telephone calls, in which subscribers 21 (constituting "calling parties") direct telephone calls to a call center 22 through an automatic call distribution system (ACD) 23 . System 20 includes an Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) 24 connected to users through a local central office switch 25 . As in well-known systems, the local central office switch 25 allows access to a service control point (SCP) 26 for routing user calls on the PSTN 27 to the ACD 23 through a remote central office switch 28, which is used to route calls. The dialed toll-free number is converted into the actual number dialed automatically. The PSTN 27 constitutes a "plain telephone line" which allows subscriber calls to be handled in the same way as regular telephone calls at normal rates. However, since the subscriber 21 initiates the initial connection to the local office IVR 24, even if the call center 22 is remote from the subscriber 21 and a "long distance call" is required, the initial handling of the inquiry is only a "local call" subject to a low tariff.

Parallel with PSTN 27, IP data network 29 (i.e. Internet) constituting "low-cost data communication line" is provided, wherein it is switched to local office IVR 24 by local central office switch 25. The IP data network 29 guides the attention request of the local office IVR 24 to (ACD) 23, so that a call queue waiting for attention is maintained therein. When the request arrives at a predetermined position in the queue, the IP data network 29 also directs a call forwarding request signal from the ACD 23 to the local office IVR 24. The local central office switch 25 transmits a request signal in response to the call to reroute the call from the local office IVR 24 to the ACD 23 via the PSTN 27.

Optionally, a remote IVR 30 may be connected to the ACD 23 for communication with the local IVR 24 over an IP data network 29. At this time, the local office IVR 24 is connected to the recipient's Internet site through the IP data network 29 at low cost. This allows a menu to be downloaded to the user from the recipient's Internet site for the user to select the desired extension, instead of providing a conventional voice response. Once the desired extension is selected, a "connection request message" is sent to the call center 22 by the remote IVR 30, and the "connection request message" is queued until the desired extension is available. Alternatively, the visual display menu can be converted to an IVR script to be spoken to the user 21 . In either case, communication with the user 21 via the IP data network 29 is always cost-effective.

3a and 3b illustrate the main operational steps associated with system 20. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the subscriber call is routed to the local office IVR 24, which directs the attention request to the ACD 23 through the IP data network 29, so as to maintain a call queue waiting for attention therein. When the request arrives at a predetermined place in the queue, the ACD 23 notifies the IVR 24 and reroutes the call from the IVR 24 to the ACD 23 via the PSTN 27 with the normal tariff.

Usually, upon receiving the user's query, the ACD 23 links the call with the corresponding request and hangs up the user. When the request becomes the first request in the queue, the ACD 23 transfers the call to the call center 22 and deletes the request from the queue.

Therefore, it is clear that the user only bears the low tariff associated with the IP data network 29 connection until the user's request reaches a pre-scheduled position in the ACD queue. The above costs are subsidized by sending commercials from the local office IVR 24 to subscribers 21 who have suspended connections with the call center 22.

While certain specific embodiments have been described, it should be understood that further changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. In particular, it is understood that the present invention pertains to implementations in which a low-cost data communications network such as the Internet can be used in parallel with ordinary telephone lines to reroute service requests before they receive the attention of remote recipients. More generally, two parallel communication lines are used, allowing calls to be routed over the less expensive of the two lines.

In the following method claims, the alphabetical order of the characters used to designate the steps in the claims is provided for convenience only and does not imply any particular order in which all steps should be performed.

Claims (16)

1. one kind is used for reducing the method for user to the unit cost of recipient's call comprehensively, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) provide the low-cost data communication line parallel with public telephone network,

(b) discern request signal and the media portion that is used to warn the recipient in the call, and

(c) on the not too expensive circuit in tie line and telephone network, independent request signal and the media portion of transmitting.

2. method that is used for comprehensively reducing the unit cost of the user is directed to the recipient by the system of automatic call dispatching (ACD) call said method comprising the steps of:

A) local office the user is provided with an interactive voice response (IVR), so that receive client requests by the ordinary telephone line of low price-list,

B) pass through a tie line cheaply, will notice that request is directed to ACD from IVR, wait for the call queue of noting so that in ACD, keep one,

C) when the precalculated position in this request arrival formation, ACD notifies IVR, and

D) should call out by ordinary telephone line and re-routed ACD from IVR.

3. according to the method for claim 2, also comprise the step of carrying out by ACD:

(e) exhale this leaf and respective request to connect,

(f) hang up this user,

(g) when this request becomes the request of first in the formation, this calling is sent to the recipient, and

(h) this request of deletion from formation.

4. according to the method for claim 2, wherein step (a) comprising:

(i) according to local access number identification ACD, and

The (ii) local access number of cross-reference and sign recipient's remote access number.

5. according to the method for claim 4, its remote access number is the internet URL(uniform resource locator).

6. according to the method for claim 2, wherein step (b) may further comprise the steps:

(i) be connected to recipient's internet site with low cost,

(ii) from recipient's internet site to menu of user's download selecting required extension set,

In a single day (iii) selected required extension set, just sent a connection request message to the call center, and

(iv) the connection request message is ranked and to use until required extension set.

7. according to the method for claim 6, wherein step (iv) comprises:

(1) visit the visualization display menu from recipient's internet site, and

(2) the visualization display menu is converted to the IVR script, so that sound to the user.

8. according to the method for claim 2, wherein step (b) is further comprising the steps of before:

(i) send commercial advertisement from IVR to the user, thus the link cost between subsidy IVR and hang-up and recipient's the user who is connected.

9. use two parallel communications circuits to come by not too expensive circuit suitable in two communication lines, independent signaling moiety and the media portion that transmits call with its maintenance quality.

10. system that is used for comprehensively reducing the unit cost of the call that the user is directed to the recipient, described system comprises:

(a) the low-cost data communication line parallel with public telephone network, and

(b) switch of calling out by circuit routing telephone not too expensive in tie line and the telephone network.

11. a system that is used for reducing the unit cost of the user is directed to the recipient by the system of automatic call dispatching (ACD) call comprehensively, described system comprises:

(a) be connected to user's interactive voice response (IVR), be used for receiving client requests with low marked price by ordinary telephone line,

(b) low-cost data communication line is used for and will notices that request is directed to ACD so that keep waiting for the call queue of noting therein from IVR,

(c) when the precalculated position in this request arrival formation, described low-cost data communication line also will be called out the transmission request signal and be directed to IVR from ACD, and

(d) response call out to transmit the switch of request signal, is used for will calling out from IVR by ordinary telephone line re-routing ACD.

12., wherein further dispose ACD and be used for according to the system of claim 11:

(e) will call out with respective request and connect,

(f) hang up this user,

(g) when this request becomes the request of first in the formation, this calling is sent to the recipient, and

(h) this request of deletion from formation.

13. according to the system of claim 11, wherein step (a) comprising:

(i) according to local access number identification ACD, and

The (ii) local access number of cross-reference and sign recipient's remote access number.

14. according to the system of claim 13, its remote access number is the internet URL(uniform resource locator).

15., wherein dispose IVR and be used for according to the system of claim 11:

(i) be connected to recipient's internet site with low cost,

(ii) from recipient's internet site to menu of user's download selecting required extension set,

In a single day (iii) selected required extension set, just sent a connection request message to the call center, and

(iv) the connection request message is ranked and to use until required extension set.

16. according to the system of claim 11, wherein IVR comprises:

From the Web browser of recipient's internet site visit visualization display menu, and

The visualization display menu is converted to the IVR script so that the transducer of sounding to the user.

17. according to the system of claim 11, wherein IVR also comprises:

Be used to store the memory of commercial advertisement, and

Be connected to the processor of memory, be used for sending commercial advertisement to the user, thus the link cost between subsidy IVR and hang-up and recipient's the user who is connected.

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