Telephonic communications – Audio message storage – retrieval – or synthesis
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-21
2004-08-03
Foster, Roland (Department: 2645)
Telephonic communications
Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis
Reexamination Certificate
active
06771744
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Efficient customer service is an essential requirement for commercial enterprises to compete successfully in today's business world. In the telecommunications industry, for example, providing customer service is an important part of sustaining market share in view of the many competitors in the industry. In addition, to promote revenue growth for the commercial enterprise, it is also important to provide customer service in a cost effective manner.
A telecommunications company, for example, needs effective methods and systems for installing and maintaining services offered to its customers. Installation and maintenance service technicians typically need to collect a wide variety of data when performing field service operations for customers of the telecommunications company. In the presence of other competitive local carriers in the telecommunications market, however, the telecommunications company may be required to collect and report the data acquired during service operations to other entities offering telecommunications services. Digital subscriber line (DSL) service is one example of a service offered by a telecommunications company for which data needs to be collected and processed.
In one conventional process, service is performed on telecommunications equipment at a customer location by a service technician of a telecommunications company. Data are collected and transmitted at the time the service is performed for further processing by computer systems employed by a company that offers a service such as DSL, for example. Typically, at least part of this collected data is communicated by the technician to the company through a telephone or other wireline connection. This can result, however, in sacrificing productive time of the technician while the technician remains on hold, for example, waiting for an attendant to communicate with the technician and receive the collected data. In addition, in this conventional process, it can be seen that data are not provided on a near real-time basis for further processing and analysis. Furthermore, this process does not readily support providing installation and maintenance services for a variety of network service providers in a common, open market for a particular service such as DSL service, for example.
What are needed, therefore, are methods and systems for enhanced collection and communication of data acquired during service performed in connection with telecommunications product offerings. Methods and systems are also needed to promote efficient and cost effective collection, processing, analysis and reporting of data in connection with telecommunications technology.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment of the present methods and systems, a method is provided for collecting and transmitting data obtained in association with service performed by a technician at a customer service location in a telecommunications system. The method includes the steps of: accessing an access device operatively connected to a technician server of the telecommunications system; displaying at least one screen on the access device, wherein the screen is adapted to receive data collected in association with the service performed at the customer location; completing the screen with at least a portion of the collected data; and, transmitting the completed screen to the technician server. Computer-readable media embodiments of the present methods are also provided.
In another embodiment of the present methods and systems, a system is provided for collecting and transmitting data obtained in association with service performed by a technician at a customer service location in a telecommunications system. The system includes at least one access device operatively associated with a technician server. The access device is configured to display at least one screen adapted to receive data collected in association with the service performed at the customer location. The access device is also configured to complete the screen with the collected data. In addition, the technician server is configured to receive at least one completed screen.
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Cotter Timothy Andrew
Davis Mitchell E.
Hughes Jeffery Lynn
Medlin Dennis Ray
Schwaiger Gary P.
BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
Foster Roland
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP
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