Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Multiple computer communication using cryptography – Protection at a particular protocol layer
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-17
2001-08-14
Iqbal, Nadeem (Department: 2184)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Multiple computer communication using cryptography
Protection at a particular protocol layer
C380S029000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06275940
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to verification of a transaction, either by a third party or in-house, and more particularly to third party verification of a customer's authorization to take a specified action, such as to change the customer's local, long distance, or other communications carrier.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
Since the entry of competition into the telephone service industry, the number of competing long distance carriers has steadily increased to well over 700 as new long distance providers enter the market. A common means of encouraging potential customers to switch long distance service is telemarketing. A telemarketer working for a service provider contacts a potential customer and, if successful in obtaining the customer's authorization, initiates transfer of the customer's long distance service to the service provider represented by the telemarketer.
A problem aries when the customer's long distance service is switched and the customer denies ever having given the authorization for such a switch. To mitigate this problem, the customer's purported authorization is verified by a third party. Most third party verification processes today depend on live operators to perform such third party verification by placing a later second telephone call to the new customer. These live operators ask the customer a series of questions mirroring those questions already asked by the telemarketer. A major drawback with conventional verification is the inability to have simultaneous verification, thereby closing the sale in one call. Telemarketing sales are difficult enough because often multiple attempts are made to reach a prospective customer. A system that requires a later, second call to the same customer has the same problem of catching the customer at home, thereby causing delays in processing a customer's order or being unable to verify the transaction altogether.
Another drawback to conventional verification techniques is that they are expensive, due to the large number of verifiers required and the time necessary to ask each question and hear its response. The direct cost of telemarketing sales can, in effect, double. Another drawback is that live verification is a process prone to the same errors as can occur with telemarketers. For example, the live operators may, through fatigue or disinterest, fail to accurately listen to the customer. Also, for whatever reason, telemarketers or a single live operator can intentionally represent that a sale or verification occurred when, in fact, it did not. Conventional verification is problematic because one individual has complete power to verify a transaction, just as the telemarketer has complete power to represent that a sale occurred. One way of reducing this problem would be to use two or more live operators working as a committee to verify each telemarketing sale in a single verification call. This is an unrealistic solution because the cost of telemarketing sales would double or triple again. With the present invention, the possibility of collusion among the verifiers to verify calls they should not has been eliminated.
The present invention, through automation of customer response recording, combined with quality assurance monitoring of verifications output by a verifier, addresses these problems and presents a third party verification system and method having a reduced incidence of error and lowered verification costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A general object of the invention is automation of third party verification for increased accuracy and lower cost.
Another object of the invention is increased reliability of third party verification through random, pseudo-random, periodic or verifier-directed insertion of test entries for verifier monitoring and testing.
An additional object of the invention is increased accuracy in third party verification through the optional use of multiple verifiers for each customer authorization and/or .for each customer response.
Another object of the invention is certainty as to the telephone number dialed by the telemarketer because with simultaneous or virtually simultaneous third party verification, the verifier does not dial the customer's telephone number himself.
A further object of the invention is reduced occurrence of unauthorized long distance company switches and, as a result, fewer customer complaints.
According to the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a third party verification system for verifying a customer's authorization to a service provider to perform a specified act is provided. The system broadly comprises a customer database manager, a third party verification (TPV) interactive voice response (IVR) system, and a TPV management system. The customer database manager has a telemarketing user interface for contacting a customer at a telephone number and initiating a series of questions and/or confirming data already on file. A telemarketer at the telemarketing user interface, responsive to answers provided by the customer, creates a text file of the response information and initiates third party verification of the response information.
The TPV IVR system, coupled to the telemarketing user interface through a first communications channel and a second communications channel, receives the text file over the first communications channel and sends an automated plurality of scripted queries over the second communications channel to the customer. The TPV IVR system records a plurality of responses to the plurality of scripted queries as a plurality of voice clips.
The TPV management system, coupled to the TPV IVR system, includes a controller, a voice data verification module, and a quality assurance processor. The voice data verification module processes the plurality of voice clips with the text file to verify a match between the plurality of voice clips and respective response information within the text file. The quality assurance processor, coupled to the voice data verification module, monitors preliminary verification output by the voice data verification module and transmits final verification status to the customer database manager.
The present invention also provides a method for verifying a customer's authorization to a service provider to take a specified action using a third party verification system. The third party verification system includes a customer database manager having a telemarketing user interface, a TPV IVR system, and a TPV management system. The TPV management system includes a controller, a voice data verification module, and a quality assurance processor.
The method comprises the steps of initiating, by a telemarketer using the telemarketing user interface, a telephone contact with the customer to request authorization to take a specified action. If the customer authorizes the specified action, the telemarketer directs a plurality of queries to the customer. In response to the plurality of queries, the customer provides a first plurality of responses. Alternatively, the telemarketer may already have response information on file, in which case the telemarketer confirms the file information as a first plurality of responses. The telemarketer then generates a text file with the first plurality of responses, and establishes a communications link with the TPV IVR system.
The method further comprises the steps of transmitting the text file from the telemarketing user interface to the TPV IVR system. The TPV IVR system directs a plurality of scripted queries to the customer. The plurality of scripted queries corresponds to the plurality of queries, respectively. The customer, responsive to the plurality of scripted queries, provides a second plurality of responses to the TPV IVR system. The TPV IVR system records the second plurality of responses as a plurality of voice clips stored as sound files.
The TPV management system controller correlates the first plurality of responses with the corresponding plurality of sound files to create a plurality of respo
Edwards Jim G.
Evans Lynn A.
Hokanson William J.
Jacobs Edmond
Lauckner Frederick G.
ANitec Verification, Inc.
Iqbal Nadeem
Murphy James J.
Winstead Sechrest & Minick
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