Multiple call handling in a call center

Details Multiple call handling in a call center Multiple call handling in a call center

1998-04-13

2003-11-18

Matar, Ahmad F. (Department: 2642)

Telephonic communications

Centralized switching system

Call distribution to operator

C379S266010, C379S265010

Reexamination Certificate

active

06650748

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates generally to telephone call centers and more particularly to providing call center agents with the ability to handle multiple calls independent of the type of telephone set deployed at their workstations and to provide applications external to an automatic call distributor with the ability to queue calls without a practical limit on the number of calls queued.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical call center includes a number of agents who field inbound telephone calls and place outbound telephone calls. The agent may place outbound sales calls or field inbound calls (such as 800 numbers) from potential customers. The agents are organized into groups, known as Skill/Split Hunt Groups.
A conventional call center typically comprises either an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) or Personal Branch Exchange (PBX) which receives incoming calls through a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and routes the calls to a group of ACD agents having like skills, also known as an ACD Skill/Split Hunt Group, rather than to a specific agent. An ACD typically contains a superset of the functions provided by a PBX. Specialized telephones, known as ACD/PBX feature phones, interface with a specific manufacturer's ACD/PBX and provide the agents with an array of advanced telephony functions. ACD/PBX feature phones typically have configurable buttons for handling multiple calls. ACD/PBX feature phones often provide agents with the ability to handle multiple calls on a single telephone line, known as “multiple call appearances.” ACD/PBX feature phones may also provide agents with the ability to handle calls from multiple telephone lines on a single telephone instrument, known as “multiple line appearances.” Generally, if an agent only requires the ability to juggle multiple calls, he will have multiple call appearance buttons on his ACD/PBX feature phone. If the agent requires different phone lines for different business functions, then the agent will have on his ACD/PBX feature phone. An ACD/PBX feature phone may provide functions for both multiple call and line appearances.
In recent years, call center telephony has begun moving from proprietary ACD/PBX feature phones designed for a specific ACD/PBX to software-controlled telephony applications (Softphones) that can either co-exist with a proprietary ACD/PBX feature phone or can utilize telephone sets not necessarily designed for any particular ACD/PBX. A call center equipped with ACD/PBX proprietary feature phones typically costs three to four times as much as a call center equipped with Softphones associated with a non-proprietary phone. A conventional ACD/PBX call center requires not only a proprietary ACD/PBX feature phone, but also requires ACD/PBX interface line cards utilizing a proprietary protocol. Softphones provide a less expensive means for attaining many of the capabilities of an ACD/PBX feature phone while using only software in combination with a “plain-old-telephone set” (POTS) and an associated and less expensive line card. A Softphone call center equipped with POTSs is considerably less expensive to establish and to maintain with the latest upgrades than a call center configured with ACD/PBX feature phones. A Softphone has the added advantage that persons who are not permanent call center agents may be provisioned with call center telephone capabilities without the need for an expensive upgrade to an ACD/PBX feature phone. This feature may be especially attractive for seasonal businesses. Additionally, if a business replaces its ACD/PBX for a different manufacturer's model, it is likely that this business can retain their Softphone applications without modification.
The software-controlled application that drives a Softphone call center generally provides the agent with a graphical user interface (GUI) that replaces the function control buttons on an ACD/PBX feature phone used by the agent to control telephony functions. While interacting with a caller over the Softphone, the agent uses hot keys or an electronic mouse to select telephony functions on a workstation screen. A hot key is a keystroke or combination of keystrokes that sends a command to the computing system that provides the Softphone capability. Softphone telephony features emulate the feature buttons on an ACD/PBX feature phone and are supported via a Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI) link to the ACD or PBX. The CTI link allows the Softphone system to control telephone call handling operations in the ACD/PBX such as answering a call, making a call, transferring a call, and making a conference call, by sending requests and receiving event messages over the CTI link. An event message is an action or occurrence to which the Softphone may respond. Software client/server CTI Middleware products interface to the ACD/PBX proprietary CTI link and simplify the application programming interface (API) needed by the Softphone to communicate with the ACD/PBX.
FIG. 1
illustrates a conventional Softphone-configured call center. In this Softphone call center, an ACD
102
interfaces between client telephone calls
100
and agents
108
a
at an agent workstation
108
. The clients typically place telephone calls to the agents
108
a
via a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). When a client telephone call
100
arrives at the ACD
102
, the call is received by an ACD route point
103
. PSTN calls are generally forwarded to a group of ACD agents
108
a
having like skills (the ACD Skill/Split Hunt Group) rather than to a specific one of the agents. The ACD
102
routes incoming calls through the ACD route point
103
which typically comprises a phone number in the numbering plan of the ACD
102
that works in conjunction with a call handling instructions script, referred to as a routing program
104
. An ACD object
105
controls the routing program
104
to enable customized call processing specifications in the ACD
102
. The routing program
104
tells the ACD's call processing software how to treat the client's call
100
. The routing program
104
typically includes at least one announcement and at least one queue statement. The queue statement directs the call to a specific ACD Skill/Split Hunt Group
106
. The ACD Skill/Split Hunt Group
106
has a single phone number, a Pilot Directory Number (Pilot DN)
107
that subsequently directs the client telephone call directly to one of the available agents
108
a
within the ACD Skill/Split Hunt Group
106
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the ACD
102
may have multiple route points
103
, multiple routing programs
104
, multiple ACD objects
105
, and multiple ACD Skill/Split Hunt Groups
106
. The discussion provided herein generally refers to a single set of ACD elements for ease of understanding, as the operations of multiple ACD elements may be extrapolated from the description of the operation of a single set of such elements.
Each agent workstation
108
has a telephone that receives calls directed to either of two numbers. The first number is the phone number for the telephone instrument itself at the agent workstation
108
, or the Phone Directory Number (Phone DN). The second number is a phone number corresponding to the agent
108
a
, i.e., an Agent Directory Number (Agent DN). The Agent DN follows an individual call center agent. Thus, the agent
108
a
may switch from one agent workstation
108
to another agent workstation
108
and still retain the same Agent DN. If the agent
108
a
is not working on a particular day, or has not otherwise logged into the call center, then the Agent DN will not be active, and a party calling the Agent DN will receive a message to this effect.
A Call Control application server
110
communicates with the ACD
102
through a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) link
109
. The Call Control application server
110
comprises a standard computing system, such as a PC, and a CTI server application which processes calling information for various agents
108
a
via their associated Softphone applications
111
. Each agent
108
a
ty

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