U.S. patent application number 11/031933 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-30 for system and method for providing a service to a customer via a communication link.
Invention is credited to Stuart, Robert O., Stuart, Scott P..
Application Number | 20050141693 11/031933 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34272263 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050141693 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stuart, Robert O. ; et
al. |
June 30, 2005 |
System and method for providing a service to a customer via a
communication link
Abstract
A system and a method for providing a service begins when a
customer establishes a communication link, such as a
telecommunications link, with a service provider, such as directory
assistance. An exchange of information occurs, and a service, such
as a telephone number or catalog order, is provided by the service
provider at least in part via the communication link. Before the
customer terminates the communication link, he or she is requested
to provide feedback, which preferably relates to the quality of the
service provided. In another embodiment, the exchange of
information is monitored, and an action, such as notifying a
supervisor, is taken if a predetermined condition is detected, such
as usage of unacceptable language by a call handling agent.
Inventors: |
Stuart, Robert O.;
(Indianapolis, IN) ; Stuart, Scott P.; (Atlanta,
GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Michael B. McNeil
Liell & McNeil Attorneys PC
P.O. Box 2417
Bloomington
IN
47402
US
|
Family ID: |
34272263 |
Appl. No.: |
11/031933 |
Filed: |
January 7, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11031933 |
Jan 7, 2005 |
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09366114 |
Aug 2, 1999 |
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6868154 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/265.06 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/2281 20130101;
H04M 2201/40 20130101; H04M 2203/401 20130101; H04M 3/51 20130101;
H04M 3/5175 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/265.06 |
International
Class: |
H04M 003/00; H04M
005/00 |
Claims
1. A method of obtaining customer feedback comprising the steps of:
establishing a communication link at least partially via a
telecommunications server with at least one of a plurality of live
agents of a service provider that originates from a customer;
providing a service at least in part by the live agent to the
customer at least in part via said communication link; requesting
the customer to provide feedback data before said communication
link is terminated; if the customer provides feedback data, then
associating said feedback data with telecommunications server data
that includes an identity of the live agent.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of storing said
telecommunications server data in association with said feedback
data.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein said establishing step and said
providing step are performed with a plurality of different
customers; and said requesting step is performed on a intermittent
basis.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said providing step includes a
step of providing said customer with information relating to a
third party identified by the customer.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein said providing step includes an
exchange of information between said customer and said live agent
of said service provider.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of: analyzing
a plurality of stored telecommunications server data and feedback
data according to a specified criteria; and reporting a result of
said analyzing step.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of recognizing
feedback data originating in at least one of a keyed format and a
voice format.
8. A system for obtaining customer feedback comprising: a
communication link between a customer and at least one of a
plurality of live agents of a service provider that originates from
said customer and includes a telecommunications server; a service
provided to said customer at least in part by the live agent at
least in part via said communication link; a request to said
customer to provide feedback data before said communication link is
terminated; and an association of provided feedback data with
telecommunications server data that includes an identity of the
live agent.
9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a data storage device
operably coupled to said communication link.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein said data storage device includes
means for storing said telecommunications server data in
association with said provided feedback data.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein said service provider provides
services to a plurality of different customers; and said request is
made on an intermittent sampling basis.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein said service includes a
provision of information to said customer relating to a third party
identified by the customer.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein said service includes an
exchange of information between said customer and said live agent
of said service provider.
14. The system of claim 13 further comprising an analysis of a
plurality of stored telecommunications server data and feedback
data according to a specified criteria; and a report that includes
a result of said analysis.
15. The system of claim 8 further comprising a data recognition
device operably coupled to said communication link, and being
capable of recognizing feedback data originating in at least one of
a keyed format and a voice format.
16-39. (canceled)
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates generally to systems and methods for
providing services via a communication link, and more specifically,
to methods and systems for obtaining feedback and monitoring the
provision of services.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Although a critical determinant in the success of any
business is the quality of the products or services offered by a
particular company, quality takes on an arguably greater role in
the service industry. In the telecommunications call handling
service industry, where call agents interact with thousands of
customers daily, satisfying customer expectations literally defines
the parameters of success. In contrast to manufacturing entities,
where quality can be readily quantified by applying statistical
process controls to the manufacturing process, service companies,
such as telecommunications call centers, often have no comparable
method of accurately monitoring and measuring the quality of a
service provided to a customer. As a result, many
telecommunications call handling businesses rely to a greater
extent on internal monitoring systems to ensure that call handling
agents perform within accepted business practices, rather than
attempting to measure an external customer's subjective perception
of a service encounter.
[0003] Current telecommunications call handling businesses attempt
to measure customer satisfaction in a two-fold approach. First,
supervisory personnel monitor a percentage of calls in progress to
determine whether the call handling agent is adhering to
established company practices. Secondly, the service company
attempts to collect customer feedback from the service contact by
conducting telephone interviews with customers of the service.
[0004] Many telecommunications companies engaged in live agent call
handling rely primarily on internal measurements derived from
service observing to determine the level of accuracy and courtesy
provided by their call attendants to the calling customers. These
systems typically utilize random monitoring of customer contacts by
special supervisory agents from remote locations. Once a
predetermined number of customer contacts has been monitored,
reports are generated in which errors or irregularities observed
are calculated as service indices and summarized for various
operational levels.
[0005] Although this monitoring system has some success in
measuring certain technical elements of the call attendants' job,
the monitoring system is unable to measure quality from the
customers' perspective. Additionally, increasing employee concerns
of monitoring has led both unions and legislatures to restrict or
prohibit this method of service oversight.
[0006] Telephone interviews with customers and survey
questionnaires are utilized to supplement these internal
measurement systems. Outside market research firms are often used
to ensure total objectivity. These surveys normally consist of
customers randomly selected from a transaction database such as a
billing file, new order file, repair or maintenance request or
other such customer activity. A series of specific service
questions is then asked with the data summarized for the various
levels of management. Due to the cost of the interviews, the sample
size typically is not statistically valid for any one month but is
instead summarized for a rolling three month interval.
[0007] This type of telephone interview provides some needed input
from the customer to management, but inherent problems prevent the
system from being effective. For example, directory assistance and
long distance operators work in large team configurations with
three or more offices often serving large areas. Customer
evaluations can be made for the entire area but individual office
performance generally can not be determined. Moreover, results are
almost never timely, due to the lengthy interview process and the
small sample size. The Bell System divestiture has caused even more
significant problems. The interview results are often suspect due
to customer confusion between toll and directory assistance
operators as well as by customer confusion as to what company
actually provided the service.
[0008] Additionally, the validity and usefulness of the survey
depends on many factors, such as: the sample size; whether the
response is from the actual customer that received the service;
whether the information was provided in a timely manner; whether
the individual employee performance was measured; whether the
customer understands precisely what service factor is being
evaluated; whether the customer knows which company provided the
service; and, whether any customer comments are available for
management review. For example, calls originating from coin
telephones and/or hotel/motels, etc. are not sampled by this
process. This type of traffic can represent over 50% of the total
volume.
[0009] Most telecommunications call handling centers use some type
of telephonic switch to automatically route incoming customer
telephone calls to available call handling agents. Perhaps the most
common of these telephonic switches is the automatic call
distributor (ACD), a type of switch well-known in the art that
generally includes a multiport switch controlled by a central
processing unit to interconnect the calling customers to the call
handling agents. In addition to routing calls, the ACD is capable
of processing and reporting information on various aspects of the
calls it routes, such as time, duration and identifying
information. The increasing role of the ACD in the call handling
industry has allowed for a partial automation of traditional
monitoring methods.
[0010] With respect to known patents in this field, several
inventions have been specifically directed toward improving upon
the general methods of monitoring and measuring the service
provided by a telecommunications call attendant, discussed above.
All of these inventions are concerned with partially automating a
portion of the typical call monitoring method utilizing a live
supervisor.
[0011] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,907, Maloney, et al. teaches a method
and system for automatically monitoring the performance quality of
call center service representatives. With this invention, a
supervisor is capable of scheduling a pre-determined number of
calls to be recorded for a particular service representative within
a specific pre-determined time interval. The supervisor then may
listen to the recorded calls at the supervisor's convenience. In
U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,635 to Dezonno, a system and method for
automatic monitoring of active telephone calls in a telephonic
switch is taught. Utilizing this method and system, an ACD
monitoring-system measures the length of time of active incoming
telephone calls. The calls are then organized in order of
decreasing duration. A live supervisor then has the option of
monitoring only those calls which exceed a pre-determined call
duration value. The rationale for this approach is that an
exceedingly lengthy telephone call likely indicates that the call
is not being handled in an efficient and prompt manner.
[0012] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,832 to Dezonno, a system and method
is taught in which a monitoring system detects, for an incoming
telephone call, the length of time an agent is talking, the length
of time a caller is talking, the length of time neither party is
talking and, finally, the total length of the call. It is believed
that, with this invention, excessively talkative agents can be
identified. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,954, Dezonno teaches a system
and method for monitoring the audio power level of an agent's
speech in a telephonic switch. This invention detects the audio
power level of an agent's speech and compares this level to a
predetermined minimum and maximum threshold level. Correspondingly,
an appropriate message is displayed on the agent's terminal to
"Speak Softer" or "Speak Louder." In U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,405 also
to Dezonno, an apparatus and method is taught for-detecting
conversation interruptions in a telephonic switch. Utilizing this
invention, both the caller's speech and the agent's speech are
detected using audio signal detectors. When the caller's speech and
the agent's speech are simultaneously detected, a conversation
interruption has occurred and a supervisor is notified. Finally, in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,909 to Van Berkum et al. an agent speech
detector system and method is taught in which a speech detector
monitors the voice of an agent during a call routed to the agent by
a telephonic switch. If the speech detector detects that the agent
did not speak during the telephone call, the speech detector sends
this information to a supervisor's computer system. It is important
to note that no known system is directed specifically towards
measuring an external customer's satisfaction in real time at the
point of the customer contact.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In one preferred aspect, the present invention is intended
to provide a method and system for retrieving customer feedback
regarding the customer's service experience with a call handling
agent in real time at the point of customer contact.
[0014] In another preferred aspect, the present invention is
intended to provide a method and system for retrieving customer
feedback regarding the customer's service experience that assures
that the customer's evaluation, in fact: is from the customer who
actually utilized the service; refers to the specific agent that
handled the customer's call; and correspondingly, refers to the
actual service provider that provided the service.
[0015] In still another preferred aspect, the present invention is
intended to provide a method and system for monitoring an exchange
of information between a customer and a service provider,
preferably to ensure that an appropriate level of service quality
is provided to the customer.
[0016] In both embodiments of the invention, a customer establishes
a communication link with a service provider, such as via a
telephone. In one embodiment, a service, such as telephone
directory assistance information, is provided to the customer at
least in part via the communication link, and the customer is
requested to provide feedback before the communication link is
terminated by the customer. In another embodiment, the exchange of
information between the customer and the service provider is
monitored. If the monitor detects a predetermined condition, such
as a voice tone change or certain voiced statements or keyed
information, an action is triggered. The action might be to alert a
supervisor, record data, such as which agent handled the call, or
request that the customer provide feedback regarding some aspect of
their perceptions of the agent and/or the service.
[0017] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a
customer feedback measurement system for use with a telephonic
switch utilizes a digitized announcement means and a customer
response and input means to measure customer opinion of operator
courtesy, tone, accuracy, and speed or promptness of service. A
customer feedback measurement unit (CFMU) couples a digitized
announcement means with both a customer response input mechanism
(CRIM) and a customer comment recording mechanism (CCRM). The CFMU
is attached to a telecommunications server, preferably some type of
telephonic switch such as an automatic call distributor. The CFMU
provides the flexibility to operate in several modes. Specifically,
the CFMU may be engaged for every customer contact, for only those
calls in which the call handling agent requests that the CFMU be
engaged, for only those calls in which the calling customer
requests that the CFMU be engaged, and, in the preferred
embodiment, the CFMU is programmed to intermittently engage for
every variable Nth call in order to produce a statistically valid
random sampling of calls.
[0018] The digitized announcement means is capable of providing
various digitized announcement messages to the caller at various
points throughout the call. These messages may furnish the customer
with information or may request the customer to take a specific
action, such as input information. For example, a message may be
given to the caller at the beginning of the call which tells the
caller, "Please evaluate your perception of this call upon
completion of the call," or a message may be given at the end of
the call which asks the caller, "Please evaluate this call as
either excellent, fair, or poor."
[0019] The CFMU is comprised of a number of means for accepting and
recording customer input from a variety of sources. Specifically,
the CRIM may include a keyed input means for accepting, recognizing
and recording customer input from a telephone keypad, computer
keyboard, or other keying-type device. Additionally, the CRIM may
include a voice recognition means for accepting, translating and
recording verbalized customer input. The CRIM operates by accepting
and storing either a keyed response or a verbalized caller response
to a quality of service question offered by the digitized
announcement device, such as "Was the operator courteous?" Finally,
the CCRM could have the capability of recording customer
comments.
[0020] A reporting means allows for full flexibility in
summarizing, analyzing and reporting the customer responses. The
reporting means has the capability of producing many different
types of reports, including both statistical and graphical reports
with trend and norm comparisons for various levels of
organizational detail. For example, the percent of calls evaluated
excellent, good, fair, poor, satisfied, answered without delay,
handled professionally, with no trouble hearing, etc. may be
summarized by: an individual operator, a particular supervisor's
group, a particular office level, as well as by call type, call
class, call source, time (month, week, day, period of day), and
real time.
[0021] In accordance with another aspect of the first function of
the invention, a customer feedback measurement method is provided
for measuring customer opinion of the quality of service given to
the customer by a call handling agent in real time at the point of
service contact with the agent. The method comprises the step of
utilizing a digitized announcement means to inform and request the
customer to input via a telephone keypad, vocalization, or other
means, the customer's opinion of the service contact by having the
customer respond to a question or series of questions relating to
various quality aspects of the service encounter. The method
further comprises the step of storing and recording the various
customer responses via an appropriate mechanism based on the type
of input the customer utilizes in responding to the service
questions. Finally, the method comprises the step of summarizing,
analyzing, and reporting the results of the customers feedback to a
plurality of individuals utilizing a variety of display means.
[0022] In accordance with one aspect of the second function of the
invention, a conversation monitoring system for use with a
telephonic switch utilizes voice recognition and speech analysis
technology to monitor the conversation between a calling customer
and a call handling agent.
[0023] A voice recognition unit monitors a call in order to
recognize various key words, phrases, or other non-word utterances,
such as uh or um--vocalized by either the calling customer or the
call handling agent at any point during the call. These key words
and phrases may relate to quality of service issues or may relate
to marketing or other business issues. Key words and phrases
vocalized by the customer which may be indicative of quality of
service issues include words and phrases such as "dumb," "stupid,"
"poor," "slow," "rude," "not helpful," "inattentive," and profane
language, among others. Key words and phrases vocalized by the call
handling agent which may be indicative of quality of service issues
include words and phrases such as "I'm sorry," "please repeat," and
unauthorized words or phrases such as expletives. Key words or
phrases vocalized by the operator which may relate to marketing or
other types of business issues include words or phrases such as
call branding requirements by a particular service provider; and
required marketing questions such as "Would you be interested in .
. . ?" The voice recognition means is capable of monitoring the
conversation at all points during the call, but preferably during
the following critical conversation time points: while the customer
is on-line, but prior to the position connect; during the call
while the customer is on hold; after the position release but prior
to the audio response unit; or after the audio response unit but
before the call is released. When the invention recognizes a
particular key word or phrase, the invention may automatically
generate a report or may automatically transfer the call to a
supervisor, or take some other suitable action.
[0024] In addition to voice recognition analysis, the invention
preferably utilizes state of the art speech analysis technology to
monitor the conversation. In contrast to voice recognition
technology, which is capable of recognizing a specific word or
phrase from a vocalization, speech analysis attempts to recognize
certain qualitative aspects of the speech itself, such as an
increasing volume, which may indicate increasing stress, or a
sudden change in tonal quality, which may indicate customer
confusion.
[0025] In accordance with another aspect of the second function of
the invention, a conversation monitoring method for use with a
telephonic switch utilizes voice recognition and speech analysis
technology to monitor the conversation between a calling customer
and a call handling agent. The method comprises the step of
utilizing a voice recognition means as well as a speech analysis
means to monitor the entirety, or portions, of a conversation
between a calling customer and a call handling agent. The voice
recognition means uses current voice recognition technology to
continuously monitor a selected call to a call handling agent in
order to recognize certain key words or phrases. These key words or
phrases act as triggers, and once identified by the voice
recognition means, cause the invention to take a specific action
based on the specific trigger encountered. The speech analysis
means uses state of the art speech analysis technology to recognize
certain key qualitative aspects of the speech of either the
customer or the call handling agent that are indicative of a
potential quality of service issue.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 provides a schematic block diagram showing the
relationship of the customer feedback measurement system to a
telephonic switch.
[0027] FIG. 2 provides a schematic block diagram showing the
separation of on-switch and off-switch components of the invention
in a preferred embodiment.
[0028] FIG. 3 provides a schematic block diagram of the components
that comprise the customer feedback measurement unit.
[0029] FIG. 4 provides a schematic block diagram of the components
that comprise the customer response input mechanism.
[0030] FIGS. 5-7 show a flow diagram for the customer feedback
measurement system.
[0031] FIG. 8 provides a schematic block diagram showing the
relationship of the conversation monitoring system to a telephonic
switch.
[0032] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram for the voice recognition
keyword monitoring by the conversation monitoring system.
[0033] FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram for the speech analysis
monitoring by the conversation monitoring system.
DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0034] The invention possesses two related embodiments First, the
invention provides a method and system for allowing customers to
provide immediate feedback on their service experience. Secondly,
the invention provides a method and system for automatically
monitoring the quality of service provided to the customer.
[0035] In accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, a
customer feedback measurement system (CFMS) for use with a
telephonic switch utilizes a digitized announcement means and a
customer response and input means to measure customer perception of
service given by a call handling agent. In the preferred
embodiment, the agent is a directory assistance operator who
provides calling customers identifying information (i.e., phone
numbers) regarding third parties.
[0036] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram
illustrating generally a preferred embodiment of the CFMS. The CFMS
100 preferably operates with the public switched telephone network
(PSTN) 106, and is operational as well for packet-switched
networks, such as ISDN, or the Internet, to route a communication
from a calling party utilizing an external telephonic unit 104
through a telecommunications server, preferably a telephonic switch
108 such as an ACD, to a call handling agent station 120. The agent
station may consist of an agent terminal 121, an agent input device
124, an agent video display 125, an agent printer 126, an agent
voice recognition unit 122, and an agent microphone and speakers
123. The ACD switch 108 possesses at least the minimum level of
functionality of present day ACD switches which are well known in
the prior art. In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the CFMS
100 consists of both on-switch and off-switch components. The
on-switch components 101 may consist of a customer feedback
measurement unit (CFMU) 201, an engagement control means 202, a
transmission means 204 and a supervisory means 203. The off-switch
components 102 may consist of a storage means 205, an analysis
means 206, and a reporting means 207.
[0037] Referring now in addition to FIG. 3, CFMU 201 is preferably
comprised of a digitized announcement means 301, a customer
response input mechanism (CRIM) 302, a customer comment recording
mechanism (CCRM)303, and an identification means 304. The CFMU 201
is operably coupled to a telephonic switch 108, preferably an
automatic call distributor, that routes incoming customer calls to
a plurality of available call handling agents. The digitized
announcement means 301 consists of a programmable digitized,
announcement device capable of providing various digitized
announcement messages to the caller at various points throughout
the call. These messages may furnish the customer with information
or may request the customer to take a specific action, such as
input information. For example, a message may be given to the
caller at the beginning of the call which tells the caller, "Please
evaluate your perception of this call upon completion of the call,"
or a message may be given at the end of the call which asks the
caller, "Please evaluate this call as either excellent, fair, or
poor." The digitized announcement means 301 may request customer
input on any number of quality of service aspects, including agent
courtesy, tone, accuracy, and speed or promptness of service, among
other aspects.
[0038] The CFMU 201 is comprised of a number of means for accepting
and recording customer input and comments from a variety of
sources. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows that the CRIM 302 may be
comprised of a keyed-input means 401 which consists of that
hardware and software necessary for accepting, recognizing and
recording customer input from a telephone keypad, computer
keyboard, or other keying-type device. For instance, a customer
might respond to a feedback request and press the "3" key on his or
her telephone keypad. The tone produced by this action would be
recognized as a 3 and the number 3 recorded in an appropriate
field. Additionally; the CRIM 302 may include a vocalized input
means 402 that consists of that voice recognition means necessary
for accepting, recognizing and recording verbalized customer input.
For instance, a spoken word could be recognized and the word
recorded as ASCII code or in some other manner that facilitates
later processing and analysis. The CRIM 302 operates by accepting
and storing either a keyed response or a verbalized caller response
to a quality of service question offered by the digitized
announcement device 301, such as "Was the operator courteous?" A
recognized "yes" or "no" might be recorded as a 1 or 0
respectively. Finally, the CCRM 303 consists of that hardware and
software necessary for recording customer comments for later
playback.
[0039] Once the CFMU 201 receives and stores the customer responses
and customer comments, if any, the CFMU 201 formulates a complete
service call record by associating key identifying information with
the customer responses. The CFMU 201 performs this step by
utilizing an identification means 304 that interacts with the
existing software in the ACD 108 to gather key identifying call
detail information. This identifying information may include the
particular call classification, such as coin, non-coin, or
hotel/motel, the specific call type, such as collect, calling card,
3.sup.rd number, or sent paid, the call handling agent
identification code, the originating calling number, the specific
local or long distance carrier responsible for transporting the
call, and many other relevant types of information.
[0040] Once the CFMU 201 has formulated the complete service call
record, a transmission means 204 transmits the complete service
call record to a central processing site for storage, analysis, and
report generation. Those skilled in the art will understand that
the transmission means 204 consists of that hardware and software
necessary to transmit the stored information to a processing
site.
[0041] Once transmitted to a central processing site, an analysis
means 206 is used to summarize and analyze the data according to
both default and management-specified parameters.
[0042] The reporting means 207 preferably allows for full
flexibility in summarizing, analyzing and reporting the customer
responses. The reporting means 207 has the capability of producing
many different types of reports, including both statistical and
graphical reports with trend and norm comparisons for various
levels of organizational detail. For example, the percent of calls
evaluated excellent, good, fair, poor, satisfied, answered without
delay, handled professionally, with no trouble hearing, etc. may be
summarized by: an individual operator, a particular supervisor's
group, a particular office level, as well as by call type, call
class, call source, time (month, week, day, period of day), and
real time, among other types of reports. Those skilled in the art
will understand that the reporting means 207 includes all types of
hardware and software necessary to provide multiple report formats,
including printers, video display monitors, audio capabilities, and
other essential hardware and software.
[0043] In addition to customer feedback on the perceived
qualitative aspects of service given by a call handling agent, the
scope of the invention is further intended to include measuring
customer feedback on the use of specific marketing tools used by
agents when handling the calls. Examples of the types of marketing
tools employed by agents while handling calls include the use of
key marketing phrases by the agent, such as call branding, or words
and phrases indicative of a particular marketing campaign or
strategy. The invention makes it possible to match customer
perception with specific marketing tools or programs in real time
at the point of customer contact.
[0044] The CFMS 100 provides the flexibility to operate in various
modes according to specific engagement instructions contained
within an engagement control means 202. Those skilled in the art
will understand the basic programming involved in programming this
type of engagement control means 202. Specifically, the CFMS 100
may operate in at least three distinct engagement modes, which
include: (1) continuous; (2) auto-sampling; and (3) manual. In the
preferred embodiment, the CFMS 100 operates in auto-sampling mode.
Under auto-sampling, the CFMS 100 is programmed to intermittently
engage for every variable Nth call in order to produce a
statistically valid random sampling of calls. A statistical
sub-module, based on management-specified parameters, randomly
selects calls for the CFMS 100 which ensure a statistically valid
Nth sampling function. The statistical sub-module will determine
the Nth factor sample size parameters. The invention also
contemplates screening circuits that could control the class and
type of call sampled as well as the number of calls sampled by
office, manager group and individual operator. In continuous mode,
the CFMS 100 is engaged for every customer contact for a specified
period of time. In manual mode, the CFMS 100 is engaged only for
those calls in which the call handling agent requests that the CFMS
100 be engaged, or only for those calls in which the calling
customer requests that the CFMS 100 be engaged.
[0045] A supervisory means 203 includes the hardware and software
necessary for providing a live on-line service evaluator to receive
calls that are engaged by the customer feedback measurement unit
201 for manual, real time service evaluation. A supervisory control
means determines which calls engaged by the CFMU 201 are sent to
the supervisor evaluator. This supervisory control means can
operate in both an automatic and manual mode. In automatic mode,
the supervisory control means automatically sends those calls
engaged by the CFMU 201 to the supervisor evaluator when a specific
critical service indicator is triggered. In other words, an action
is triggered when a predetermined condition is detected. Such a
critical service indicator may include a customer response to a
quality of service question that exceeds a minimum threshold of
service evaluation. The supervisory control means may also operate
in manual mode. In manual mode, both the operator and the customer
can specifically request that the engaged call be transferred to
the live supervisor evaluator. Additionally, the supervisory means
203 includes means for allowing management call back when a
particular customer requests a management call back.
[0046] Monitoring Conversation
[0047] Referring now to FIG. 8, in accordance with one embodiment
of the second function of the invention, a conversation monitoring
system (CMS) 800 for use with a telephonic switch 108 utilizes
voice recognition and speech analysis technology to monitor the
conversation between a calling customer and a call handling agent,
which may be live or automated. Apart from monitoring a verbal
conversation, the present invention contemplates monitoring of any
service related exchange of information, such as keyed information,
that occurs between a customer and a service provider. The CMS 800
is preferably comprised of an announcement means 801, a voice
recognition means 802, a speech analysis means 803, a control means
804, a reporting means 805 and a supervisory means 806.
[0048] An announcement means 801 is comprised of a programmable,
digitized announcement device capable of providing various
digitized announcements at various points throughout the call. In a
preferred embodiment, the announcement device may announce to the
caller at the beginning of the call that the call may be monitored
for quality purposes.
[0049] A voice recognition means may be comprised of both a speech
recognition subsystem and a keyed input recognition subsystem. The
speech recognition subsystem is capable of recognizing vocalized
utterances while the keyed entry recognition subsystem is capable
of recognizing keyed information, such as that generated by
pressing characters on a computer keyboard or the tones produced by
a telephone keypad. In a preferred embodiment, the voice
recognition means 802 monitors a call in order to recognize various
key words, phrases or other utterances by either the calling
customer or the call handling agent at any point during the call.
These key words or phrases act as triggers, and once identified by
the voice recognition means, cause the invention to take a specific
action based on the specific trigger encountered. These key words
and phrases may relate to quality of service issues or may relate
to marketing or other business issues. Statements vocalized by the
customer which may be indicative of quality of service issues
include words and phrases such as "dumb," "stupid," "poor," "slow,"
"rude," "not helpful," "inattentive," and profane language, among
others. Statements vocalized by the call handling agent which may
be indicative of quality of service issues include words and
phrases such as "I'm sorry," "please repeat," and unauthorized
words or phrases such as expletives. Key words or phrases vocalized
by the operator which may relate to marketing or other types of
business issues include words or phrases such as call branding
requirements by a particular service provider; and required
marketing questions such as "Would you be interested in . . . ?"
The voice recognition means 602 is capable of monitoring the
conversation at all points during the call, but preferably during
the following critical conversation time points: while the customer
is on-line, but prior to the position connect; during the call
while the customer is on hold; after the position release but prior
to the audio response unit; or after the audio response unit but
before the call is released. When the invention recognizes a
particular key word or phrase, the invention may automatically
generate a report or may automatically transfer the call to a
supervisor, based on the particular trigger instruction associated
with the specific key word or phrase.
[0050] Apart from monitoring for certain key words, the present
invention also contemplates monitoring for other non-word
utterances, such as repeated "uhs" or "ums" that may indicate
confusion or some other noteworthy aspect of the exchange of
information.
[0051] In addition to voice recognition analysis, the invention
preferably utilizes state of the art speech analysis technology to
monitor the conversation. A speech analysis means 803 is comprised
of a programmable speech analysis device which includes a voice
tonal change detector and/or a voice volume change detector. The
speech analysis means uses current speech analysis technology to
recognize certain key qualitative aspects of the speech of either
the customer or the call handling agent that are of interest, such
as those indicative of a potential quality of service issue. In
contrast to voice recognition technology, which is capable of
recognizing a specific word or phrase from a vocalization, speech
analysis attempts to recognize certain qualitative aspects of the
speech itself, such as an increasing volume, which may indicate
increasing stress, or a sudden change in tonal quality, which may
indicate customer confusion. The speech analysis means preferably
performs by establishing a baseline during the beginning portion of
a conversation and then monitoring to detect a substantial
deviation from that baseline.
[0052] A control means 804 consists of that hardware and software
necessary to both engage the CMS 800 for a particular call and to
associate a specific trigger action with a particular
voice-recognized key word or phrase or speech-analyzed voice
quality condition. The engagement aspect of the control means may
operate in much the same way as the engagement control means 202 of
the CFMS 100, discussed above. The trigger aspect of the control
means 804 operates by associating a specific trigger action with a
particular predetermined condition, such as a word or phrase
recognized by the voice recognition means 802 or with a particular
voice quality condition recognized by the speech analysis means
803, for example by means of a computerized database lookup
function. Once the control means 804 has identified the appropriate
trigger response, the control means 804 identifies the specific
instructions associated with the identified trigger response. The
control means 804 then performs the identified instruction.
Generally, the instruction may be to generate one or more types of
reports, record data and/or to notify and/or transfer the call to a
live supervisor. In addition, the triggered action may be to
request customer feedback.
[0053] A reporting means 805 generates a number of different types
of reports based on the information it receives from the control
means 804.
[0054] A supervisory means 806 includes the hardware and software
necessary for providing a live on-line service evaluator to receive
calls that are sent by the control unit to the live supervisor for
real time service assistance.
[0055] Although the present invention has been illustrated in the
context of a telecommunications service provider, the contemplated
scope of the invention extends to other types of communication
links, and to situations other than telephone directory assistance
information services. For instance, the monitoring function of the
invention could find potential applicability to a keyed or other
type of non-voice exchange of information occurring over an
internet communication link. In addition, the invention
contemplates that the service provider could be an internal
corporate entity, such as switchboard operators or network
administrators, or relate to other services, such as catalog sales,
banking and/or insurance services, automatic call answering systems
for government and businesses, or virtually any other situation
where a customer interacts with a live or automated agent of a
service provider. Thus, various modifications could be made to the
disclosed preferred embodiments without departing from the intended
scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims set forth
below.
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