CN1863254A - Method and system of call central service - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a serving method of a call center, also providing a call center service system for implementing the serving method, and the method builds an individual telephone directory for each handset user in the call center to make the handset user able to be convenient to make a telephone call by telephone number searching and dialing services of the call center as he is not convenient or will not consult his own telephone dictionary, thus providing individual, convenient, rapid and accurate calling services for users.

Description

Call center service method and call center service system

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for serving customers based on a call center, and also relates to a call center service system for realizing the call center service method, belonging to the field of Computer Telephony Integration (CTI for short).

Background

With the continuous development of telecommunication technology and computer technology, the telecommunication technology and the computer technology are gradually crossed and fused, communication technology is introduced in the field of computers, and the application of the computer technology is increased in telecommunication equipment. This has created a new technology of computer telephony integration across both the telecommunications and computer domains. CTI technology has been developed with the development of telecommunication and computer technology since birth. Nowadays, it has evolved into not only the integration of computers and telephones, but also the communication of various media such as fax, Internet, video, voice mail, etc., thereby realizing the convergence of computer and telecommunication technologies.

Currently, CTI technology-based call centers have evolved into fairly complex computerized communication systems. Within a typical internet protocol based call center, there are typically such devices: a private exchange connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and mainly responsible for voice switching of the public switched telephone network; a voice Gateway (Gateway) responsible for converting data in media channels and signaling channels in the public telephone network into voice communication data based on the IP protocol; the Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) server is responsible for realizing the function of fusion of a related computer intelligent system and a communication system; an Automatic Call Distribution switch (ACD) mainly responsible for automatically distributing incoming calls to each idle Call service seat; the database server and the Internet server are mainly responsible for data content management of the call center and service for providing Internet application; the computer of the seat, for the seat based on Internet protocol, registered in the extension mode, each operator must dispose a computer installed with multimedia, or, the seat registered in the analog extension mode, each operator must dispose an analog telephone and a microcomputer; the network equipment which adopts the internet protocol access such as a network switch, a router, a firewall and the like is correspondingly included.

The currently commonly used service modes of the CTI service center are as follows: taking the call center of a mobile secretary platform as an example, when a user needs service, the user can continue to a mobile service call center or a value-added service center by dialing a special service number, and a call center system can automatically respond to continuous selection of a customer by using a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) function through Interactive Voice Response (IVR). When the user is inconvenient to answer the mobile phone, the call is transferred to a voice mailbox preset by the user through the call forwarding service. Through the service, when the user is inconvenient or can not answer the call, if other people dial the mobile phone of the user, the user can be informed in time.

Another service method is: when the user is inconvenient to dial a call or search the telephone number stored in the mobile phone, the name or the name of the called user can be called directly in a voice mode. The call center utilizes Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Text-To-Speech (TTS) technologies, and retrieves a corresponding relation table between telephone numbers and names registered in a call center database in advance, thereby realizing Automatic calling of a called user.

Obviously, the first service method is the function provided by the current mobile secretary station, which only solves the problem of providing notification to the user in time when the user is inconvenient to answer the call, and does not provide the user with the function of making a call. The second service method provides a voice dialing function, but in view of the inherent defects of the existing voice recognition technology, voice information cannot be recognized efficiently, and the dialects of different places are different, so the actual recognition effect is always difficult to be achieved, and therefore, users do not leap to using the technology at present.

The invention patent No. 00819003.8 "signaling and processing method of incoming call of call center" discloses an incoming call processing method for call center. According to the method, an incoming call of the call centre is signalled by the ISDN switching centre to the call centre together with the subscriber number of the calling subscriber via an internet protocol connection of the ISDN switching centre to the call centre. Obviously, the technical scheme provided by the invention only solves the problem of processing the incoming call and fails to provide further call service for the incoming call user.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a novel call center service method. The call center service method establishes a personalized telephone address book for each user in the call center, so that a mobile phone user can conveniently dial a call through the service of the call center when the mobile phone user is inconvenient or unwilling to search a telephone directory of the mobile phone user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a call center service system for implementing the above call center service method.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

a call center service method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

a. respectively establishing special telephone books for different users in a call center;

b. when a user needs to call a service, the user dials a call center, and the call center arranges a telephone operator to provide the service for the user;

c. the user explains the object to be dialed to the telephone operator;

d. the operator searches on the seat microcomputer, searches the called number to be called from the telephone book of the calling party, and the application server sends the call to the called party;

e. after the called party is off-hook, the application server interrupts the voice channel between the calling party and the telephone operator, establishes the voice channel between the calling party and the called party, and the calling party and the called party are communicated;

f. the calling party or the called party hangs up, the application server sends an interrupt message to the called party or the calling party, and all connections are released.

Wherein,

in the step a, a telephone directory of the user is generated according to the telephone number of the user.

The step b further comprises the following steps:

1) the user dials the special service number of the call center;

2) the application server receives the call and searches for an idle telephone operator;

3) the application server sends a call to an idle operator;

4) and (4) the operator is off-hook, the application server establishes RTP connection between the user and the operator, and the user and the operator talk.

In the step d, the calling telephone directory is stored in the cache, and when the telephone operator inputs a character in the name of the called user, the call center automatically searches the called user matched with the input character from the calling telephone directory according to the input character;

in the step d, the telephone operator retrieves the called user, directly clicks the name of the user, and the call center sends out an instruction according to the telephone directory data in the cache and sends out the dialing.

In the step d, the telephone directory data displayed to the telephone operator does not include the telephone number of the called user.

A call center service system for realizing the call center service method is characterized in that:

the system comprises a telephone switch \ queuing machine, a voice gateway, a Web server, a CTI server, an application server and a database server;

the telephone exchange \ queuing machine is connected to a public telephone exchange network, and the voice gateway is connected with the telephone exchange \ queuing machine;

the voice gateway, the CTI server, the application server and the database server are respectively connected to the relay gateway, and the Web server is also connected to the relay gateway through a firewall;

the trunk gateway is connected to at least one agent microcomputer providing a manual call service.

The call center service method and the call center service system provided by the invention fully consider the actual requirements of a large number of users, make up for the deficiencies of the prior art and provide personalized, convenient, quick and accurate call service for the call center users.

Drawings

The invention is further described with reference to the following figures and detailed description.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a call center service system for implementing the call center service method according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a call center service method provided by the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of steps for implementing quick retrieval of a telephone directory in the call center service method.

Fig. 4 is a signaling flow of the call center service method described above, taking the SIP protocol as an example.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a call center service system implementing the call center service method according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the call center service system includes a telephone switch \ queuing machine and a voice gateway facing the public switched telephone network, wherein the telephone switch \ queuing machine is connected to the public switched telephone network, and the voice gateway is connected to the telephone switch \ queuing machine; the voice gateway, the CTI server, the application server and the database server are respectively connected to a relay gateway, and the Web server is also connected to the relay gateway through a firewall. The relay gateway is connected to a plurality of agent microcomputers providing a manual call service.

In the above-mentioned call center service system, the telephone exchange \ queuing machine and voice gateway which are responsible for realizing interface with the public telephone exchange network are all widely used devices in the existing call center. The CTI server is responsible for performing functions related to the convergence of computer systems and communication systems. The computer establishes CTI communication connection through V.24 interface or EDSS1 interface (S0 interface) of the SPC exchange and also establishes CTI communication connection through LAN interface to realize call state transfer and call control. Through the service provided by the CTI Link middleware installed on the computer, the CTI functions of call event and group state monitoring, telephone control (answering, switching, meeting, hanging up, holding, consultation, avoiding disturbance and alternation), call data association, seat state setting and inquiry (login, exit, preparation, non-preparation and post-call processing) and the like can be provided for the CTI application in the background, so that the applications of intelligent incoming call processing, screen pop-up, voice and data coordination transfer, active dial-out, soft phone and the like are realized.

The service server mainly completes service providing functions of various services. In the server, the seat of the call center can transfer the number of the target user by clicking a name button on the seat page, so that direct real-time contact with the target client is realized. Meanwhile, the seat can push out corresponding product and webpage information for the client in real time according to the requirements of the user, and help the client to obtain an ideal result.

In the call center service system, each operator must configure an analog telephone and a seat microcomputer. When a person name button is clicked on the seat page, the seat of the call center can transfer the number of the destination user, and direct real-time contact with the destination client is realized. Meanwhile, the seat can push out corresponding product and webpage information for the client in real time according to the requirements of the user, and help the client to obtain an ideal result.

Based on the call center service system, the call center service method provided by the invention comprises the following steps:

1. respectively establishing special telephone books for different users in a call center;

the user transmits the personal telephone directory to the call center, and the call center stores the personal telephone directory in the database server. This step mainly solves the problem of preparing the call centre to provide services to the user. Typically, the user can copy the telephone directory in his or her mobile phone to the call center when registering for the service. In addition, it can also establish own telephone directory in the call center by Web mode, WAP (wireless application Protocol) mode, short message mode and manual mode. In order to protect the privacy of the user, the process of establishing the user's personal phonebook is preferably performed automatically by the user by means of voice or text prompts provided by the call centre, without the involvement of other people. After the personal telephone directory of the user is generated in the call center, the call center can perform service for the personal telephone directory.

The specific business service comprises the following steps:

2. when a user needs to call a service, the user dials a call center, and the call center automatically arranges a telephone operator to provide manual service for the user;

3. the user explains the object to be dialed to the telephone operator;

4. the operator searches on the seat microcomputer, searches the called number to be called from the telephone book of the calling party, and the application server sends the call to the called party;

5. after the called party is off-hook, the application server interrupts the voice channel between the calling party and the telephone operator, establishes the voice channel between the calling party and the called party, and the calling party and the called party are communicated;

6. the calling (called) party hangs up, the application server sends out an interrupt message to the called (calling) party, and all the connections are released.

The step 2 further comprises the following substeps:

1) the calling user dials the special service number of the call center;

2) the application server receives the call and searches for an idle telephone operator;

3) the application server sends a call to an idle operator;

4) and (4) the operator is off-hook, the application server establishes RTP connection between the calling party and the operator, and the calling party and the operator communicate.

In the process, the number of the calling party can be automatically obtained by the calling center through caller identification, so that the identity of the calling party can be judged once the application server obtains the number of the calling party, and the telephone directory of the calling party is directly called from the database and is provided for an operator. If the telephone used by the calling subscriber is not registered in the call centre, for example a public telephone, the call centre may allow the subscriber to provide a name or number and enter a password for verification and thus also to identify the calling subscriber.

Referring to fig. 2, through the above-mentioned service steps, when a calling subscriber a is inconvenient to dial or unwilling to search a telephone number from a mobile phone for calling, a special service number of a call center is dialed through a single-key dialing function on the mobile phone, after the special service number is connected, the special service number is answered by an operator of a call seat, then the calling subscriber a tells the operator the name of a called subscriber B to be dialed, the operator searches a subscriber telephone directory input in advance in a service server, after a target subscriber is found, the system realizes automatic dialing by clicking the name of the called subscriber B, dials the number of the called subscriber B, and then the call is transferred to the called subscriber B, and simultaneously, the incoming and outgoing relays are released.

Among the above-mentioned business service flows, a significant difference from the prior art is that the user's outgoing call service is performed with the assistance of a human (operator). Compared with the voice dialing service based on the voice recognition technology, the degree of automation is reduced in form, but in view of the development level of the current voice recognition technology and the expectation of possible future development, the voice recognition technology is abandoned, and manual voice recognition is adopted to provide the telephone dialing service, so that the technology is feasible, the call success rate is higher, the user feels more comfortable, and the telephone dialing service is popular with the user in practice. In addition, in the service process, the telephone number searching technique unique to the operator is also adopted when the operator searches the telephone number, so that the searching is ensured to be completed in real time. This is explained in detail below.

In addition, the manual switching function provided by the operator is different from the manual switching function of the telephone in the existing enterprise essentially: firstly, the telephone directory used by the existing manual switching is a telephone directory unified for all the serviced persons, and the manual switching mentioned in the invention is a private telephone directory for each person of each serviced person, namely, personalized service is provided for each service object; secondly, the objects served by the existing manual switching service are mainly a small part of specific crowds such as enterprises, and the objects of the manual switching service mentioned in the invention are social public personnel and have wide social crowds; third, the existing manual transfer is to search the same telephone directory of the text, while the manual transfer mentioned in the present invention is to search the name of the object to be dialed through the telephone directory processed by the computer, not to search the telephone number, and to make the computer dial the telephone number by using the computer-telephone integration technology.

In the call center service method, quick and accurate telephone number retrieval is the key for successful service. The telephone number retrieval requires high real-time performance, which requires the telephone number retrieval system to be able to quickly retrieve the telephone number of the called subscriber. Therefore, the invention adopts a unique calling telephone directory rapid generation technology of our party. The core of the technology is that after a calling party dials a special service number of a calling center, a telephone number retrieval system of the calling center retrieves a database system according to the calling number to quickly generate a telephone directory of the calling party; the calling telephone directory is placed in the buffer memory, and when the telephone operator inputs a character in the name of the called user, the system automatically searches the calling telephone directory according to the input character and lists the called users matched with the calling telephone directory. Figure 3 lists a specific implementation flow for call center telephone number retrieval.

As can be seen from fig. 3, the phone number retrieval is divided into three steps:

and generating a telephone directory of the calling party according to the calling number. The database stores the telephone number information of all users. When a user calls, if all telephone number information is retrieved from the database every time, the speed is slow, and the requirement of real-time performance cannot be met. If all phone number information is read from the database into the cache when the system is loaded, there is a problem of maintaining consistency, especially after the user adds or modifies phone numbers in some way (e.g. Web), the cache needs to be updated by the system in real time. Because the invention can know the number of the calling party when the user dials the special service number of the call center, the invention adopts the method of generating the calling telephone directory according to the calling number. The calling telephone directory is actually the address book of the calling party, and the method for searching the database has the advantages of less records, high speed and guaranteed real-time property and accuracy.

And dynamically searching the telephone number of the called user from the telephone directory of the calling user according to the name of the called user. The calling telephone directory is put in the buffer memory, and when the operator inputs a character in the name of the called user, the call center automatically searches the called user matched with the input character from the calling telephone directory according to the input character, and the process does not need to retrieve the database again.

And displaying the found called user information, including the user name but not including privacy information such as a telephone number and the like. After the operator clicks the user information directly, the telephone number searching system does not need to search the database, but directly sends out an instruction according to the data in the cache and sends out the dialing.

After a user dials a special service number of a call center, the call center acquires a calling number of the user through a switch, then a system automatically displays the information of the user, wherein the information comprises a telephone directory of the user, a telephone operator inputs a first letter of each character of a name of a called user or a first character of the called user, the system automatically searches a database server, the name of the user is searched by adopting a special retrieval technology, and the name is displayed in a display. In the process of call forwarding, a call center displays the name of a called user through a display, and then service personnel click the name to dial without calling center service personnel to dial the number of the called user. The CTI technology is mainly adopted to realize the DTMF transmission connection technology, the service server dials and switches the number of the called user, and specific numbers in a directory are not displayed for service personnel, so that the security of the numbers is improved, and the privacy of the user is protected. Unless the user needs the operator to help him find the telephone number and tell the user, which of course also requires the user to tell the operator his own calling number or user name, password, etc.

Fig. 4 shows a signaling flow of the above-mentioned call center service method, taking SIP protocol as an example. This signaling flow is another embodiment of the method of the present invention, and a person skilled in the art of telecommunications will readily understand from the above description of the call center service method and will not be described in detail here.

The call flow through the call center is changed into that the user A calls the call center first, the call center replaces the user A to dial the called user, and the call is not just called to other seats in the center but to another peer user like the common call center. This change in call flow provides great convenience to some users.

The present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof. Any obvious modifications to the invention, which would occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the true spirit of the invention, would constitute a violation of the patent rights of the invention and would carry a corresponding legal responsibility.

Claims (7)

1. A call center service method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

a. respectively establishing special telephone books for different users in a call center;

b. when a user needs to call a service, the user dials a call center, and the call center arranges a telephone operator to provide the service for the user;

c. the user explains the object to be dialed to the telephone operator;

d. the operator searches on the seat microcomputer, searches the called number to be called from the telephone book of the calling party, and the application server sends the call to the called party;

e. after the called party is off-hook, the application server interrupts the voice channel between the calling party and the telephone operator, establishes the voice channel between the calling party and the called party, and the calling party and the called party are communicated;

f. the calling party or the called party hangs up, the application server sends an interrupt message to the called party or the calling party, and all connections are released.

2. The call center service method of claim 1, wherein:

in the step a, a telephone directory of the user is generated according to the telephone number of the user.

3. The call center service method of claim 1, wherein:

the step b further comprises the following steps:

1) the user dials the special service number of the call center;

2) the application server receives the call and searches for an idle telephone operator;

3) the application server sends a call to an idle operator;

4) and (4) the operator is off-hook, the application server establishes RTP connection between the user and the operator, and the user and the operator talk.

4. The call center service method of claim 1, wherein:

in the step d, the calling telephone directory is stored in the cache, and when the telephone operator inputs one character in the name of the called user, the call center automatically searches the called user matched with the input character from the calling telephone directory according to the input character.

5. The call center service method of claim 1, comprising the steps of:

in the step d, the telephone operator retrieves the called user, directly clicks the name of the user, and the call center sends out an instruction according to the telephone directory data in the cache and sends out the dialing.

6. The call center service method of claim 1, comprising the steps of:

in the step d, the telephone directory data displayed to the telephone operator does not include the telephone number of the called user.

7. A call center service system implementing the call center service method of claim 1, characterized in that:

the system comprises a telephone switch \ queuing machine, a voice gateway, a Web server, a CTI server, an application server and a database server;

the telephone exchange \ queuing machine is connected to a public telephone exchange network, and the voice gateway is connected with the telephone exchange \ queuing machine;

the voice gateway, the CTI server, the application server and the database server are respectively connected to the relay gateway, and the Web server is also connected to the relay gateway through a firewall;

the trunk gateway is connected to at least one agent microcomputer providing a manual call service.

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