WO2011083422A2

WO2011083422A2 - Service provider coordination platform

Info

Publication number: WO2011083422A2
Application number: PCT/IB2011/050030
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lev Smolyar
Original assignee: Lev Smolyar
Priority date: 2010-01-05
Filing date: 2011-01-05
Publication date: 2011-07-14
Also published as: WO2011083422A3

Abstract

A method of providing a service to client by a service coordinating system. The method includes managing a list of service providers by the system, along with respective quality ratings and prices of the service providers, receiving, by the system, a call from a client and determining, by the system, from the list of service providers, a plurality of service providers available to provide service to the client. Furthermore, the system selects a service provider from the determined service providers, according to client provided preferences indicating at least one of a specific service provider, a desired price or a desired quality rating, establishes a communication connection between the client and the selected service provider, by the system and bills the client for the established communication connection, by the system.

Description

SERVICE PROVIDER COORDINATION PLATFORM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ordering services and in particular to real time services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet is used to provide many services. Many vendors present their merchandise and services on their website so as to allow Internet users to purchase merchandise and services from their home at the time of their choice. Some websites serve as a portal which provides a comparison of many vendors and links the user to the websites of the vendors. The portal allows the user to compare prices and see other user's feedback on specific vendors.

Some websites allow the user to contact a human user to consult on the merchandise or services offered.

US patent 7,818,233 to Sloan et al. suggests a financial planning system in which a user may access a live advisor using various methods, such as chat, telephone and email.

In many fields of services offered on the market, a non-automated intermediary is made use of in order to connect the customer and the service provider; such fields include transportation and moving services, audio interpretation, text translation, tutoring. The involvement of an intermediary results in considerable increase of the price of a service. One of the best examples is the audio translation.

Some websites provide consultant services for a cost. For example, liveperson.com registers experts in various fields and allows users to contact them and pay according to time.

Not all people are accustomed to use the Internet, and even those who do use the Internet prefer receiving some services over the phone.

For such users, many companies manage call centers which receive client calls and provide assistance and/or services. The managing of such services is not always in the main business path of a company and therefore some companies outsource their call centers.

US patent 5,392,343 to Davitt et al. suggests a platform which automatically connects a calling subscriber and a called party with a selected language interpreter.

US patent publication 2009/0089042 to Wald et al. describes a system which automatically determines the language of translation according to the location of the user and selects a translator automatically.

US patent publication 2008/0221862 to Guo et al. describes a system for providing translation services.

US patent 6,690,932 to Barnier et al. describes a system for providing language translation services in a telecommunication network.

The disclosures of all the above referenced patents and patent publications are incorporate herein by reference in their entirety. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to a call center which serves as an intermediary between independent service providers and clients. The call center manages a database of service providers, recording for each service provider an indication of the services provided, cost, quality rating, and availability status. The call center further receives telephone calls of users requesting services, determines the specific needs of the user and manages user selection of a service provider meeting the specific needs of the user. Having the call center serve as an intermediary rather than as a service provider simplifies the operation of the call center and allows providing a larger span of services at cheaper prices. The call center is not required to set a service standard, but rather each service provider is in charge of his/her own reputation.

In some embodiments of the invention, the user selection is received at the beginning of a user call. The user is optionally provided with a list of available service providers meeting the user's needs, for example in an interactive voice response (IVR) menu, and is requested to select one of the service providers. Alternatively or additionally, the user may indicate an attribute of the service provider to be selected, such as cheapest, highest quality or having a best cost to quality ratio. Further alternatively or additionally, the selection is performed using a parallel communication connection established between the client and the call center in parallel to the telephone connection. For example, the user may perform the selection in an Internet account matched by the call center with the telephone call.

In other embodiments, the selection is performed by the call center based on previously defined user instructions and/or any of the methods described in the above mentioned patents and patent publications mentioned in the background section.

The quality ratings are optionally provided by the user at the end of each telephone service session. Alternatively or additionally, the call center calls some or all of the clients after they completing receiving service, in order to collect feedback. Further alternatively or additionally, the client is requested to provide feedback the next time the client requests service. Alternatively or additionally to receiving feedback over the telephone, the system may request and/or receive feedback through the internet and/or other communication means, such as SMS and email.

As to the availability indications, optionally each service provider provides in advance a work schedule indicating availability of the service provider. Alternatively or additionally, each time the service provider becomes available or unavailable he sends a message to the system indicating his availability status. Optionally, service providers are required when indicating that they are available to respond to a service request within up to a predetermined amount of time, for example, less than a minute, less than half a minute or even less than 10 seconds. In some embodiments of the invention, the system periodically sends test messages to make sure service providers respond within a required time frame. In other embodiments, before providing a user with a list of available service providers, the system verifies that the service providers on the list are available to provide service.

The system optionally bills the client, for example based on the time of the service, and passes a share of the billed sum to the service provider.

In some embodiments of the invention, the service providers provide translation services. Optionally, the system includes a three-way call, multi-party call and/or conference call switching center which automatically connects the client through a three way real time voice connection with a third party and the selected translator or even to more than three parties, concurrently.

In other embodiments, service providers may provide other services, such as computer help desk services in installing programs or other computer management tasks. Optionally, in parallel to establishing the connection with the service provider, a coordinate net is displayed on the client's computer screen, allowing the service provider, who is aware of the structure of the displayed coordinate network, to easily refer to points on the client's computer screen.

Optionally, in addition to receiving client requests over the telephone, the call center is adapted to receive client requests in voice connections established through computers and/or smart-phones over the Internet or other VoIP connections. The service providers connect to the call center over telephone connections and/or Internet connections. In some embodiments of the invention, the Internet connections with clients and/or service providers are performed without installing a communication client and the client or service provider computer.

There is therefore provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing a service to a client by a service coordinating system, comprising receiving, by the system over a communication network, service provider information along with respective prices from a plurality of service providers, over a plurality of respective communication connections, managing a list of service providers by the system, along with respective quality ratings and prices of the service providers, responsive to the received service provider information and respective prices, receiving, by the system, a voice call from a client, determining, by the system, from the list of service providers, a plurality of service providers currently available to provide service to the client, responsive to receiving the voice call, selecting a service provider from the determined service providers, according to client provided preferences indicating at least one of a specific service provider, a desired price and a desired quality rating and establishing a communication connection between the client and the selected service provider, by the system.

Optionally, managing the list comprises receiving feedback from clients and calculating service provider quality ratings accordingly. Optionally, managing the list comprises receiving feedback from clients at the beginning of received calls, on the quality of previous communication sessions. Optionally, managing the list comprises receiving feedback from clients over the Internet, on the quality of previous communication sessions.

Optionally, establishing the communication connection comprises routing the received voice call of the client to the service provider.

Optionally, the method includes determining from the voice call a type of service desired by the client based on an interactive voice response IVR input provided by the client.

Optionally, selecting the service provider comprises providing a list of service providers to the client and receiving from the client an indication of one of the service providers on the list. Optionally, receiving from the client an indication of one of the service providers on the list comprises receiving through an IVR session. Optionally, selecting the service provider comprises selecting based on a previously provided client instruction on a desired trade-off between cost and quality.

Optionally, the voice call is a voice over IP (VoIP) call or a telephone call. Optionally, the voice call is initiated from a telephone. Alternatively, the voice call is initiated from a computer. Optionally, the system determines the availability of service providers by receiving availability indications when their availability status changes. Optionally, the system determines the availability of service providers from schedules provided by the service providers in advance.

Optionally, establishing the communication connection between the client and the selected service provider comprises establishing a three way communication connection between the client, the service provider and a third party. Optionally, the method includes billing based on a duration of the established connection between the client and the service provider. Optionally, the method includes transferring a predetermined percentage of a billed sum to the service provider. Optionally, billing for the established connection comprises billing the client.

There is further provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a call center system, comprising an input interface configured to receive over a communication network, service provider information along with respective prices from a plurality of service providers, over a plurality of respective communication connections, a database which manages a list of service providers, along with respective quality ratings and prices of the service providers, based on information received through the input interface, a telephone exchange adapted to receive client calls and to establish connections between clients and service providers and a processor configured to determine for received client calls, a plurality of service providers from the list, that are available to provide service to the client, to select a service provider from the determined service providers, according to client provided preferences indicating at least one of a specific service provider, a desired price or a desired quality rating, and to instruct the telephone exchange to establish a communication connection between the client and the selected service provider.

Optionally, the database is configured to calculate service provider quality ratings based on feedback from clients received through the telephone exchange. Optionally, the system includes a billing unit configured to bill for established connections with service providers and to transfer a predetermined percentage of the sum billed to the service provider.

Optionally, the system includes an Internet interface adapted to establish voice connections with service providers and/or clients. Optionally, the telephone exchange is adapted to establish multi-party telephone connections, connecting three or more end units. Optionally, the system includes an Internet interface adapted to receive service provider updates for their database entry. Optionally, the database is configured to have the prices of service providers set by the service providers through the Internet interface.

There is further provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing a service to a client by a service coordinating system, comprising managing a list of service providers by the system, along with respective quality ratings and along with respective prices received from the plurality of service providers, over a plurality of respective communication connections, receiving, at a website of the system, a client request to search for currently available service providers for a specific service, displaying, by the website, a list of service providers currently available to provide service to the client, responsive to receiving the client request, receiving a client selection of a service provider from the displayed list, establishing a voice connection between the client and the selected service provider, through the website, responsive to the received client selection and billing the client for the established communication connection, by the system.

Optionally, the quality ratings are assigned based on feedback received from clients. Optionally, establishing the connection between the client and the selected service provider comprises establishing a mutli-party connection including at least three separate end points.

Optionally, establishing the connection between the client and the selected service provider comprises establishing a first VoIP connection from the client to a server of the system and a second voice connection from the server to the service provider.

Optionally, in establishing the connection between the client and the service provider a software on a client computer is configured to notify the system at the beginning and at the end of the established connection. Optionally, the method includes additionally establishing another communication connection between the client and service provider, in parallel to the voice connection. Optionally, the another communication connection comprises at least one of a chat, email, document sharing and display sharing connection. In some embodiments of the invention, in parallel to the voice connection, a share screen connection is established between the client and service provider, such that the service provider is displayed the client's screen. In some embodiments of the invention, a coordinate network is overlaid on the client's screen to aid the communication between the client and service provider.

Optionally, the method includes displaying a computer screen of a computer of the client to the service provider, in parallel to establishing the voice connection, preferably before a conversation between the client and service provider begins although the display may be performed at a later stage.

Optionally, the method includes overlaying a coordinate system on the screen of the computer of the client in parallel to establishing the connection or at a later stage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Non-limiting embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following description of embodiments in conjunction with the figures. Identical structures, elements or parts which appear in more than one figure are preferably labeled with a same or similar number in all the figures in which they appear, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system in which the client and his interlocutor, both act as service recipients, using different computers/mobiles, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The client and his interlocutor, both acting as service recipients, use the same computer/mobile.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The client and his interlocutor, both acting as service recipients, use different mobiles/land phones.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a system constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. The client and his interlocutor, both acting as service recipients, use the same mobile/land phone.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention: the client communicates with the system via a computer/smart phone/ mobile phone program interface to send his/her requirements; and

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention: the client communicates with the system via telephone utilizing a line/mobile phone keyboard to send his/her requirements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Presented is a method and system for language interpretation service (which can also be used for other services, with proper adjustments) which will be less expensive than solutions proposed before. The contemplated service allows a client to contact a human interpreter, who need not be a professional and need not be a full-time or fixed- time service provider, via the bidding system. This system enables any person to register as an interpreter and allows the client directly to select an interpreter according to price, quality-of-service rating, language and/or other features.

One embodiment of the invention supports language interpretation services provided by a human interpreter. A system offers performing remote simultaneous interpretation facilitating oral communication between two or more persons who do not speak one common language - the person who orders the interpretation service (the "client"), the interlocutor/s (including or excluding the client, together the "service recipients") and the interpreter/s (all of the above the "participants"). The system optionally comprises a bidding system, the participants' stations with connection between them, and a billing system. The bidding system may enable the client to select an interpreter according to the client's specifications.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a device of a service recipient could be equipped with one or more headsets and microphones or mobile phone with loudspeaker; a remote interpreter (or interpreters) could also be equipped with a phone or computer/smart phone with headset and a microphone. The simultaneous interpreter station may include control for routing incoming and outgoing signals from and to service recipients, thereby allowing the remotely located interpreter to listen to any service recipient/s and to route voiced interpreter signals to any service recipient/s.

A system and method for offering and ordering services is proposed. The services may include audio interpretation services, written text translation services, transportation/moving services or any other service.

One embodiment of the invention is a system and method for performing spoken language interpretation. However, the same system can be used for any other service, especially interactive service (like written text translation). In accordance with this embodiment of the present invention the system could comprise:

(a) the client interface;

(b) the interlocutor interface;

(c) the interpreter interface; (d) the bidding block that maintains a database of all interpreters that provide requisite service and their features (price, quality-of-service rating, languages). The bidding block allows the client to view the list of interpreters in full or in accordance with given criteria such as interpreters currently online, interpreters for a give language or meeting other client requirements. The bidding block may be programmed to connect automatically to an interpreter according to any given algorithm.

(e) The system may include the billing block that calculates the charges, credits the interpreter's account and charges the client's account. All account data may be kept inside the billing block. In addition, the same block may be used to transfer the money to/from an external account.

(f) The system may also include the device that transfers the incoming call to Internet (see PSTN to Ethernet adapter on Fig. 3).

Client interface description (a). Several different embodiments of the client interface are possible. The client can communicate with the system through a specially designed interface program which will run on a computer/smart phone/mobile phone (see fig 1 & 2) to send his/her required specifications for an interpreter. The client can set the desired specifications when initiating a service request or use default or predefined specification requirements. Alternatively the client can call any PSTN number associated with the system from a regular or mobile phone and select the interpreter meeting his/her requirements through keyboard interface or using default or predefined requirements (see Fig 3& 4).

The requirements may include the quality of service requirements (for example the translation quality rating and/or internet/voice connection quality), price, languages or any other characteristics.

After the conversation stops, the client (or, depending on the system settings, other interlocutors) may leave his/her feedback about the interpretation quality.

Interlocutor / service recipient interface (b). The service recipients can share the same phone/computer/mobile phone (Fig 2 & 4) and/or use different phone/computer/mobile phone devices (Fig 1 &3). In the first case they can use two different microphones or alternatively one loudspeaker or an equivalent device. In the second case, each of the service recipient can use a microphone or loudspeaker. The interpreter interface (c). The interpreter may control (or may be unable to control) incoming and outgoing signals from and to the service recipients, thereby allowing the interpreter to listen to any one, or more, of the service recipients and to route voiced interpreter signals to any one, or more, of the service recipients.

The interpreter may indicate that he is available/ unavailable for service provision through the telephone system or via internet or via any other telecommunication system. He can provide the service through a line phone/mobile phone, via internet or via any other telecommunication system. He can also advertise any characteristics like languages, price list and service quality through internet or telephone system or any other platform used. In the one of embodiments, the interpreter can transfer money out of his internal system account any time with or without charge (depends on the embodiment).

Bidding system description (d). The bidding system can be viewed as a sub system for the current embodiment or can be used as an independent system. Prior to a conversation between the service recipients or in the course of such conversation, the client uses the bidding system to compile a list of the interpreters according to his/her requirements. After that, the system is used to connect to one of the interpreters according to any given algorithm. In the case that the selected interpreter is unavailable, any given algorithm can be used to choose another interpreter. The bidding system can be used to rate the quality of an interpreter's service. This can be done by using the client/service recipient feedback or by any automatically generated rating. The same system can be used to calculate the rating of a client (similar to eBay).

The billing block (e). Before or after the conversation, the client may transfer money to his/her system account or approve credit by some other means. After the conversation, the interpreter account is credited by the outstanding amount due for his services and the client's account is charged by such amount. In the one of embodiments, the interpreter can transfer money out of his internal system account any time with or without charge (depends on the embodiment).

PSTN to Ethernet adapter (f). In the event the client, the interlocutors or interpreter use the telephone line (or a mobile phone with no smart phone options), a PSTN <-> Ethernet adapter may be needed. This adapter transfers regular calls (PSTN protocol) to VoIP and vice versa.

It will be appreciated that the above described description of methods and apparatus are to be interpreted as including apparatus for carrying out the methods and methods of using the apparatus. The present invention has been described using non- limiting detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Many specific variations of implementation details may be used.

It should be understood that features and/or steps described with respect to one embodiment may sometimes be used with other embodiments and that not all embodiments of the invention have all of the features and/or steps shown in a particular figure or described with respect to one of the specific embodiments.

It is noted that some of the above described embodiments may describe the best mode contemplated by the inventors and therefore may include structure, acts or details of structures and acts that may not be essential to the invention and which are described as examples. Structure and acts described herein are replaceable by equivalents which perform the same function, even if the structure or acts are different, as known in the art. Variations of embodiments described will occur to persons of the art. Therefore, the scope of the invention is limited only by the elements and limitations as used in the claims, wherein the terms "comprise," "include," "have" and their conjugates, shall mean, when used in the claims, "including but not necessarily limited to."

Claims

1. A method of providing a service to a client by a service coordinating system, comprising:

receiving, by the system over a communication network, service provider information along with respective prices from a plurality of service providers, over a plurality of respective communication connections;

managing a list of service providers by the system, along with respective quality ratings and prices of the service providers, responsive to the received service provider information and respective prices;

receiving, by the system, a voice call from a client;

determining, by the system, from the list of service providers, a plurality of service providers currently available to provide service to the client, responsive to receiving the voice call;

selecting a service provider from the determined service providers, according to client provided preferences indicating at least one of a specific service provider, a desired price and a desired quality rating; and

establishing a communication connection between the client and the selected service provider, by the system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein managing the list comprises receiving feedback from clients and calculating service provider quality ratings accordingly.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein managing the list comprises receiving feedback from clients at the beginning of received calls, on the quality of previous communication sessions.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein managing the list comprises receiving feedback from clients over the Internet, on the quality of previous communication sessions.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein establishing the communication connection comprises routing the received voice call of the client to the service provider.

6. A call center system, comprising:

an input interface configured to receive over a communication network, service provider information along with respective prices from a plurality of service providers, over a plurality of respective communication connections;

a database which manages a list of service providers, along with respective quality ratings and prices of the service providers, based on information received through the input interface;

a telephone exchange adapted to receive client calls and to establish connections between clients and service providers; and

a processor configured to determine for received client calls, a plurality of service providers from the list, that are available to provide service to the client, to select a service provider from the determined service providers, according to client provided preferences indicating at least one of a specific service provider, a desired price or a desired quality rating, and to instruct the telephone exchange to establish a communication connection between the client and the selected service provider.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the database is configured to calculate service provider quality ratings based on feedback from clients received through the telephone exchange.

8. The system of claim 6, further comprising a billing unit configured to bill for established connections with service providers and to transfer a predetermined percentage of the sum billed to the service provider.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising an Internet interface adapted to establish voice connections with service providers and/or clients.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the telephone exchange is adapted to establish multi-party telephone connections, connecting three or more end units.

11. The system of claim 6, further comprising an Internet interface adapted to receive service provider updates for their database entry.

12. A method of providing a service to a client by a service coordinating system, comprising:

managing a list of service providers by the system, along with respective quality ratings and along with respective prices received from the plurality of service providers, over a plurality of respective communication connections

receiving, at a website of the system, a client request to search for currently available service providers for a specific service;

displaying, by the website, a list of service providers currently available to provide service to the client, responsive to receiving the client request;

receiving a client selection of a service provider from the displayed list; and establishing a voice connection between the client and the selected service provider, through the website, responsive to the received client selection.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the quality ratings are assigned based on feedback received from clients.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein establishing the connection between the client and the selected service provider comprises establishing a mutli-party connection including at least three separate end points.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein establishing the connection between the client and the selected service provider comprises establishing a first VoIP connection from the client to a server of the system and a second voice connection from the server to the service provider.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein in establishing the connection between the client and the service provider a software on a client computer is configured to notify the system at the beginning and at the end of the established connection.

17. The method of claim 13, comprising additionally establishing another communication connection between the client and service provider, in parallel to the voice connection.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the another communication connection comprises at least one of a chat, email and a document sharing connection.

19. The method of claim 13, comprising displaying a computer screen of a computer of the client to the service provider, in parallel to establishing the voice connection, before a conversation between the client and service provider begins.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising overlaying a coordinate system on the screen of the computer of the client in parallel to establishing the connection.