WO2003013117A1

WO2003013117A1 - Personal call routing

Info

Publication number: WO2003013117A1
Application number: PCT/IE2001/000101
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shane Joseph Buckley
Original assignee: Fournir Limited
Priority date: 2001-07-31
Filing date: 2001-07-31
Publication date: 2003-02-13

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for routing calls from a telephone by private branch exchange in the telecommunications system. The private branch exchange usually has a server computer for recording and storing a caller line identifier (CLI). What happens is that the caller, that is to say the external telephone exchange operated by somebody, contacts the private branch exchange and instead of being met by a voice related prompt, the CLI of the caller has previously been stored and the routing preferences of that CLI have previously been stored and the call can be directly and automatically connected in accordance with the desired routing preference. A call arrives into the exchange in step (100) and once it is identified in step (102), that the CLI is already in the database, the personal preference for the caller is selected from the database in step (104). The call is routed automatically based on that preference in step (105). Various methods and systems for obtaining the routing preferences are described.

Description

"Personal Call Routing"

Introduction

The present invention relates to a method and system of routing calls from a telephone by a private branch exchange in a telecommunications system, the private branch exchange having means for recording and storing a calling line identifier (CLI).

Callers are using call centres and other telephone call handling facilities in increasing numbers. This is particularly the case for mobile phone users who, for example, do not have a telephone directory readily available to them and even if they have some stored telephone numbers within their telephone, they will still require the services, on a regular basis, of a call centre. Contacting a call centre can be time consuming and frustrating for the caller who will be met with an operator who is often dealing with him in an unfamiliar language and who further does not know the caller's preferences. For instance, for many a caller in dealing with a call centre, they require information, for example, on hotels in a particular area or restaurants in a particular area, and so on. It would therefore be of great use to the caller if immediately on contacting the call centre, they were directed to an operator who knew their preferences and was able to route calls for the caller in an appropriate manner. Similarly, when a caller rings the switchboard or private exchange (PABX) of a large operation, for example, a commercial firm, it would be of considerable advantage to the caller if he or she was automatically put through to the person they normally contacted in that organisation.

The present invention is directed towards this aim.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention, there is provided a method of routing calls from a telephone by a private branch exchange in a telecommunications system, the private branch exchange having means for recording and storing a calling line identifier (CLI) comprising:-

recording the CLI of an incoming call; comparing the CLI with stored CLIs and the routing preferences of the CLIs; and

in the event of the CLI having a routing preference stored, automatically connecting the incoming call in accordance with that routing preferences.

The advantage of this is that instead of the incoming caller being met with an elaborate prompt list which usually does not help the caller, if the caller CLI has only one routing preference the call is immediately directed to that particular telephone of the person that he or she wants to talk to.

In one way of carrying out the invention prior to connecting, a voice message states the connection that will be made and a voice related prompt is attached to the voice message which allows the cancellation of the operation of at least some of the routing preference. In this way if a person does not wish to be connected to the normal person that they deal with, then they can be put directly through the switch to an operator or to a full voice prompt system.

In one embodiment of the invention, on first storing the callers CLI can be useful for a caller who may wish to change his or her routing preferences over time to download a PIN number to the caller telephone and subsequently on the PIN number being inputted by the telephone, a series of voice related prompts are presented to the caller to allow changing of routing preferences.

In another method of carrying out the invention, when the routing preference lists more than one call destination and prior to routing the call a voice related prompt option lists the call destination for caller choice and the connection is made in response to a caller input. This can be particularly advantageous, since a caller may normally wish to talk to two or three people and it may not necessarily always be the same person. Ideally in this latter method on dialling the private branch exchange, the voice related prompt option lists the possibility of changing the routing preferences listed and on the option being chosen, a list is presented to the caller to allow the input of the new routing preferences. With this latter method, possibly prior to inputting the new routing preferences, the caller inputs a PIN number. Additionally, the voice related prompt option may list the information in the preferred language of the CLI. This can be most important in multilingual situations. Preferably the routing preferences are listed in order of caller preferences.

It is also envisaged that on an incoming call being received and on compari ng a CLI with stored CLIs and the CLI not having being previously stored, a main menu is presented to the caller and on the caller inputting caller requirements into the main menu, the caller requirements are stored as a routing preference for subsequent c alls. In this way callers have the option to input their calling preferences immediately the first time they make contact with the particular exchange.

Alternatively, a main menu of voice related prompts is presented to each caller whose CLI has not been previously stored which service includes a voice related prompt to allow the caller input a routing preference.

When on comparing a CLI with stored CLIs, and the CLI has not previously been stored, the call may be routed to an operator who, prior to connecting the caller, determines the CLI's routing preference and stores the routing preferences for future calls. This can be most advantageous as it avoids confusing and helps a caller.

In one method according to the invention the actual routing of call s is monitored over a period of time; the routing preferences are compared with the listed caller routing preferences; and the order of the routing preferences is altered having regard to the actual routing preferences. This can be very useful because if somebody's routing preferences have changed over time, the person may not necessarily have noticed this or indeed may not have gone to the trouble of changing the routing preferences. Thus, this gives this possibility if after altering the routing preference when the next incoming is received, the caller can be notified of the changed list of routing preferences and the caller is presented with the option of cancelling the new list of caller routing preferences.

When the private branch exchange is a call centre for the provision of directory enquiries, onward connections and other services then it is envisaged that the routing preference for the CLI would include one or more of:-

preferred language of operator;

personal telephone numbers;

automatic onward connection;

downloading of completed call charge after connection; and

preferences in respect of other call centre services.

Possibly in a call centre, when a caller is put through to an to an operator, the operator is sent the presumed name of the caller and the routing preferences for the CLI.

It is envisaged that the invention will be equally applicable to private branch exchanges operated by employee of supplier of goods and or services. In such as situation the routing preferences will include routing to the desired employee or group of employees and the downloading to the employees of caller data. This can be particularly advantageous since for example in a maintenance department when a person is first routed to a service engineer, the service engineer can have before him or her all the necessary data relating to the equipment in the possession of the caller. Ideally this caller data includes some or more of caller name, caller address, category of customer, previous purchases or trading terms.

In other situations, the private branch exchange could service groups of employees of an organisation providing specified client services and assistance and in which the routing preference includes the CLI of one or more employees within that group. Preferably in this latter method when a caller CLI has not been previously stored and on connecting to an employee that employee's CLI is stored as part of the caller CLI routing preferences.

It is also envisaged that with all voice related prompt messages, it could be advantageous to include the name of the caller in the message. Further, the invention provides assistance as a storage means for routing preferences.

A routing means for automatically connecting the incoming call in accordance with a routing preference in the event of the CLI having the routing preference stored.

In one embodiment of the invention, the system comprises a routing means for automatically connecting the incoming call in accordance with a routing preference in the event of the CLI having the routing preference stored.

It will be envisaged that a computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computer to form the method of any of Claims 1 - 20. It is envisaged that these computer programs may be embodied on a record medium, in a computer memory, in a read only memory, or carried on an electrical signal carrier.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, and of one embodiment described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Fig. 1 is a layout of a system according to the invention and

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing one way of operating the invention.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Fig. 1 , there is illustrated a system 1 for routing incoming calls from telephones 2 to a private branch exchange 3 to telephones 4 making up the private branch exchange. Included in the system is a server 5, in this embodiment a computer. The server computer 5, has means for carrying out the various steps of the method.

Essentially the invention provides for the storage of personal preferences on a database or other system to be activated within a telephone excha nge by the calls CLI as the CLI is the user's telephone number and is unique. The process involves the storing of the caller's personal preferences including storing the language of preference, personal telephone information and indeed all other information about the user which, in this specification, is classified broadly under the heading "routing preferences" since any of the personal preferences will effectively resolve themselves into some form of routing preference for the telephone call. However, as will become apparent in some instances it has a broader meaning that simply a routing preference. Obviously, the language of choice is an obvious one.

For example, when a person phones a particular organisation, they may normally be put through to one particular person and therefore, it may be important that they are put through to that person. Alternatively, when phoning a call centre, the person may be known to require the names of various restaurants and the call centre may have the person's preferences already available to them such that they will know that there is no point in routing a call from the caller to a Chinese restaurant when the caller never eats Chinese food or alternatively, there would be no possibility of routing the call from the caller to a very expensive restaurant when the caller requires relatively inexpensive food. This is the type of information that if a call centre had available to them, would ensure that the caller would be able to call the call centre with confidence, know that he or she would be addressed in the language of choice and know that the operator would have routing preferences already recorded for the caller which would enable the caller to obtain a prompt and efficient service from the call centre. This would obviate the need to present to the caller voice related prompts such as "press 1 for English", "2 for German", and so on.

When contacting a commercial organisation, for example, if a person normally contacts two or three people, then it would be much more useful for the person to be greeted with a voice prompt which listed the people in order of choice rather than have, as is the case in many a switchboard, a prompt listing departments or functions within the organisation such as "1 for accounts", "2 fo r maintenance" and finally, at the end of a long list, "0 for operator". Then, when the person is put through to, for example, accounts, there is another wait for the person to be connected to the preferred contact within that accounts department. These prompts are irritating since very often, they are inappropriate and the caller has to wait to be connected to the operator anyway. It would be much more efficient for the caller if, instead of being greeted with prompts, the caller were to be greeted with a list of possibly three names that he or she might wish to be contacted with, such as, for example, "1 - John Brown", "2 - Mary Murphy", "3 - Peter Black" and "4 - Operator", not alone would this reduce the number of calls put through to the operator and thus improve the efficiency of the organisation but it would also obviate the necessity for people to be put through to, for example, the accounts department and then from the accounts department to John Brown or Mary Murphy. It is much more efficient if the person is put directly through to the person they are contacting where they will almost certainly be given an option of leaving a message on a voicemail or alternatively returning to the switch to try to obtain somebody else to help them. This will be an effective way for the organisation to handle an incoming call. It would be a much more satisfactory service for the caller and finally it will be less expensive and will require less occupancy of the telephone system for the organisation.

In relation to call centres, it will be appreciated that the advantages are manifold and since the call centre is there for the simple purpose of providing a service to the caller, thus it is of considerable importance that callers be encouraged to use the call c entre.

Before referring to the drawing and describing one way of carrying out the invention, it is important to appreciate that to carry out the invention, the call centre or PABX company switchboard or organisation switchboard or the like, must have, as it's least, a server computer which can store and recognise CLIs and which further has access to a database on which can be stored, against a specific CLI that CLIs routing preferences. Further, most of these will also have some form of voice prompt servi ce.

However, a voice related prompt service is not essential for the carrying out of the invention. For example, in a call centre, if it was decided not to have, as may be the case, a voice related prompt, then since the only thing the call centre might wish initially to do would be to ensure that a caller was connected to an operator speaking the correct language, the call centre would simply store the language required for the particular CLI and automatically transfer any incoming call with that CLI to an operator speaking the correct language. Those which did not have any language preference or who had not been previously dealt with by the call centre would be automatically directed to a suitable operator using the most common language. Thereafter, the invention would be carried out to store the language preference of that CLI. This, however, will become plain from the following description with reference to the attached diagram showing a user or caller calling into a contact centre which could, for example, be a call centre or the switchboard of a large organisation or any other PABX.

Referring to the drawing, in step 100, the user calls into the contact centre. The server identifies the CLI and queries, in step 102, whether the CLI is already in th e database. If the CLI is not already in the database, then in step 103, the call is directed immediately to an operator who will query the person on the preference of the user such as the preferred language of the operator, personal telephone numbers, automatic onward connection, for example, for the call centre, downloading a completed call charges after a connection has been terminated and indeed, preferences in respect of other call centre services, all of which can be obtained at that time as routing preferences.

Normally, in step 104, as the CLI has already had the database, the personal preference of the caller is identified and in step 105, the call is routed based on this personal preference. For example, at the call centre, it would be to the operator speaking the particular language and then the operation of the invention ends at step 106, although the ending of this may in fact be the connecting of the caller to an operator and the operator will then take over the operation of the invention.

There are many ways in which the invention could be carried out and there are many services that may be provided. For example, in a call centre, for the provision of directory enquiries and onward connections, the routing preferences for the CLI could include one or more of, as mentioned above, the preferred language of the operator, personal telephone numbers that the person wishes to be connected to, whether the call always wanted to be given automatic onward connection, since if somebody always uses onward connection, it can be quite irritating to be asked by an operator after being given a number as to whether you wish to be connected onwards or not. Further, many people require downloading of completed call charge after the connection has been made and the call completed. Further, call centres are providing more and more services to customers and indeed the call centre may wish to provide these other services and the customer or caller may wish to avail of them. Therefore, it is important that the call centre operators have all these available to them. In the environment of a call centre, it is probable that the way in which the invention will be carried out is that once the CLI of the incoming call is received and the call is routed to the operator of choice, the operator of choice will have displayed in front of him or her on a screen, the various routing preferences of the caller, such as, for example, when the caller wishes to have the phone numbers of restaurants, the caller will identify the location or area where he or she wishes to eat. Then the operator will have displayed in front of him or her, the restaurant preferences of the caller such that the operator can then give to the caller, for example, restaurants of a certain type and price ra nge within easy reach within the area that the caller wishes to dine. Further, it is envisaged that with a call centre, the name of the caller will also be displayed to the operator who will thus be able to address the caller by his or her personal name a nd therefore, if it is not, by any chance, the particular person who originally inputted the CLI, it will be possible to identify whether the caller is calling on behalf of the original person who inputted the routing preferences originally, or whether the caller is, in fact, somebody using the telephone having that CLI. This would obviously change, for example, the manner in which the operator would handle a call. For example, when originally inputting the routing preferences, the caller might have emphasised that no call of a particular type were to be made or no services provided by the call centre were to be availed of, except on the inputting of, for example, a PIN number.

If, for example, instead of it being a call centre, it was the switchboard of a large organisation operated by employees of a supplier of goods and services, then the routing preferences that would be downloaded by a caller might designate a particular employee or a group of employees. In this case, for example, the method might comprise giving a voice prompt immediately to a caller, listing the names of the people to whom the caller wished normally to be connected such that instead of the caller being greeted with a message in a foreign language, the caller would be greeted with a voice related message in his language of choice which would list, by number, the various people, that he or she normally contacted, thus allowing the person be directly connected to the contact of choice. Further, in these organisations, where, for example, the person being contacted was a service person, it would be possible at the same time, to download within the organisation, various details of the caller or the caller's organisation, which details could be displayed on a screen to the recipient of the call. Needless to say, the addition of such service would be entirely dependent on the nature of the particular contact being made. Indeed, it is envisaged with the present invention that in many a situation, prior to connecting an incoming call, a voi ce message will state the connection that would be made and a voice related prompt will be attached to the voice message which will allow the cancellation of the operation of at least some of the routing preferences. Thus, for example, if one person norma lly rings the same person within an organisation and only rarely rings somebody else, then the voice related prompt message received might be somewhat of the type of - "press 1 for John Jones", "press 2 for operator". Obviously, any of these preferences would be listed in order of caller choice.

It will also be envisaged that on first storing a caller CLI and routing preferences, a PIN number may be downloaded to the caller telephone. In this way, the specific caller who entered that CLI will have available to him or her, a PIN number which subsequently, on the PIN number being inputted by the telephone, a series of voice related prompts can be presented to the caller to allow the changing of routing preferences. In this way, the routing preferences of a caller and that particularly telephone with that CLI can be altered without operator input. It is also envisaged that as well as giving, by way of voice related prompt, various options, one of the options that can be given would be the possibility of changing the routing preferences previously listed and presented in that particular voice related message. When this occurs, it is envisaged that on the option being chosen to alter the routing preferences, the caller will be presented with a list to allow the input of new routing preferences. In this latter case, obviously, as mentioned above, it may be advisable to insist on the inputting of a particular PIN number since the voice related prompt option list will be presented in the preferred language.

When a call is received in which the CLI has not been previously recorded and in which no routing preferences therefore have been entered into the server database, there are basically two options. In the first option, a main menu of voice related prompts may be presented to each caller whose CLI has not been previously stored, which menu includes a voice related prompt to allow the caller input a routing preference. If no such routing preference is inputted, then the caller is simply directed to an operator. Alternatively or indeed at this stage, when, on comparing the CLI with stored CLIs and the CLI has not been previously recorded, the call is routed to an operator who, prior to connecting the caller, determines the CLIs routing preference and stores the routing preference for future calls. In all cases, the operator does try to get the caller to input some form of routing preference.

In another embodiment according to the invention, the actual routing of calls within a particularly organisation, whether it be a call centre or a company, can be monitored over a period of time and then the routing preferences can be compared with listed caller routing preferences and if the order of the routing preferences has effectively changed, then the order of the routing preferences may be altered for subsequent presentation to the caller. However, it is envisaged that after altering the routing preferences, when the next incoming call is received, the caller is notified of the change list of routing preferences.

It needs to be clearly understood that the manner in which calls are handled, for example, in a call centre providing call connection services and other services it could be different from the way it would be carried out in an organisation which is a suppl ier of goods and services or, for example, could be a government or other department. One of the main differences will be not just simply the routing preferences that are presented to the caller but also the information on the caller that may be required by the person handling the call, whether it be an operator or simply an employee of the particular company. One can immediately see the advantages that there would be in a service department if, on a call being received from a particular caller and directed to a particular member of staff, that immediately that member of staff would have displayed to him or her, the particular requirements or other information on the caller. Thus, for example, when, if one takes the very simple example of a company sellin g office equipment, it would be extremely useful if, on a call being received by a service centre from a company, that the person receiving the call would immediately have presented to him or her the various types of computer, photocopier or other office machines that were installed in the particular customer's premises. Thus, the person would be able to identify quickly exactly where the problems resided. This can be particularly advantageous as, in many instances, the person making the call may have only the vaguest idea as to the particular model of machine they may have. As far as they may be concerned, it is a just their photocopier and not that it is a particular type of photocopier which has different attributes than other photocopiers and therefore different problems. Also, where there are service situations, while the caller may not have actually identified and may not wish to identify a particular person to whom the call should be directed, it can be extremely advantageous for the organisation operating the maintenance centre, if all calls from particular callers are always routed to the one operator. Then, as mentioned already, the recipient of the call in the organisation will have the caller's name, address, category of customer, previous purchases, trading terms and various other information immediately displayed to him or her.

It is also envisaged that in many situations, on a call being identified, additionally, on presenting of voice related prompt service, the name of the caller is included in the message. This can be particularly important with, for example, mobile phones which are generally only used by the one person.

In summary, therefore, the invention provides for the storage of personal preferences on a database or other system to be actioned upon within a telephone or call centre environment based on a user's calling line (CLI). The great advantage of the present invention is that it ensures the routing of the user based on a CLI to the appropriate operator with the right personal preference. All this can be done automatically.

It will be appreciated that various aspects of the invention may be embodied on a computer that is running a program or program segments originating from a computer readable or usable medium, such medium including but not limited to magnetic storage media (e.g. ROMs, floppy disks, hard disks etc.), optically readable media (e.g. CD-ROMs, DVDs etc.) and carrier waves (e.g. transmissions over the internet). A functional program, code and code segments, used to implement the present invention can be derived by a skilled computer programmer from the description of the invention contained herein.

It will be appreciated therefore that a computer program may be provided providing program instructions. This computer program may be embodied on a record medium, a computer memory, a read only memory or carried on an electrical signal. In the specification the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" or any variation thereof and the terms "include, includes, included and including" or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims

1. A method of routing calls from a telephone by a private branch exchange in a telecommunications system, the private branch exchange having means for recording and storing a calling line identifier (CLI) comprising:-

recording the CLI of an incoming call;

comparing the CLI with stored CLIs and the routing preferences of the CLIs; and

A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which prior to connecting the incoming call, a voice message states the connection that will be made and a voice related prompt is attached to the voice message which allows the cancellation of the operation of at least some of the routing preference.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which, on first storing a callers CLI and routing preference, a PIN number is downloaded to the caller telephone and subsequently on the PIN number being inputted by the telephone, a series of voice related prompts are presented to the caller to allow changing of routing preferences.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the routing preference lists more than one call destination and prior to routing the call a voice related prompt option lists the call destination for caller choice and the connection is made in response to a caller input.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, in which on dialling the private branch exchange, the voice related prompt option lists the possibility of changing the routing preferences listed and on the option being chosen, a list is presented to the caller to allow the input of the new routing preferences.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, in which prior to inputting the new routing preferences, the caller inputs a PIN number.

7. A method as claimed in any of claims 4 to 6, in which the voice related prompt option lists the information in the preferred language of the CLI.

8. A method as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7 in which the routing preferences are listed in order of caller preferences.

9. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which on comparing a CLI with stored CLIs and the CLI not having being previously stored, a main menu is presented to the caller and on the caller inputting caller requirements into the main menu, the caller requirements are stored as a routing preference for subsequent calls.

10. A method as claimed in any preceding claims, in which a main menu of voice related prompts is presented to each caller whose CLI has not been previously stored which service includes a voice related prompt to allow the caller input a routing preference.

11. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, in which when, on comparing a CLI with stored CLIs, and the CLI has not previously been stored, the call is routed to an operator who, prior to connecting the caller, determines the CLI's routing preference and stores the routing preferences for future calls.

12. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the actual routing of calls is monitored over a period of time; the routing preferences are compared with the listed caller routing preferences; and the order of the routing preferences is altered having regard to the actual routing preferences.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, in which after altering the routing preference when the next incoming all is received, the caller is notified of the changed list of routing preferences and the caller is presented with the option of cancelling the new list of caller routing preferences.

14. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which when the private branch exchange comprises a call centre for the provision of directory enquiries and onward connections, the routing preferences for the CLI include one or more of:-

preferred language of operator;

personal telephone numbers;

automatic onward connection;

downloading of completed call charge after connection; and

preferences in respect of other call centre services.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13 or 14, in which on a caller being put through to an operator, the operator is sent the presumed name of the caller and the routing preferences for the CLI.

16. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, in which the private branch exchange is operated by employees of a supplier of goods and/or services and in which the routing preference includes routing to the desired employee or group of employees and the downloading to the employee of caller data.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, in which the caller data includes some or more of caller name, caller address, category of customer, previous purchases or trading terms.

18. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13, in which the private branch exchange services groups of employees of an organisation providing specified client services and assistance and in which the routing preference includes the CLI of one or more employees within that group.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, in which when a caller CLI has not been previously stored and on connecting to an employee that employee's CLI is stored a part of the caller CLI routing preferences.

20. A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which additionally on presenting a voice related prompt service, the name of the caller is included in the message.

21. A system (1) for routing calls from a telephone (2) by a private branch 1 exchange (3) in a telecommunications system, the private branch exchange (3) having means for recording and storing a calling line identifier (CLI) comprising a server (5) having:

means for recording the CLI of an incoming call;

means for comparing the CLI with stored CLIs and the routing preferences of the CLIs;

storage means for routing preferences; and

22. A system (1) as claimed in claim 1, the server (5) comprising a voice related prompt means including a voice messaging means in which prior to connecting the incoming call, the voice messaging means states the connection that will be made and the voice related prompt means attaches a prompt to the voice message which allows the cancellation of the operation of at least some of the routing preference.

23. A computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any of Claims 1 - 20.

24. A computer program comprising program instructions which when loaded into a computer constitute the means of Claims 21 or 22.

25. A computer program according to Claim 23 and 24 embodied on a record medium.

26. A computer program according to Claim 23 and 24 stored in a computer.

27. A computer program embodied in a read-only memory.

28. A computer program according to Claim 23 and 24 carried on an electrical signal carrier.