JP2000227933A - Consultation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a customer to sufficiently and smoothly consult with a consultant in a consultation work station specified by the customer himself (or herself) based on the contents of his (or her) consultation. SOLUTION: In the consultation system provided with plural consultation work stations 32a to 32c for receiving consultation requests transmitted from plural web terminals 11a to 11f through a web server and allowing each customer of the web terminals 11a to 11f to hold a consultation with one of consultants in the work stations 32a to 32c through a telephone set after sending the consultation request, queues 20a to 20c for temporarily storing in the receiving order are prepared in every work station of 32a to 32c.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a consultation system for temporarily storing a consultation request transmitted from a web terminal in a queue in the order in which it is received, and making a consultation request to a consultation workstation in the order in which the request was received.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional consultation system, a plurality of consultation workstations share a queue, consultation requests from a plurality of web terminals are queued in the queue, and the consultation workstation which can be received is placed in the queue. In order to respond to a consultation request, it is known to take out consultation requests one by one on a first-in first-out basis. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the whole of the conventional consultation system. In FIG. 5, reference numerals 11a, 11b, 11c denote web terminals, 10a,
10b and 10c are web terminal side customers, 12a and 12
b, 12c are telephones on the web terminal side, 13a, 13b,
13c is a web terminal-side modem, 14 is these modems 13a, 13b, 13c and telephones 12a, 12b,
Reference numeral 12c denotes a public telephone network such as ISDN connected via each communication line L, and reference numeral 15 denotes the Internet to which the public telephone network 14 is connected.

[0003] On the other hand, reference numeral 16 denotes a consultation center, which mainly includes a web server 33.
A plurality (two in this case) of consultation workstations 32a and 32b connected via the AN 34 are provided. The LAN 34 is connected to the public telephone network 14 via a router / modem 35. 31a, 31
b is a telephone provided for each of the consultation workstations 32a and 32b and corresponding to the telephones 12a, 12b and 12c on the web terminals 11a, 11b and 11c side by side. These telephones 31a and 31b are directly connected to the public telephone network 14, respectively. 30
a and 30b are consultation workstations 32a and 32b
It is a counselor assigned to each. FIG. 6 shows a display example of the operation screen of the web terminals 11a, 11b, and 11c. The display screen includes a home page or a web page 17 drawn from the home page, a counselor calling key 18 and a counselor's key. A telephone number input area 19 for receiving a callback is provided.

Next, the operation will be described. Now, for example, when the customer 10a clicks the counselor call key 18 in the web page 17 of the web terminal 11a with a mouse, the web server 33 detects the click of the call key and, for example, sends the counselor workstation 32a the counselor. Notify that a call has occurred. For this reason, the consultant 30a can know the occurrence of the call by the screen display or the voice of the consultation workstation 32a, and performs a call instruction operation. This allows consultation workstation 32a
From the telephone 31a to the telephone 31a.
When a is called, a call can be made between the telephone 31a and the telephone 12a on the side of the web terminal 11a that is paired with the telephone 31a, and the customer 10a can consult the consultant 30a.

[0005] Here, the consultation workstation 32a,
Web terminal 11 making a call compared to the number of 32b
When the number of a, 11b, and 11c is large, a queue for receiving calls on the consultation workstations 32a and 32b is required. FIG. 7 shows an example of this, queue 2
0 is placed on the web server 33 side, and when the customer call key 18 is clicked on the web terminals 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e,... On the customer side, the web server 33 detects this and clicks. The information indicating the web terminal is stored as a consultation request in the queue 20 in the order of arrival. Then, the vacant one of the consultation workstations 32a and 32b takes out the consultation request from the queue 20 on a first-in first-out basis and starts the operation of calling the telephone.

[0006]

However, such a conventional consultation system has a plurality of consultation workstations 3.
2a, 32b share one queue 20, and a plurality of web terminals 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e,.
From the shared queue 20, and the consultation workstations that have become available take out the consultation requests from the shared queue 20 one by one on a first-in first-out basis. In order to adopt the method of responding, the customer consults the consultation workstation 32 from the web terminal with the consultant who wishes to consult.
a and 32b cannot be freely selected, and the customer consults with a different consultant each time, or consults with a non-specialized consultant each time, so that smooth and sufficient consultation cannot be performed. There were challenges.

[0007] The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to sufficiently and smoothly consult with a consultant on a consultation workstation designated by a customer based on his / her own consultation contents. The purpose of the present invention is to obtain a consultation system that can speed up the process and improve customer satisfaction.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a consultation system according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a web server connecting a plurality of web terminals via a public telephone network, and the web terminal through the web server. And a plurality of consultation workstations for receiving consultation requests transmitted from the client terminal, so that the customer on the web terminal side can consult the consultation staff on the consultation workstation side via a telephone, following the consultation request. In the consultation system, a queue for temporarily storing consultation requests transmitted from the web terminal in the order of reception is provided for each consultation workstation.

The consultation system according to a second aspect of the present invention is such that the consultation request is executed to one specific consultation workstation designated by the web terminal.

The consultation system according to a third aspect of the present invention provides a consultation system in which an arbitrary number of consultation workstations are selected from the consultation workstations to form one group.
Each consultation workstation in this group shares one queue.

The consultation system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention determines a consultation workstation using a dedicated queue and a consultation workstation using a shared queue according to the consultation situation. It was made.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the consultation system, the consultation workstations are divided into a plurality of groups, and one group of consultation workstations sharing one queue is shared by another group. The other queues are shared.

In the consultation system according to the invention of claim 6, the web terminal is provided with a consultant calling key corresponding to each of the consultation contents designated by the customer.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the consultation system, when a customer presses a consultant call key from the web terminal, a consultation request is placed in a queue dedicated to the consultation workstation. , The consultation request is sent from the dedicated queue to the consultation workstation on a first-in first-out basis.

The consultation system according to the invention of claim 8, wherein any one of the consultation workstations of the group sharing one queue is connected so as to be able to switch back to another dedicated queue. Features.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a consultation workstation 32a, 32b, 32c in the consultation system of the present invention.
A dedicated queue 20a, 20b, 20c is provided for each, and a plurality of web terminals 11a, 11b, 11c, 11
d, 11e, 11f to the consultation workstation 3
A request for consultation is indicated by designating any one of 2a, 32b, and 32c. FIG. 2 shows a display example of an operation screen of each of the web terminals 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, and 11f.
2, 23 and a telephone number input area 19 for receiving a callback from a consultant. Among these, the consultant call key 21 is a key for calling the consultation workstation 32a having the investment consultant, and the consultant call key 22 is a key for calling the consultation workstation 32b having the tax consultant. The call key 23 is a key for calling a consultation workstation 32c having a consultant for a loan.

Therefore, when the customer presses, for example, the consultant call key 21 from the web terminal 11b, the call request is placed in the dedicated queue 20a at the consultation workstation 32a. When the customer presses the consultant call key 22 from the web terminal 11c, the call request is sent to the consultation workstation 32b in the dedicated queue 2.
Enter 0b. Subsequently, when the customer presses the consultant call key 21 from the web terminal 11d, the call request is sent to the consultation workstation 32a by the dedicated queue 20.
Enter a. Hereinafter, similarly, each web terminal 11a, 1
In accordance with one of the consultant call keys 21, 22, and 23 pressed at each of 1e and 11f, a call request is placed in the queues 20a, 20b, and 20c.
Then, the consultation workstations 32a, 32b, 32
When any one of the queues c becomes free, a call request is issued from the corresponding dedicated queue 20a, 20b, 20c.
,,, are consultation workstations 32a, 32
b, 32c. In this case, by increasing the number of combinations of the consultation workstation and the queue as described above, it is possible to increase the options for the customer to select the consultation workstation,
The customer can call a counselor who matches his or her consultation content when he presses the call key on the web terminal.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
Here, the consultation workstation 32a constituting the consultation system uses a dedicated queue 20a, and the consultation workstations 32b and 32c form a group G1 and share the queue 20b. In this way, the consultation workstation 32c shares the queue 20b without using the dedicated queue 20c, so that if a large number of consultations biased to a certain genre (for example, tax) occur, This can be handled by using the consultation workstation 32c in addition to the workstation 32b. That is, depending on the operation status, that is, the content and amount of consultation, which consultation workstation uses a dedicated queue, and which consultation workstations are grouped to use a shared queue. Is determined, and these are arbitrarily switched and connected.
The consultation workstation 32c in FIG.
Switching from the shared queue 20b to a dedicated queue is also optional.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. Here, the consultation workstations 32b, 32
c and the consultation workstations 32d and 32e form two groups G1 and G2, respectively, despite the queues 20b and 20c and the queues 20d and 20e that can be dedicated to each of the groups G1 and G2. Each of the queues 20b and 20d can be shared. In this case, the consultation workstation 32c of the group G1 shares the queue 20b with the consultation workstation 32b, but by switching connection to the queue 20d of another group G2, the consultation workstation 32c belongs. The group G1 can be changed to the group G2. That is, any consultation workstation can be movable between groups.

The number of web terminals, consultation workstations and queues in each of the above embodiments, the required storage capacity of the queues, the group configuration and the number of consultation workstations belonging to this group, and combinations of these. The connection can be arbitrarily set and adopted, and the consultation workstation and the queue can adopt either a physical connection or a logical connection. In addition, the queuing structure may be a physical means by an electronic circuit or a logical means by software, and furthermore, a web terminal and a consultation workstation are used for general personal computers, workstations, network computers, consumer finance, and so on. It is also applicable to unmanned contract machines, ATMs of banks, and the like. According to the present invention, in the case of a complicated consultation in which it is not enough to browse only the page drawn from the homepage, the customer clicks the call key of the consultant provided in the webpage, and the web terminal and the web server From the world of information exchange, it is possible to realize information exchange of direct dialogue between customers and consultants by telephone, and also to work on a queue that receives consultation requests sent from web terminals and temporarily stores them in the order of arrival Provided for each station, customers can specify one of the consultation workstations from the web terminal and make a request for consultation, enabling consultation of the required content to be sufficiently deep, smooth and prompt To facilitate consultation services. At this time, by switching the queue to a dedicated or shared use for a plurality of consultation networks, the queue can be used flexibly according to the type and number of consultations that occur and the arrangement of consultants. be able to.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a web server connecting a plurality of web terminals via a public telephone network, and a plurality of web servers receiving consultation requests transmitted from the web terminals through the web server. Consultation workstation, wherein, following the consultation request, the customer at the web terminal side can consult with a consultant at the consultation workstation side via a telephone, the consultation system comprising: A queue for temporarily storing consultation requests sent from the terminal in the order received is provided for each consultation workstation, so that the customer can provide sufficient and smooth consultation to the consultation workstation side designated on the basis of the content of the consultation by the customer. Consultation can be performed, and the effect of speeding up the consultation work and improving customer satisfaction can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of using a queue by a consultation workstation of a consultation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a web page on a web terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of using a queue by a consultation workstation of a consultation system according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of using a queue by a consultation workstation of a consultation system according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration of a conventional and consultation system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a web page in a conventional web terminal.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of using a queue by a consultation workstation of a conventional consultation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f Web terminal 12a, 12b, 12c, 31a, 31b Telephone 14 Public telephone network 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e Queue 21, 22, 23 Consultant call key 32a, 32b , 32c, 32d, 32e Consultation workstation 33 Web server G1, G2 group

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Fumio Matsumura Inventor F-term, 4-4-10 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo (Reference) 5B049 BB46 BB47 CC01 DD01 EE04 FF03 FF04 FF06 GG02 GG04 GG07 5B089 GA11 GA21 HA01 JA40 JB22 KA05 KA12 KC32 KC46 KD01 LB04 LB14

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A consultation request comprising: a web server connecting a plurality of web terminals via a public telephone network; and a plurality of consultation workstations receiving a consultation request transmitted from the web terminal through the web server. Subsequently, in a consultation system in which a customer on the web terminal side can consult with a consultant on the consultation workstation side via a telephone, waiting for temporarily storing consultation requests transmitted from the web terminal in the order of reception. A consultation system, wherein a queue is provided for each consultation workstation. 2. The consultation system according to claim 1, wherein the consultation request is made to one specific consultation workstation designated by the web terminal. 3. The consultation workstation according to claim 1, wherein an arbitrary number of consultation workstations are selected from the consultation workstations to form a group, and each consultation workstation in this group shares one queue. Consultation system described in. 4. A consultation workstation using a dedicated queue and a consultation workstation using a shared queue are respectively determined according to a consultation situation. Consultation system. 5. The method according to claim 5, wherein the consultation workstations are divided into a plurality of groups, and one group of consultation workstations sharing one queue shares another queue shared by another group. The consultation system according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The consultation system according to claim 1, wherein the web terminal is provided with a consultant calling key corresponding to each of the consultation contents designated by the customer. 7. A consultation request is placed in a dedicated queue at the consultation workstation by a customer pressing a consultant call key from the web terminal, and when the consultation workstation is free, the consultation request is removed from the dedicated queue. The consultation system of claim 1, wherein requests are sent to the consultation workstation on a first-in, first-out basis. 8. The consultation of claim 3, wherein any of the consultation workstations of the group sharing one queue is switchably connected to another dedicated queue. system.