JP2009005145A - Callback management apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a callback management apparatus making job control on a call center side. <P>SOLUTION: A callback management apparatus 100 accepts callback request information containing a telephone number from a service user through a callback request input picture. The callback management apparatus 100 holds callback request information accepted from a plurality of service users and prioritizes the information differently from the order of reception in accordance with predetermined priority conditions. An information display section displays a listing of the callback request information in accordance with the priorities and an operator performs callback by selecting certain callback request information from a listing display picture. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for supporting a callback operation in which a telephone call is returned from a service provider in response to a request from a service user.

With the spread of the Internet, consumers are actively obtaining information about services and products from web pages, and making inquiries to service providers by e-mail. However, when it is desired to obtain more detailed information or to make an inquiry to a service provider, communication by telephone is often more effective because of its bidirectionality and immediacy.
Therefore, a “callback button” is provided on the service provider's web page, and when the service user clicks the button, the service provider receives a call on his / her phone and responds to the incoming call. The “callback system” is considered to be possible.

In Patent Document 1, the time when the service user wants to talk to the operator and his / her telephone number are designated, and when the designated time comes, the service user and the operator's telephone line are automatically connected to make a call. An exchange system to be started is disclosed.
JP-A-11-32121

In the above prior art, the start of the call is managed only by the switching device, and the callback is automatically performed based on the time specified by the service user, so that the operator cannot control the connection. It has become. Therefore, the operator is constantly forced to respond to the callback, and the psychological burden on the operator is great.
In addition, the contents that the service user wants to make inquiries and the level of urgency vary, and while there are service users who request a callback immediately at the specified time, it is particularly important that the specified time is kept strictly. Many users do not want it.

  The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above-mentioned problem recognition, and its main object is to provide a callback management device capable of controlling the priority of outgoing calls on the operator side.

  In order to solve the above problems, a callback management device according to an aspect of the present invention provides a callback request for displaying a callback request input screen as a screen for receiving a callback request for requesting a call originating from an operator. Information received from a service user via a screen display unit, a callback request input screen, a request receiving unit that receives callback request information including the service user's telephone number, and a plurality of service users A callback request information holding unit for holding a plurality of received callback request information and a plurality of callback request information held in the callback request information holding unit in an order different from the order of reception according to a predetermined priority condition. The priority is given to the data processing unit for prioritization and multiple callback request information. A request information display section for rearranging and displaying a list, a selection receiving section for detecting an operator's selection for any of the callback request information displayed in a list, and a service user's from the selected callback request information A telephone number is extracted, and a user terminal specified by the telephone number and a call control unit for establishing a call with the operator terminal are configured.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described components and a representation of the present invention by a method, apparatus, system, recording medium, or computer program are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, callback control can be performed on the operator side, and the efficiency of operator work can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the callback management device 100.
The user terminal 14 is a terminal device such as an electronic computer or a mobile phone used by the service user, and the user communication terminal 16 is a terminal device such as a fixed phone or a mobile phone used by the service user. The operator terminal 18 is a terminal such as an electronic computer used by the operator on the service provider side, and the operator communication terminal 20 is a communication terminal for the operator to make a call with the service user.
The callback management device 100, user terminal 14, user communication terminal 16, operator terminal 18, and operator communication terminal 20 are connected to the network 12.
Note that the network 12 in FIG. 1 means a communication network including a telephone network, a mobile phone network, and a computer network, but in FIG.
Although it is assumed that there are a plurality of service users and operators, they are not particularly shown in FIG.

  The service user accesses the callback management apparatus 100 from the user terminal 14 via the network 12 and acquires a callback request screen 160 described later. The service user inputs information (hereinafter referred to as “callback request information”) such as a telephone number desired to be returned and a return time on the callback request screen 160. For example, the telephone number of the user communication terminal 16 is input as the telephone number. The user terminal 14 transmits the input information to the callback management device 100.

  The callback management device 100 stores callback request information received from a plurality of service users, and prioritizes the callback request information according to a predetermined priority condition. Thereafter, the callback request information is rearranged according to the priority order and displayed as a list on the operator terminal 18.

  The operator selects arbitrary callback request information from the displayed callback request information while referring to the priority. Callback request information selected by the operator is transmitted from the operator terminal 18 to the callback management device 100.

  The callback management device 100 acquires the selected callback request information. The callback management apparatus 100 acquires the telephone number of the service user and the telephone number of the operator communication terminal 20 that is the communication terminal of the operator who performed the selection operation from the acquired callback request information. The callback management device 100 calls the user communication terminal 16 and the operator communication terminal 20 using the acquired telephone number, and starts a call between the service user and the operator.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the callback management device 100.
Each block shown here can be realized in hardware by an element such as a CPU of a computer or a mechanical device, and in software it is realized by a computer program or the like. Draw functional blocks. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

The callback management device 100 includes an interface unit 102, a data holding unit 112, a data processing unit 116, and a call control unit 118.
The interface unit 102 is in charge of processing related to the user interface such as information display to the service user or operator and input reception.
The data holding unit 112 stores various setting data and user information prepared in advance, and various data received from the interface unit 102 and the data processing unit 116.
The data processing unit 116 processes the input information from the interface unit 102 and the call control unit 118 and the data stored in the data holding unit 112, and processes the processed data as the interface unit 102, the data processing unit 116, the call It transmits to the control unit 118. The data processing unit 116 prioritizes the callback request information in the data processing unit 116 according to a predetermined priority condition. This process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 showing the data structure of the callback request information in the data processing unit 116.
The call control unit 118 controls connection of a line between the user communication terminal 16 and the operator communication terminal 20 and a call during a call. For example, it is realized by application of a known technique such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).

The interface unit 102 includes a request screen display unit 104, a request reception unit 106, an information display unit 108, and a selection reception unit 110.
The request screen display unit 104 transmits a screen for inputting callback request information to the user terminal 14 to display the screen. The request reception unit 106 acquires callback request information input by the service user.
The information display unit 108 transmits a list screen for the operator to select callback request information to the operator terminal 18. The selection receiving unit 110 acquires callback request information selected by the operator from the list screen from the operator terminal 18.

The data holding unit 112 includes a request information holding unit 114.
The request information holding unit 114 holds callback request information acquired from a plurality of service users. The data structure held in the request information holding unit 114 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a callback request screen 160 displayed on the user terminal 14 by the request screen display unit 104.
The service user inputs the telephone number of the user communication terminal 16 in the telephone number input field 162 and the date and time desired to call back in the designated date and time input field 164 as the telephone number for which the callback is desired. In addition, the type of the message for the operator is input in the type input field 166 and the message is input in the message input field 168.

The telephone number input field 162 may be displayed blank in the initial display state, or when the telephone number of the user terminal 14 can be identified on the callback management device 100 side, the number is input in the initial state. May be displayed. The identification of the telephone number may be performed by obtaining the identification information of the user terminal 14, or by obtaining the login information or the like when login authentication for the service user is provided.
The designated date and time input field 164 may be provided with an input field so that a designation method such as how many minutes later can be performed. The service user input is essential for the telephone number input field 162, but the other items can be input arbitrarily.

  The service user presses the send button 170 on the callback request screen 160 after completing the input in each input field. When the transmission button 170 is pressed, callback request information is transmitted from the user terminal 14 to the callback management apparatus 100.

  The callback management apparatus 100 receives callback request information by the request reception unit 106. The request reception unit 106 transmits the received callback request information to the data processing unit 116. The data processing unit 116 edits the callback request information in a form according to the data structure of the request information holding unit 114 and stores it in the request information holding unit 114.

FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram of the request information holding unit 114.
The data structure mainly includes input items on the callback request screen 160, and includes a callback designation time, a message type, a message, a callback designation telephone number, and the like.
The reception ID 142 is assigned for each callback request information, and is an ID for individually identifying the callback request information. Each time the callback request information is acquired from the service user, it is given by the data processing unit 116. The reception ID 142 may be in any format as long as it is given so that the callback request information is identified.
The reception date and time 144 is the date and time when the request reception unit 106 acquires the callback request information, and is given by the data processing unit.
The transmission status 146 is information indicating whether or not the callback request information has been transmitted by the operator. In the initial state in which the callback request information is registered in the request information holding unit 114, “not transmitted” is set.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a list display screen 180 displayed by the information display unit 108.
The callback request information prioritized by the data processing unit 116 is rearranged in the order of priority, and is displayed on the operator terminal 18 as the list display screen 180 by the information display unit 108. In the example of FIG. 5, priorities are given in the order of the desired arrival date and time input in the designated date and time input field 164 and are displayed in a list.
When there are a plurality of operators, a list display screen 180 common to each operator terminal is displayed. Each operator can see that the other operator has performed the callback process by referring to the transmission status column.
The displayed items are items corresponding to the items of the data structure of the request information holding unit 114. The operator can selectively input information for performing callback from the callback request information displayed in a list. In the example of FIG. 5, the item of the transmission status is displayed as a link 182, and selection input is possible by clicking the link 182 in the callback request information column to be selected by the operator. The display method of the selection input means and the selection input method are not limited to this example.

Also, the telephone number of the callback designation destination can be concealed from the operator. The concealment is based on a method in which a part of the telephone number is replaced with a symbol or the like, or the telephone number itself is not displayed.
Since the operator cannot recognize the telephone number of the service user, the service user's privacy can be protected. Also, it is not necessary for the service provider or operator to perform confidentiality management, and the burden can be reduced.

  The list display screen 180 allows the operator to make a callback while referring to the callback request information of the service user. Therefore, since the operator can know in advance about the service user's requirements before making a callback, the operator can take action according to the customer's request. In addition, even when it is better to perform callbacks in an order different from the priority order listed by the operator's judgment, the operator can make callbacks based on that judgment, so more efficient callback management It can be performed.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing steps of the present embodiment.
First, the service user accesses the callback request screen 160 from the user terminal 14 via the callback management device 100 (S10). The request screen display unit 104 transmits the information on the callback request screen 160 to the user terminal 14 and displays it on the screen of the user terminal 14 (S12). The service user inputs callback request information on the callback request screen 160 and presses the send button 170. Thereby, the callback request information is transmitted from the user terminal 14 to the request receiving unit 106 (S14).

  The request receiving unit 106 passes the acquired callback request information to the data processing unit 116, and the data processing unit 116 stores the callback request information in a form according to the data structure of the request information holding unit 114 (S16). The data processing unit 116 prioritizes the callback request information stored in the request information holding unit 114 according to a predetermined priority condition (S18).

The predetermined priority condition is a condition for assigning a priority based on a combination of a callback designation date and time order, a message type order, a reception date and time order, and the like. For example, prioritize the callback request information in the order of the specified callback date and time, prioritize the items with the same callback specified date and time by the type of business, and accept those with the same business type Priorities are determined by prioritizing in order of date and time.
As for the priority order of the type of business, the type of business, such as “Case of accident” has the highest priority, followed by “Inquiry”, “Request for documents”, etc. It is possible to make a determination by providing the data holding unit 112 with information on the relationship between the priority level and the priority level.
In addition to the above items, the priority may be determined based on the content of the message. For example, when a message item includes words such as “Urgent” and “Urgent”, processing such as increasing the priority may be performed.

  Next, the data processing unit 116 rearranges the callback request information according to the priority given in S18, creates the list display screen 180, and displays it on the operator terminal 18 via the information display unit 108 (S20). ). The operator selects and inputs callback request information for performing callback from the list display screen 180, and the callback request information selected and input by the operator is transmitted from the operator terminal 18 to the selection receiving unit 110 (S22). The callback request information acquired by the selection receiving unit 110 is transmitted to the data processing unit 116. The data processing unit 116 extracts the telephone number of the callback destination from the callback request information, and acquires the telephone number of the operator communication terminal 20 from the data holding unit 112 (S24). The call control unit 118 acquires the acquired telephone number information from the data processing unit 116, and calls the communication terminal having the corresponding telephone number (S26). When both the called user communication terminal 16 and the operator communication terminal 20 respond to the call, the call control unit 118 connects the two communication terminals and starts a call between them (S28). While the connection between the two is not established, a message voice such as “Connected via web call, please wait” is transmitted from the call control unit 118 to the communication terminal that responds to the incoming call.

  Although the basic form in the implementation of the callback management apparatus of the present invention is as described above, the following application forms are assumed.

Application form 1.
FIG. 8 shows a functional block diagram according to this embodiment.
The difference from the functional block diagram of FIG. The operator selection unit 122 identifies the operator in charge of the callback request information with reference to the person in charge table in which the operator is associated with the type of business.

The data holding unit 112 holds the information of the correspondence table between the operator as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, an operator whose person in charge ID is “0001” is in charge of “inquiry” and “document request”, and an operator whose person in charge ID is “0002” He is in charge of “accident response”.
In this applied form, the process in step S20 is performed as follows. First, the operator selection unit 122 acquires from the data holding unit 112 the type of the business in charge of the operator who is operating the operator terminal 18. Next, the data processing unit 116 acquires callback request information to be displayed as a list from the request information holding unit 114 and creates a list display screen 180. The operator selection unit 122 transmits information about the business handled by the operator to the information display unit 108. The information display unit 108 displays the list display screen 180 on the operator terminal 18 after selecting callback request information to be displayed in a list according to the type of business handled by the operator.

For identification of the operator, login information to the callback management apparatus may be used, or the identification information of the operator terminal can be obtained.
According to this embodiment, since the service user can have the operator in charge respond according to the type of business, the service user can receive a sufficient response. In addition, since the operator also displays the callback request information for only his / her charge, the management of the callback can be performed more efficiently.
As in the case of the basic form, when there are a plurality of operators in charge for the business, a common list display screen 180 is displayed.

Application form 2.
A functional block diagram according to this embodiment is shown in FIG.
The automatic call control unit 120 is different from the functional block diagram of FIG. The automatic call control unit 120 selects a callback target from the callback request information, and instructs the call control unit 118 to make a call to a telephone number corresponding to the callback request information.

The automatic callback operation by the automatic call control unit 120 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is performed in place of or in parallel with steps S20 to S28 in the sequence diagram shown in FIG.
First, the automatic call control unit 120 acquires callback request information whose designated time for the callback request is within a predetermined range from the current time from the request information holding unit 114 (S30). Among the acquired callback request information, the highest priority given in step S18 is set as a callback target (S32). It is determined whether or not the callback request information subject to callback has been transmitted by referring to the item of transmission status (S34). If the call has already been made, the process returns to step S32, and the callback request information with the next priority is acquired (Y in S34). If the call has not been sent, the process proceeds to the next step S36 (N in S34).

Next, the automatic call control unit 120 confirms an empty operator and determines a responsible operator (S36). If there is no empty operator, wait until an empty operator appears before assigning the operator in charge. The operator in charge can be determined by referring to data indicating the correspondence between the operator and the type of business in charge shown in FIG. 7 from the data holding unit 112 and determining the operator in charge according to the type of business. .
At this time, in parallel with the automatic call control process, a list display screen 180 may be displayed on the operator terminal 18 so that a callback process by an empty operator can be performed.

  Next, when the responsible operator is determined, the information display unit 108 displays callback request information for performing callback on the screen of the operator terminal 18 of the responsible operator (S38). The display is performed by highlighting the corresponding callback information on the list display screen 180, but the information may be displayed on a pop-up screen. Further, an input means for confirming the response to the operator when displaying the callback request information may be provided, and the operator in charge may be finally determined after confirmation by the operator.

  Next, the automatic call control unit 120 acquires the telephone number of the callback designation destination from the callback request information and the telephone number of the operator communication terminal 20 of the operator in charge from the data holding unit 112 and calls the call control unit 118. Number information is transmitted (S40). The call control unit 118 controls the call using the designated telephone number (S42).

  The automatic call control unit 120 checks whether there is data to be the next callback target among the callback request information acquired in step S30 (S44). If the next callback request information does not exist, the process ends (N in S44). If it exists, the process returns to step S32, and the callback request information of the next priority is processed (Y in S44). This process can be repeated for the callback request information acquired in S32.

  The start of the above series of processes may be set in the callback management apparatus 100 to start the process at regular time intervals, or an instruction to start the process is displayed on the list display screen 180. Means for inputting may be provided, and the process may be started by an operator's instruction.

  According to the application example described above, when the callback is performed in the order of priority given by the data processing unit 116 and it is determined that the selection processing of the callback request information by the operator is unnecessary, the operation by the operator is not performed. Because callback operations can be performed automatically, operations can be performed efficiently.

  As described above, according to the callback management apparatus 100 shown in the present embodiment, the priority level of the callback can be determined by determining the priority of the callback request from the service user on the service user side. In addition, when it is better to perform callbacks in a different order from the priority order displayed in the list, the operator can select callback request information at his / her own discretion and perform callbacks. Callback management can be performed.

  Further, the callback management apparatus 100 can obtain the callback request information by including the service user's requirements, and can determine the priority of the callback according to the types of the requirements. Therefore, the callback can be performed with priority according to the service user's requirements, and the callback can be dealt with at the timing according to the request of the service user.

  Further, the callback management apparatus 100 can display only the callback request information of the business for which the operator is in charge on the list display screen 180. This allows the service user to respond to the operator in charge according to the type of business, and the operator can respond efficiently because the callback request information for only his business is displayed. be able to.

  Further, the callback management apparatus 100 can display the list display screen 180 in a manner in which the operator cannot recognize the callback destination telephone number designated by the service user. Thereby, the privacy of the service user can be protected.

  Furthermore, the callback management apparatus 100 can automatically perform callback according to the order of priority given by the data processing unit 116 by the automatic call control unit 120. As a result, in the order prioritized by the data processing unit 116, the transmission work can be automatically performed without performing the operation by the operator, so that the callback is efficiently performed.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiment. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications thereof are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the callback management device 100 has been described as a single device, but the callback management device 100 is configured as a device in which each unit is independent, and may be realized in cooperation with them. Those skilled in the art will understand.
In the present embodiment, the user terminal 14 and the user communication terminal 16 of the service user have been described as separate devices. However, for example, a terminal such as a mobile phone that can perform screen display, input, and telephone call. If configured, the user terminal 14 and the user communication terminal 16 may be configured by one terminal. Similarly, the operator terminal 18 and the operator communication terminal 20 may be configured by one terminal.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a callback management apparatus. It is a functional block diagram of a callback management device. It is a screen figure of a callback request screen. It is a data structure figure of a request information holding part. It is a screen figure of a list display screen. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the process of a present Example. FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of a correspondence table between operators and types of business in charge. It is a functional block diagram of a callback management device in application form 1. It is a functional block diagram of the callback management device in application form 2. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an automatic call control process.

Explanation of symbols

  12 network, 14 user terminal, 16 user communication terminal, 18 operator terminal, 20 operator communication terminal, 100 callback management device, 104 request screen display unit, 106 request reception unit, 108 information display unit, 110 selection reception unit, 114 request information holding unit, 116 data processing unit, 118 call control unit, 122 operator selection unit, 160 callback request screen, 180 list display screen.

Claims (5)

A request screen display unit for displaying a callback request input screen as a screen for receiving a callback request for requesting a call made by an operator,
Information input from a service user via the callback request input screen, a request reception unit for receiving callback request information including the telephone number of the service user;
A request information holding unit for holding a plurality of callback request information received from a plurality of the service users;
A plurality of callback request information held in the request information holding unit, a data processing unit that prioritizes in a different order from the acceptance order according to a predetermined priority condition;
An information display unit for rearranging the plurality of callback request information according to the priority order and displaying the list;
A selection receiving unit for detecting an operator's selection for any of the callback request information displayed in a list;
A call control unit that extracts a telephone number of a service user from the selected callback request information and establishes a call between the user terminal specified by the telephone number and an operator terminal;
A callback management device comprising: The request receiving unit further acquires the callback request information as information including a service user requirement,
The data processing unit prioritizes the plurality of callback request information according to the priority condition for prioritizing callback request information according to a type of a request. 2. The callback management device according to 1. An operator selection unit that identifies the operator in charge of the callback request information with reference to the person in charge table in which the operator and the type of business are associated;
The information display unit is characterized in that, on a screen for displaying the callback request information in a list, the callback request information specified as a person in charge by an operator accessing the screen is selected as a list display target. The callback management device according to claim 2.   4. The callback management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information display unit conceals the telephone number of the service user and displays a list of callback request display information.   A predetermined automatic start condition is set in the callback request information, and when the automatic start condition is satisfied, the telephone number of the service user is extracted from the target callback request information and specified by the telephone number. 5. The callback management device according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic call unit that automatically establishes a call between the user terminal to be operated and the operator terminal.

Images