JP2019117537A - Information processing device, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing device, information processing method and information processing program that properly offer a congestion state of a shop to a user.SOLUTION: An information processing device is communicatably connected to a terminal a user uses, and manages a plurality of set of users conducting waiting in a shop. The information processing device comprises: registration means that registers waiting data on the set of users received via the terminal in order of reception; calculation means that calculates a first time indicative of an expected waiting time for each set and a guide schedule time on the basis of a time when the waiting data is registered and a number of sets of waiting; and notification control means that, when a current time is within a prescribed time from the guide schedule time, and the set of users is not included in a prescribed number of sets conducting the waiting from a time point when the waiting starts, conducts notification with respect to the terminal of the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that are applied to waiting for orders in a store.

  Users who use stores such as restaurants and facilities aiming to provide various other services (hereinafter referred to as stores etc.) are fully occupied at the time they visit the store In this case, it is necessary to wait in turn until the store becomes available.

  In recent years, a system has been developed to manage such a queue, and in this system, the management task of queue can be made efficient (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Furthermore, in order to improve the convenience of the user, a system has been disclosed that notifies the user who is leaving the store while waiting for a turn that the guidance time is approaching (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2005-050002, A JP, 2017-004390, A

  In a general order waiting system, a numbered ticket having a guide number or the like described therein is issued to the user who is waiting for the order, and the user is guided at the store in the order of the guide number. Also, the approximate waiting time calculated based on the number of people waiting for the turn is presented to the user. When waiting time is long, the store side may notify the user that the guidance time is approaching for the convenience of the user who returns to the store at the timing of leaving the store and being informed once .

  However, depending on the store situation, the actual waiting time may be longer than the waiting time presented to the user. In such a case, although the user receives the notification and returns to the store, the user is kept waiting in the store. In addition, there are many cases where this waiting time is canceled before guidance, which leads to loss of opportunity for the store.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that appropriately notify a user who is leaving a store while waiting for a turn, according to the waiting status. The purpose is

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, the information processing apparatus is communicably connected to a terminal used by the user, and manages a plurality of sets of the users who wait for order in the store. The information processing apparatus comprises: registration means for registering order waiting data of the set of users received via the terminal, in the order of reception, a time when the order waiting data was registered, and a set of the order waiting Calculating means for calculating a first time indicating a predicted waiting time for each group and a scheduled guidance time based on a number, and a current time being within a predetermined time from the scheduled guidance time and of the user And notification control means for notifying the terminal of the user when the set is not included in the predetermined number of sets to be queued from the time when the queue is generated.

  According to the present invention, the convenience of the user is improved by appropriately notifying the user who has left the store while waiting for the turn according to the waiting state for the turn.

The block diagram showing an example of the information processing system concerning an embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of the waiting data based on embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between reception time and waiting time. The figure which shows an example of the display screen of the terminal for staff which concerns on embodiment. The conceptual diagram which shows an example of the flow of the command and data between each apparatus of the information processing system which concerns on embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the turn waiting reception process which concerns on embodiment, and a visit confirmation process. The figure which shows an example of calculation of a visit confirmation control data in the server apparatus which concerns on embodiment, and a setting process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this description, the same reference numerals are attached to the same parts throughout the drawings.

  In the present embodiment, the user refers to, for example, a person who has visited a store to use a service of a certain store, or a person who is waiting in turn to use a service of the store. In other words, the user is a customer of the store.

  In the present embodiment, a store will be described as an example of the case where it exists as a real estate that allows a user to enter the store. However, the store may be a store that exists only on the web (eg, an online store, a virtual store, etc.).

  In the present embodiment, the expected waiting time refers to a time which is a measure of the time taken by the user to participate in the turn and before being guided (ie, until the service is provided). The estimated waiting time is presented to the user in a display format such as "120 minutes" remaining. The estimated waiting time calculated in the present embodiment may not necessarily be the remaining time required to be guided. For example, the waiting time may be presented as a time obtained by adding the above-described waiting time to the reception time or the like, that is, as a scheduled guidance time.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the actual waiting time refers to the time taken for the user to participate in the turn and to be guided.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The information processing system 1 includes a server device 2, an automatic response system 3, a user terminal 4, and a shop terminal 6. The server device 2 and the user terminal 4, and the server device 2 and the shop terminal 6 are communicably connected to each other via the network N. The automatic response system 3 is communicably connected to the server device 2 and the user terminal 4.

  The store terminal 6 is an information processing device installed in the store. The store staff and / or the user can transmit data, commands and the like to the server device 2 based on the screen data displayed on the store terminal 6. The shop terminal 6 can display the data on waiting for the turn received from the server device 2 on the display device provided in the shop terminal 6 via the network N.

  In one store, for example, two types of store terminals 6 of a store reception terminal 6A for use by a user and a staff terminal 6B for use by store staff are provided. The user can, for example, participate in the waiting for an order by operating the touch panel or the like of the shop acceptance terminal 6A. The store staff operates, for example, the touch panel of the staff terminal 6B to manage the waiting state of the user who is waiting for the turn.

  The user terminal 4 is, for example, an information processing apparatus used by a user. The user terminal 4 receives screen data generated by the server device 2 via the network N using an application or a browser installed in the user terminal 4 and displays the screen data on the display of the user terminal 4 It is possible. In addition, the user can transmit data, an instruction, and the like to the server device 2 based on the screen data displayed on the user terminal 4. For example, by operating the user terminal 4, the user can participate in the queue, cancel the queue, and the like without being in the store.

  The server device 2 communicates with the user terminal 4 and the shop terminal 6 by an application installed in the server device 2. The server device 2 updates and manages data (waiting data D1 to be described later) regarding waiting in accordance with the user's or the shop staff's command input to the user terminal 4 and the shop terminal 6. If there are a plurality of stores, the waiting data is managed for each store.

  Further, the server device 2 creates a user interface for listing the above-mentioned queue data D1 and displaying it on the staff terminal 6B, and controls the user interface.

  The automatic response system 3 is an information processing device used to transmit a notification that the guidance time has come to the user terminal 4 of the user who has participated in the queue. Specifically, in response to a command from the server device 2, the automatic response system 3 transmits a notification that the guidance time has come to an arbitrary user terminal 4. In addition, the user terminal 4 includes means capable of responding to the notification, and the automatic response system 3 transmits the response content of the user terminal 4 to the server device 2. That is, bi-directional communication is possible between the server device 2 and the automatic response system 3 and between the user terminal 4 and the automatic response system 3 respectively, and the server device 2 uses the bi-directional communication for the user. It is possible to confirm in advance whether there is an intention to come to the store (hereinafter referred to as a confirmation of the arrival to the store).

  In this embodiment, the means for the notification in the visit confirmation is voice transmission and voice arrival using a telephone line, and the user terminal 4 is described as being capable of responding by transmitting a push signal (or tone signal). Do. The automatic response system 3 and the user terminal 4 may be provided with other two-way communication means other than the above.

  Hereinafter, the information processing system 1 will be described in detail.

  The server device 2 is, for example, an information processing device including a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23.

  The communication unit 21 connects the server device 2 to the network N by wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 21 controls transmission and reception of commands, addresses, data, signals and the like with the user terminal 4, the shop terminal 6 and the automatic response system 3 via the network N. The network N is, for example, the Internet.

  The storage unit 22 configures a storage area by, for example, a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or the like. The storage unit 22 stores various software or data. The various software includes an operating system (OS), a data management program, various application programs, and the like.

  The storage unit 22 stores, for example, order waiting data D1, display data D2, visit confirmation control data D3, a program P for controlling the entire server device 2, and the like.

  The waiting data D1 is information on waiting for the user. The queued data D1 is generated for each user who participates in the queue. The order waiting data D1 includes, for example, user information D11 of the user who has received the order waiting, status information D12 indicating the state of waiting for the order, and visit confirmation information D13 indicating the state of the visit confirmation performed before guiding the user. Including.

  The user information D11 is, for example, an identification number for identifying an order waiting accepted from the user, a representative name, a gender, a contact address, a number of users, a route accepting the order waiting (for example, user terminal 4 and store terminal 6) Includes data such as Further, the user information D11 includes the telephone number of the user for use in the store confirmation.

  In the status information D12, the waiting status is recorded in real time. More specifically, the status information D12 indicates, for example, whether the waiting state of the waiting data D1 is a guidance waiting state, an absent state, a guided state, or a canceled state. The guidance waiting state is, for example, a state in which the user participates in the queue and waits for guidance from the store. The absence state is a state where the user who is in the guidance waiting state is not guided because he was absent when being guided. The guided state is, for example, a state in which the user who is in a guidance waiting state is guided and has finished waiting for a turn. The canceled state is a state in which the store staff or the user himself has finished waiting for the turn by canceling the user's information waiting state.

  In addition, it is assumed that the user in the absent state can be guided again by the operation of the store staff or by returning to the guidance waiting state after a predetermined time has elapsed. In addition, the user in the absence state may be determined to have canceled without notice after a predetermined time has elapsed from the absence state, and may forcibly transition to the canceled state.

  In the visit confirmation information D13, the state of the visit confirmation for the user is recorded. Visit confirmation is performed by, for example, phone confirmation to the user as described above. More specifically, the visit confirmation information D13 is sent to the user of the waiting data D1, for example, "a state in which a telephone call is not made", "a state in which a telephone call is made but a call is not answered", "a telephone call To answer the call but no response, "show a call and cancel," or "show a call and have an intention to come to the store". The visit confirmation information D13 may be recorded so that it can be determined whether the visit confirmation has been automatically performed by the server device 2 or manually performed by the store staff.

  In addition, when the server apparatus 2 manages waiting for the turn of a plurality of stores, it is preferable that the turn waiting data D1 be managed separately for each store.

  The display data D2 is data necessary to configure a screen displayed on the user terminal 4 and the shop terminal 6 and a user interface. The display data D2 may be described in various languages such as hypertext markup language (HTML), extensible markup language (XML), JavaScript (registered trademark), and the like. In addition, the display data D2 may include various data such as image / moving image data, character data, binary data, and the like. The display data D2 is generated by a display control unit 235 described later.

  The display data D2 is preferably generated for each of the user terminal 4, the shop acceptance terminal 6A, and the staff terminal 6B. The display data D2 displayed on the user terminal 4 and the shop acceptance terminal 6A may be, for example, a user interface required when the user performs acceptance and confirmation of waiting for the turn, as well as user information D11 and status information D12. It contains information necessary for the user to confirm his or her current queue. Further, the display data D2 displayed on the staff terminal 6B may be, for example, a user interface required when the store staff accepts and confirms the waiting of the turn, and all or part of the information included in the waiting data D1. including.

  The arrival confirmation control data D3 is data indicating, for example, a condition under which the arrival confirmation control unit 237 performs an arrival confirmation for a user who is waiting for the turn. For example, the arrival confirmation control data D3 may be set in advance by the store staff or the like, or may be calculated by the arrival confirmation control unit 237 according to the queue waiting state of the store. The predetermined condition is, for example, that "it is a predetermined number of sets or more after occurrence of waiting for order".

  The control unit 23 executes various software (programs) to control the entire server device 2. The control unit 23 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like.

  The control unit 23 is electrically connected to, for example, the communication unit 21 and the storage unit 22 by the internal bus B1, and controls various operations of each unit based on commands from each unit. The control unit 23 controls each unit based on the data input to the server device 2 or the calculation result of the data, and outputs a command or the like to each unit as necessary.

  The control unit 23 functions as, for example, the reception unit 231, the order management unit 233, the display control unit 235, and the visit confirmation control unit 237 by executing the program P stored in the storage unit 22.

  The accepting unit 231 receives an acceptance request for waiting for a turn transmitted by the user terminal 4 and / or the shop terminal 6. The reception unit 231 generates the queued data D1 based on these requests, and registers (stores) the data in the storage unit 22. More specifically, for example, the reception unit 231 generates the user information D11 from the information included in the reception request, initializes the status information D12 to the guidance waiting state, and “calls the visit confirmation information D13“ Initialize to "No state".

  The accepting unit 231 may be capable of accepting a cancellation request waiting for a turn. When the receiving unit 231 receives the cancellation request, for example, the receiving unit 231 changes the status information D12 of the waiting data D1 corresponding to the cancellation request to a canceled state.

  The order management unit 233 updates the status information D12 included in the order waiting data D1 according to the change of the order waiting state. For example, when the leading user of the waiting queue is guided, the order management unit 233 updates the status information D12 of the leading user included in the waiting data D1 to the guided state. For example, when the head user waiting for the turn is informed and the user is absent, the order management unit 233 updates the status information D12 of the head user included in the turn waiting data D1 to an absent state.

  The order management unit 233 updates the visit confirmation information D13 included in the waiting data D1 according to the change in the visit confirmation status for the user.

  Further, the order management unit 233 calculates the waiting time of each set and the whole by, for example, determining the waiting time per set of users who are waiting for the order. For example, when there are three sets of waiting data D1, assuming that the predetermined waiting time per set is seven minutes, the first set of waiting times is calculated to be seven minutes, and the entire waiting time is calculated to be 21 minutes. Be done.

  The display control unit 235 generates the display data D2 described above, and transmits the generated display data D2 to the user terminal 4 and the shop terminal 6 via the communication unit 21.

  The arrival confirmation control unit 237 determines whether or not the waiting data D1 satisfies the condition shown in the arrival confirmation control data D3, and confirms the presence of the user corresponding to the waiting data D1 for which the condition is satisfied. I do. More specifically, the visit confirmation control unit 237 transmits, to the automatic response system 3, an instruction (hereinafter, referred to as a transmission instruction) to execute a telephone call to the user terminal 4 corresponding to the user. Further, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 receives data indicating a response to the telephone call from the automatic response system 3, and identifies the arrival confirmation status of the user based on the received data.

  The store visit confirmation control unit 237 may be included in the order management unit 233. That is, the visit confirmation control unit 237 may be part of the function executed by the order management unit 233.

  The automatic response system 3 includes, for example, a communication unit 31, a control unit 33, and the like. The communication unit 31 includes an automatic communication device 311. The control unit 33 controls communication between the automatic response system 3 and the server device 2 and the user terminal 4 performed using the communication unit 31.

  More specifically, when the control unit 33 receives a call instruction for the user terminal 4 from the server device 2 via the communication unit 31, for example, the control unit 33 uses the automatic call device 311 to make a voice call to the user terminal 4 Do. Further, for example, when there is a response to the automatic communication device 311 by the push signal, the control unit 33 transmits data indicating the signal to the server device 2 via the communication unit 31.

  The user terminal 4 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a tablet computer.

  The user terminal 4 includes, for example, a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, a control unit 43, an input unit 44, and a display unit 45.

  The communication unit 41 connects the user terminal 4 to the network N by wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 41 controls transmission and reception of commands, addresses, data, signals and the like with the server device 2 via the network N.

  Also, the communication unit 41 includes a calling device 411. The user of the user terminal 4 can respond to, for example, an incoming voice call from the automatic response system 3 using the calling device 411. In addition, the communication device 411 can transmit a push signal to the source device based on the numbers and symbols input by the input unit 44 during voice communication.

  Similar to the storage unit 22, the storage unit 42 configures a storage area of the user terminal 4.

  The control unit 43 executes various software (programs) similarly to the control unit 23 and controls the entire user terminal 4. The control unit 43 is electrically connected to the communication unit 41, the storage unit 42, the input unit 44, the display unit 45, and the internal bus B2, for example, and controls various operations of each unit based on commands from each unit. Do.

  The control unit 43 performs processing necessary for causing the user terminal 4 to function as a client of the server device 2. In the present embodiment, the server device 2 has, for example, a web server function, and the control unit 43 has, for example, a browser function. That is, the control unit 43 receives the display data D2 generated by the display control unit 235 of the server device 2, and displays the received display data D2 on the display unit 45 using a browser or the like. The user of the user terminal 4 can confirm the display data D2 received from the server device 2 through the display unit 45. In addition, the user may be able to rewrite part of data of the display data D2 displayed on the display unit 45 using the input unit 44. The rewritten data is transmitted to the server device 2 by the control unit 43.

  Note that the control unit 43 receives the latest display data D2 from the display control unit 235 of the server device 2 by transmitting an update request to the server device 2 via the communication unit 41, and based on the received display data. Update the display of the display unit 45 (for example, a browser).

  The input unit 44 receives an input to the user terminal 4 as input data. The input unit 44 includes at least one of input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and a microphone. Further, the input unit 44 can input arbitrary numbers and symbols used for input of a telephone number, for example, using the above-described input device. The input unit 44 may include, for example, an imaging device such as a camera or a reading device.

  The display unit 45 outputs the display data D2 generated by an instruction of the control unit 43 in a format that can be viewed by the user of the user terminal 4. The display unit 45 is, for example, a display.

  In the present embodiment, when the user has been registered as a member in the server device 2, it may be possible to participate in waiting for a turn via the user terminal 4. In this case, when the reception unit 231 of the server device 2 receives the queue waiting request via the user terminal 4, it is preferable to acquire member information (for example, a member name, a member number, etc.) of the user.

  Similarly to the user terminal 4, the shop terminal 6 includes a communication unit 61, a storage unit 62, a control unit 63, an input unit 64, and a display unit 65.

  The functions and configurations of the communication unit 61, the storage unit 62, the control unit 63, and the display unit 65 are equivalent to the roles of the communication unit 41, the storage unit 42, the control unit 43, and the display unit 45 of the user terminal 4.

  The input unit 64 receives an input to the shop terminal 6 as input data. In the present embodiment, the input unit 64 preferably includes, for example, a touch panel provided on a display. When the display on the display is touched, the input unit 64 detects the touched position on the touch panel, and outputs the position information to the control unit 63 as input data. The input unit 64 may include another input device. For example, the input unit 64 may be an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a microphone. The input unit 64 may include, for example, an imaging device such as a camera or a reading device.

  The store terminal 6 may include, for example, a speaker for providing voice guidance to the user.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the shop terminal 6 be connected to the output device 8. The output device 8 is, for example, a printer. The output device 8 receives, for example, an instruction to issue a reception slip from the shop reception terminal 6A according to the user's operation, and outputs a reception slip indicating that the user has been waiting for the turn based on the command. . The output device 8 may be included in the shop terminal 6.

  In the present embodiment, the shop terminal 6 accepts participation of the user in waiting for the turn regardless of whether the user is registered as a member. When the reception unit 231 of the server device 2 receives a turn-waiting request via the shop terminal 6, information necessary for specifying whether the user is a member (for example, member name, member number) Etc.) may be input by the user.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the data structure of the queued data D1 according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, the order waiting data D1 includes the user information D11, the status information D12, and the arrival confirmation information D13. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the storage unit 22 stores six order waiting data D1_1 to D1_6 in the order in which the order waiting is received.

  For example, the queued data D1_1 is data indicating that the user of the reception number "1" is queued. The number of users in the store is "3", and the queue data D1_1 is registered in "10:03" by the store acceptance terminal 6A, and is currently in a state of waiting for guidance, and is an object of confirmation of arrival at the store It shows that it is outside.

  Further, for example, the waiting data D1_5 is data indicating waiting for the user of the reception number “5”. The queue data D1_5 has the number of users of the store being "4", the member name is "B", and the queue data D1_5 is registered by the user terminal 4 in "10:48", and is currently waiting for guidance It indicates that the confirmation of coming to the store has not been made yet.

  As described above, the visit confirmation control unit 237 determines whether each queue data D1 is the target of the visit confirmation based on the visit confirmation control data D3.

  In the present embodiment, the reception number is given as a serial number in the order of earlier registration time, but the respective queue data D1_1 to D1_6 can be identified by other items included in the user information D11 If there is, the reception number can be omitted.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the reception time and the waiting time. More specifically, FIG. 3 is a graph in which the horizontal axis represents the waiting time for waiting for a turn (that is, the registration time of waiting data D1) and the vertical axis represents the difference between the actual waiting time and the expected waiting time. . In other words, FIG. 3 is a graph showing how long the user who has started waiting for the turn at a certain reception time is guided by the waiting time. Hereinafter, two types of graphs of FIG. 3 (a) and FIG. 3 (b) are illustrated.

  FIG. 3A shows a state in which the expected waiting time is functioning properly by uniform rotation of the shop user. The time W1 indicates an estimated waiting time per set. In the state shown in FIG. 3A, it is assumed that the user is guided at a time W1 cycle after the turn waiting occurs at time T1. In this case, the user who is waiting for the turn is guided within the expected waiting time when the start of the turn waiting. For example, in the case where the first user is introduced immediately after being guided, the actual waiting time is the same as the expected waiting time. Further, for example, when the head user is immediately guided immediately after the start of the queue, the actual waiting time is reduced by one set (that is, the time W1) compared to the expected waiting time.

  If the rotation of the user in the store is in the state shown in FIG. 3A, the guidance time of each user who is waiting for the turn can be calculated based on the estimated waiting time. The store staff can improve the convenience of the user by confirming the visit to the user whose guidance time is approaching based on the guidance time.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3 (b) shows a situation where the rotation of the shop user is not uniform, and a large difference occurs between the expected waiting time and the actual waiting time. In the state shown in FIG. 3B, after waiting for the turn occurs at time T1, the user who waits for the turn until time T2 is not guided, and all the users in the store are replaced at time T2, so that the turn is performed. It is assumed that users who are waiting are guided at the same time. At time T3, the same change as that at time T2 occurs.

  In this case, for example, when the waiting time is started at time T1, the actual waiting time becomes (time T2-time T1) although the expected waiting time is one set. Thus, the actual latency will be much longer than expected latency. Further, for example, when waiting for the turn is started immediately before time T2, the estimated waiting time is long because it is arranged at the tail end of the turn waiting occurring from time T1, but it is guided at time T2. Thus, the actual latency is much shorter than expected latency. That is, since the estimated waiting time is calculated based on the number of sets waiting for the order, the estimated waiting time is significantly different from the actual waiting time when the rotation of the user in the store is shown in FIG. 3 (b) It will

  Furthermore, in this case, when a visit confirmation is performed for a user near the head of the queue, for example, using the guidance time calculated based on the estimated waiting time, the user is actually confirmed after the visit confirmation. I will be waiting for a long time before being guided. There are many cases where the user goes out until being informed, and having returned to the store after receiving a confirmation of coming to the store but having to wait for a long time in the store contributes to the user canceling the waiting for the queue There is an increased risk of losing opportunities for the side.

  Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 3 (b), it is preferable not to check the arrival of customers for a predetermined number of users from the time when waiting for a turn occurs. The predetermined number of sets is stored in the visit confirmation data D3.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the display screen U1 of the staff terminal 6B according to the present embodiment. It is assumed that the display screen U1 is generated based on the queued data D1 in which the status information D12 is queued for guidance. In the example of FIG. 4, at time "11:00", all the waiting data D1_1 to D1_6 shown in FIG. 2 are in the guidance waiting state, and the waiting states corresponding to these waiting data are displayed on the display screen U1. It is assumed that

  The display screen U1 is, for example, a display R1 indicating the current date and time and time, a display R2 indicating the current number of waiting groups and waiting time, and a display indicating the queued state in the store by each item included in the queue data D1. Includes R3.

  The display R3 includes the display of the expected waiting time S and the display of the visit confirmation status D13. Further, the display R3 is provided with, for example, a "guidance" button V1, an "absent" button V2 and a call button V3 for each of the waiting data D1_1 to D1_6.

  For example, when the “information” button V1 (or “absent” button V2) of the queue data D1_1 is pressed by the store staff or the like, the queue management unit 233 indicates the status information D12 of the queue data D1_1 in the guided state (or And update the expected waiting time S and the like corresponding to the other waiting data. In addition, the waiting data in which the status information D12 became "absent" is managed by the display screen for absentees different from the display screen U1, for example. The queue waiting data managed on the display screen for the absentee is returned to the display screen (that is, the display screen U1) that manages the guidance waiting state at a predetermined timing, and is controlled to be guided again.

  Further, although it is preferable that the visit confirmation be performed automatically by the visit confirmation control unit 237 as described above, the visit confirmation may be performed manually by the store staff. For example, when the call button V3 is pressed by the store staff, the staff terminal 6B transmits a command to the store confirmation control unit 237 of the server device 2 to execute the store confirmation to the user terminal 4 of the corresponding user. Do.

  By the way, on the display screen U1, the user of the reception number "1" whose registration time is "10:03" indicates that the user is not guided at the time "11:00". More specifically, although the estimated waiting time S of the user of the reception number "1" is "7 minutes", the user is not notified even if 57 minutes have passed at the time "11:00" It shows that the expected waiting time and the actual waiting time are greatly different. That is, the display screen U1 represents the waiting state as described with reference to FIG. 3 (b).

  Therefore, in the waiting state shown in FIG. 4, it is preferable not to check the arrival of customers for a predetermined number of users from the time "10:03" at which the waiting of the order occurs. For example, when the predetermined number of sets is stored in the visit confirmation control data D3 as “4”, the visit confirmation control unit 237 receives the reception number “5” or the like indicating the fifth set after the queue waiting occurs. For the user of, the visit confirmation is performed at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing is, for example, a timing at which the current time is within 10 minutes of the scheduled guidance time calculated based on the estimated waiting time S for each user.

  The queue waiting process and the store visit confirmation process will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the flow of commands and data among the devices of the information processing system according to the present embodiment. Moreover, FIG. 6 is a figure which shows an example of the turn waiting reception process and the visit confirmation process in the information processing system 1 which concern on this embodiment.

  Steps S <b> 101 to S <b> 104 show a waiting process for waiting for a turn.

  In step S101, the visit confirmation control unit 237 of the server device 2 sets in advance the visit confirmation control data D3. The arrival confirmation control data D3 is, for example, the number of sets for which the arrival confirmation is skipped. The arrival confirmation control data D3 may be manually determined for each store, or may be automatically calculated by the arrival confirmation control unit 237. Details of processing when the visit confirmation control unit 237 calculates the visit confirmation control data D3 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S102, the user terminal 4 receives an input of information necessary for participation in the queue waiting from the user, and transmits the information to the server device 2 (arrow A1). The said information contains the telephone number of the user terminal 4 used when the server apparatus 2 performs a visit confirmation. In addition, participation in waiting for order may be performed by the terminal 6A for shop reception.

  In step S103, the reception unit 231 of the server device 2 receives the information on the waiting for the turn input to the user terminal 4 and generates the waiting for data D1.

  In step S104, the display control unit 235 generates display data D2 to which the waiting data D1 generated in step S103 is added, and stores the display data D2 in the storage unit 22. Further, the display control unit 235 transmits the display data D2 to the staff terminal 6B, for example, in response to the display update request of the staff terminal 6B (arrow A2). The display control unit 235 similarly generates and transmits the display data D2 to the user terminal 4 and the shop acceptance terminal 6A in response to the display update request received from each device.

  Hereinafter, steps S105 to S112 indicate a visit confirmation process.

  In step S105, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 reads the arrival confirmation control data D3 and determines whether or not there is waiting data D1 corresponding to the execution condition for the arrival confirmation. When it does not correspond to the execution condition of the visit confirmation, the process waits until the execution condition is satisfied. On the other hand, if the execution condition is met, the process proceeds to step S106.

  When the call button V3 displayed on the display screen U1 of the display unit 45 is pressed by the store staff or the like, the staff terminal 6B visits the server device 2 to the user terminal 4 of the corresponding user. Send a command to execute confirmation (arrow A3).

  In step S106, the store visit confirmation control unit 237 transmits a transmission instruction to the user terminal 4 of the user corresponding to the queued data D1 to the automatic response system 3 (arrow A4).

  In step S107, the control unit 33 of the automatic response system 3 uses the automatic communication device 311 to call the user terminal 4 designated by the server device 2 (arrow A5).

  In step S108, when the user of the user terminal 4 performs a receiving operation in response to a voice incoming call from the automatic response system 3, the call device 411 of the user terminal 4 performs an incoming call response process. After performing the incoming call response process, the automatic communication device 311 of the automatic response system 3 and the communication device 411 of the user terminal 4 enter a voice communication state.

  In step S109, the communication device 411 generates a push signal to the automatic response system 3 based on the numbers and symbols input by the user through the input unit 44 during a voice call, and transmits the generated push signal. (See arrow A6).

  In addition, the automatic response system 3 may flow the guidance for the user during the voice call. The guidance indicates, for example, that the guidance time is approaching, that “7” is to be input when canceling, and “3” is to be input when coming to the store. The guidance can be flexibly changed in accordance with the service provided by the store and the status of waiting for the order.

  In step S110, the automatic communication device 311 of the automatic response system 3 receives the push signal transmitted by the user terminal 4.

  In step S111, the control unit 33 generates data indicating the response result of the user terminal 4 to the store confirmation, and transmits the data to the server device 2 (see arrow A7). The data indicating the response result is, for example, data indicating whether or not the user terminal 4 has answered the call, and data indicating the signal when the push signal is received.

  In step S112, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 of the server device 2 generates the arrival confirmation information D13 based on the received data indicating the response result, and reflects it on the waiting data D1. In addition, the display control unit 235 generates new display data D2 based on the updated waiting data D1.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of calculation and setting processing of the store visit confirmation control data D3 in the server device 2 according to the present embodiment. The process of FIG. 7 corresponds to the process of step S101 of FIG.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 3 (b), when the users in the store are replaced in units of a certain number of groups, the actual waiting time of the users near the head of the waiting queue is the expected waiting time S It becomes long against. Therefore, the visit confirmation control unit 237 calculates an average value of actual waiting times (hereinafter referred to as average waiting time) in a predetermined period in the past, and calculates the calculated average waiting time and the current waiting time The estimated waiting time S calculated with respect to this is compared. The arrival confirmation control unit 237 uses this comparison result to determine the number of sets for which the arrival confirmation is skipped. Hereinafter, the process of calculating the visit confirmation data D3 will be described in detail.

  In step S301, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 or the order management unit 233 calculates an actual waiting time for each order waiting data D1 and stores the actual waiting time in the storage unit 22. The actual waiting time can be calculated from the difference between the registration time on the waiting queue and the guided time. In addition, past order waiting data D1 which has already been guided is used for calculation of the actual waiting time. For this reason, it is preferable that the order management unit accumulates, in the storage unit 22, data obtained by adding the time indicated to the waiting data D1.

  In step S302, the store visit confirmation control unit 237 determines whether a deviation has occurred between the actual waiting time and the expected waiting time S for each of the waiting data D1. If the deviation does not occur, calculation of the actual waiting time is continued each time new waiting data D1 is generated. On the other hand, when the said shift has arisen, a process progresses to step S303.

  In step S303, the store visit confirmation control unit 237 determines a period for which the average waiting time is to be calculated. More specifically, the visit confirmation control unit 237 arranges the difference between the expected waiting time and the actual waiting time in time series, and, for example, the time at which this difference changes significantly (for example, the time shown in FIG. It is determined that waiting for order or replacement has occurred at T1, T2, T3, etc.). The coming-to-the-store confirmation control unit 237 determines the first time and the second time at which waiting for the turn or replacement occurred, and the period between the first time and the second time as the calculation target of the average waiting time Do.

  In step S304, the store visit confirmation control unit 237 calculates the average waiting time in the period from the first time determined in step S303 to the second time.

  In step S305, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 compares the calculated average waiting time with the estimated waiting time S for each of the waiting data D1 to determine the number of groups for which the arrival confirmation is skipped. More specifically, for example, the store visit confirmation control unit 237 may determine the number of queue data D1 whose predicted waiting time S exceeds the average waiting time as the number of sets.

  In step S306, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 sets the number of sets determined in step S305 in the arrival confirmation control data D3.

  Hereinafter, description will be made using a specific example. In the example of the queue waiting shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the visit confirmation control unit 237 determines the time “10:03” at which the queue waiting occurs as the first time. In addition, it is assumed that the visit confirmation control unit 237 determines that the second time at which the replacement has occurred is the time “11:00”. That is, it is assumed that all users corresponding to the waiting data D1_1 to D1_6 are guided at the time "11:00".

  In this case, the visit confirmation control unit 237 calculates the average waiting time from the first time to the second time. In this calculation process, for example, the actual waiting time of the user corresponding to the waiting data D1_1 is calculated as 11: 00-10: 03 = 57 minutes. Also, for example, the actual waiting time of the user corresponding to the waiting data D1_6 is calculated as 11: 00-10: 55 = 5 minutes. The average waiting time is calculated to be 34.5 minutes by dividing the total of the actual waiting times of all the waiting data D1_1 to D1_6 by the number of people (6). Therefore, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 can control to skip the arrival confirmation for the user whose predicted waiting time S is longer than 34.5 minutes, for example, in the waiting received after the waiting data D1_6. .

  Note that the visit confirmation control unit 237 does not have to obtain the average waiting time. For example, from the past waiting data, after the waiting time occurs, the time (for example, time I1 to I3 in FIG. 3B) in which the difference between the actual waiting time and the expected waiting time S becomes zero is determined. May be In this case, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 may skip the arrival confirmation when the elapsed time from the occurrence of waiting for a turn or replacement is less than the time.

  Also, the processes of step S301 and step S302 may be performed in step S105 of FIG. That is, the arrival confirmation control unit 237 may execute the arrival confirmation skipping process based on the arrival confirmation control data D3 only when there is a difference between the expected waiting time S and the actual waiting time.

  In the present embodiment described above, when the arrival confirmation control unit 237 of the server device 2 performs an arrival confirmation before the scheduled guidance time for the user who is waiting for the turn, an order wait occurs based on the arrival confirmation information D13. The store confirmation for the predetermined number of sets to wait for the turn is skipped from the time of As a result, for example, when the actual waiting time becomes larger than the expected waiting time, it is possible to prevent the user from confirming the arrival of the store at an unintended timing, thereby improving the convenience of the user. Do. In addition, since the number of times the waiting for the order is canceled can be reduced by checking the visit to the user at the wrong timing, the opportunity loss on the store side can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, at the time of visit confirmation to the user, a telephone call is made from the automatic response system 3 to the user terminal 4 of the user by an instruction of the server device 2. The user terminal 4 can respond to the telephone call by a push signal. Thus, the server device 2 can easily check the arrival at the store.

  In the present embodiment, the server device 2 has been described as performing user's visit confirmation by two-way communication using the automatic response system 3. However, the server device 2 does not necessarily have to confirm the user's intention to come to the store, and the server device 2 may notify the user terminal 4 in one direction, for example, that the guidance time is approaching. As a one-way notification means, in addition to a call by telephone, for example, mail transmission or push notification from the server device 2 to the user terminal 4 may be mentioned. In this case, based on the visit confirmation control data D3, the visit confirmation control unit 237 of the server device 2 executes the skip processing of the notification in place of the skip processing of the visit confirmation.

  Further, the server device 2 may use the two-way visit confirmation and the one-way notification depending on the situation. For example, it is not necessary to confirm visits to users who have already confirmed their intention to come to the store and are waiting until vacancies occur in the store, but it is necessary to give notice in consideration of the case where they go out. is there. This selective use is flexibly performed by, for example, store staff or the like.

  In the present embodiment, the server device 2 does not allow the user, who skips the visit confirmation or notification, to enter a contact address such as a telephone number at the time of acceptance of waiting for a turn (that is, displays a user interface related to telephone number input) Not be allowed).

  In the present embodiment, the visit confirmation control unit 237 of the server device 2 calculates the average waiting time by analyzing the past queued data, and skips the visit confirmation by comparing the expected waiting time S with the average waiting time. The number of sets to be set is determined, and is set as the visit confirmation control data D3. As a result, the visit confirmation control data D3 can be flexibly changed in accordance with the latest queue status, so that more preferable visit confirmation control is possible.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using this embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In an implementation phase, a component can be changed and actualized in the range which does not deviate from the summary. . In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components in different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing system, 2 ... Server apparatus, 3 ... Automatic response system, 4 ... User terminal, 6 ... Terminal for stores, 6A ... Terminal for store reception, 6B ... Terminal for staff, 8 ... Output device, 21, 31, 41, 61 ... communication unit, 22, 42, 62 ... storage unit, 23, 33, 43, 63 ... control unit, 44, 64 ... input unit, 45, 65 ... display unit 231 ... reception unit, 233 ... order management Dept. 235, display control unit, 237, visit confirmation control unit, 311: automatic communication device, 411: communication device, B1, B2, B3: internal bus, D1: order waiting data, D2: display data, D3: arrival confirmation Control data, D11 ... user information, D12 ... status information, D13 ... visit confirmation information, N ... network, P ... program.

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to a terminal used by a user and manages a plurality of sets of the user who are waiting for order in a store,
Registration means for registering the queued data of the set of users in the order of acceptance;
Calculating means for calculating a first time indicating a predicted waiting time for each set and a scheduled guidance time based on the time when the turn waiting data is registered and the number of sets waiting for the turn;
The terminal when the current time is within a predetermined time from the scheduled guidance time and the user of the set is not included in a predetermined number of sets to be queued from the time the queue is generated; Notification control means for notifying
An information processing apparatus equipped with It further comprises storage means for storing past queued data,
The notification control means
A first time point indicating a time when waiting for a turn occurs in the past waiting data or a time when a change of a user occurs in the past, and a second time indicating a time when a change occurs after the first time Calculate
Calculating a second time indicating an average value of expected waiting times of past users who waited for the turn between the first time and the second time;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined number is determined by comparing the first time and the second time. The notification control unit sets, as the predetermined number, the number of sets of the plurality of sets in which the first time is longer than the second time.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The waiting data includes the telephone number of the user,
The information processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the notification control means performs the notification by transmitting an instruction to make a call to the user's telephone number to the automatic call apparatus. apparatus. An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to a terminal used by a user, and manages a plurality of sets of the user who wait for turn at a store,
Registering the queued data of the set of users accepted via the terminal in the order of acceptance;
Calculating a first time indicating a predicted waiting time for each group and a scheduled guidance time, based on the time when the queue data is registered and the number of groups in the queue;
When the current time is within a predetermined time from the scheduled guidance time and the set of the user is not included in a predetermined number of sets to be queued from the time when the queue is generated, the use Sending notification to the terminal of the
Information processing method comprising. A program executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to a terminal used by a user and manages a plurality of sets of the user who wait for turn at a store,
The computer,
Registration means for registering order waiting data of the set of users accepted via the terminal in the order of acceptance;
Calculating means for calculating a first time indicating a predicted waiting time for each set and a scheduled guidance time based on the time when the turn waiting data is registered and the number of sets waiting for the turn;
When the current time is within a predetermined time from the scheduled guidance time and the set of the user is not included in a predetermined number of sets to be queued from the time when the queue is generated, the use Notification control means for notifying the terminal of the
Program to make it work.

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