JP7382686B1 - Information processing device, information processing program, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an automatic response technology that reduces a customer's abandonment of a reservation because there is no vacant reservation slot that meets the customer's reservation conditions, and reduces the loss of a store's opportunity to attract customers. [Solution] When an information processing device receives a call from a user terminal, the information processing device uses voice guidance to prompt the user using the user terminal to input voice input, and also indicates the desired date and time for the reservation based on the voice input. an acquisition unit that acquires reservation conditions including reservation conditions, and inventory information regarding the availability of seats in stores for each time zone, from the first slot of the time zone from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time, the reservation conditions that meet the reservation conditions. Search for a slot, and as a result of the search, if there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, add the first predetermined time from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time to the second predetermined time after the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a suggestion unit that suggests to the user by voice an available slot in a time slot that can be reserved among the slots included up to the time. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing program, and an information processing method.

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of communication technology, reservation systems have been disclosed that connect to the Internet and reserve seats at stores, event venues, etc. via websites, for example (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, the user can make a reservation for the store by accessing the web server device that manages the website using a user terminal such as a personal computer (PC), smartphone, or tablet terminal, and inputting the information necessary for the reservation. It can be carried out.

In addition, in recent years, in order to efficiently deal with the increasing number of orders, registrations, inquiries, etc. from customers, companies have started using call centers to receive calls from customers and provide interactive voice responses (IVR). An automatic response system has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2). The automatic response system plays voice guidance in response to telephone inquiries from customers. The customer operates the push buttons according to voice guidance.

Furthermore, a reservation system has been disclosed that makes a reservation based on the voice uttered by the user (for example, see Patent Document 3). The reservation system includes: a voice input unit that acquires the voice uttered by the user; a voice recognition unit that extracts words and phrases related to the reservation from the voice acquired by the voice input unit; a storage unit that stores rule data for determining reservation target candidates corresponding to the user's voice; and a storage unit that stores rule data for determining reservation target candidates corresponding to the user's voice; The apparatus includes a candidate determining unit that determines candidates, and a reservation agent unit that makes a reservation for the determined one or more of the reservation target candidates.

Furthermore, a reservation management program has been disclosed that handles reservations based on the content of telephone calls from people who wish to make a reservation, and notifies a store manager of the reservation details (for example, see Patent Document 4). The reservation management program uses a computer to include a voice recognition means that recognizes the voice of a telephone call, a response content selection means that selects the response content based on the recognized voice, and information necessary for making a facility reservation based on the information recognized by the voice recognition means. a reservation information extraction means for extracting information as reservation information; a reservation availability determination means for determining whether a reservation can be made by comparing the reservation information with reservation status information in which the reservation status of a facility is recorded; and a reservation availability determination means. If it is determined that reservation is possible, the system functions as a reservation information transmitting means that transmits reservation information to the terminal of the facility.

Furthermore, a reservation device has been disclosed that allows reservations to be made by telephone without user intervention (see, for example, Patent Document 5). A reservation device that acts on behalf of a store to apply for a reservation communicates with the person in charge of the store by communicating in natural language with an acquisition unit that acquires user information that is information associated with the user making the reservation. and an interaction means for applying for a reservation to the store, the interaction means generates a first sentence to be transmitted to the store based on the user information, and generates a first sentence to be transmitted to the store based on the first sentence. Voice is transmitted to the store via a telephone line, and an interaction result is generated based on the result of recognizing the voice acquired via the telephone line, and is provided to the user.

Patent No. 6298564 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-023017 JP2021-96732A JP 2021-22021 Publication JP2017-228221A

When a restaurant or other store that has introduced an automatic response system to accept reservations receives a call from a customer to make a reservation, the automatic response system accepts the customer's desired date and time and desired number of people and makes the reservation. Register as information.

However, if the reservation slot for the time slot that matches the requested date and time and number of people has already been filled and there are no seats in stock, the automatic response system will automatically respond to the customer with a message that the reservation cannot be made. It turns out. Then, the customer either specifies a different time slot as a new desired date and time and makes a new reservation, or abandons the reservation at the store. This results in the store missing out on an opportunity to attract customers. Additionally, if there is a reservation slot available before or after the originally desired date and time, the customer may be able to make a reservation 30 minutes in advance or 30 minutes later, for example.

Therefore, the present invention provides an automatic response technology that reduces customers' abandonment of reservations because there are no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and also reduces the loss of opportunities to attract customers to stores.

An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, when receiving a call from a user terminal, uses voice guidance to prompt the user using the user terminal to input voice input, and also makes a reservation based on the voice input. an acquisition unit that acquires the reservation conditions including the desired date and time; and an acquisition unit that acquires the reservation conditions from the first slot of the time slot from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time in the inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time slot. As a result of the search, if there are no available slots that meet the reservation conditions, then based on the reservation conditions, from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time to the second predetermined time before the desired date and time. The present invention is characterized by comprising a suggestion unit that suggests to the user, by voice, a vacant slot in a reservable time slot among the slots included up to the time when the first predetermined time is added after two predetermined times.

If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, the proposal unit adds the first predetermined time from a second predetermined time before the desired date and time to a second predetermined time after the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions. The present invention is characterized in that, among the slots included up to the time, available slots for the first predetermined time that can be reserved are suggested to the user by voice.

If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, the proposal section may make a reservation for a time shorter than the first predetermined time between the desired date and time and after the first predetermined time based on the reservation conditions. The present invention is characterized in that a vacant slot in a certain time period is suggested to the user by voice.

The information processing device may further include a reservation registration unit that registers reservation information corresponding to the proposed vacant slot when the user gives a voice response indicating that the proposed vacant slot is to be reserved. It is characterized by

Further, when the user follows predetermined voice guidance and inputs a voice input indicating that he/she has a desire for a course or other, the information processing device further sends a message containing a URL of a website for inputting the course or other desire. , and a notification unit that sends a notification to the user terminal.

Further, when the user follows predetermined voice guidance and inputs a voice input indicating that there is a change or cancellation of the reservation, the information processing device may input a URL of a website for changing or canceling the reservation. and a notification unit that transmits a message containing the message to the user terminal.

An automatic response program according to one aspect of the present invention, when a computer receives a call from a user terminal, uses voice guidance to prompt the user using the user terminal to input voice, and based on the voice input. the acquisition process of acquiring the reservation conditions including the desired date and time and the desired number of people to make a reservation, and searching for available reservations that meet the desired conditions from inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time zone, When there is no vacant slot for a reservation that meets the desired conditions, a proposal process is performed in which a vacant slot in a time slot that can be reserved based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people is suggested to the user by voice.

In the automatic response method according to one aspect of the present invention, when a call is received from a user terminal, the computer uses voice guidance to prompt the user using the user terminal to input voice, and also prompts the user using the user terminal to input voice. Based on the desired reservation conditions, including the desired date and time and the desired number of people, search for available reservations that meet the desired conditions from inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time zone, and If there is no vacant reservation slot that meets the conditions, a process is performed in which a vacant slot in a time slot that can be reserved based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people is proposed to the user by voice.

According to the information processing technology according to one aspect of the present invention, in an automatic response system, it is possible to reduce a customer's abandonment of a reservation due to there being no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and to provide a store with an opportunity to attract customers. loss can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an automatic response system according to the present embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of an automatic response system in this embodiment. It is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a database managed by the reservation unified management device 13 in this embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of a setting screen in this embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the online form for reservations in this embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the online form for reservation change/reservation cancellation in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram when setting information is registered in the automatic response system in this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram at the time of voice guidance in the automatic response system in this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the main menu by the voice guidance of the automatic response device in this embodiment. It is a detailed flowchart of online form transmission processing (S28) in this embodiment. It is a detailed flowchart (part 1) of the automatic voice response process (S27) in this embodiment. It is a detailed flowchart (part 2) of the automatic voice response process (S27) in this embodiment. It is a detailed flowchart of the reservation possible date and time proposal process (S53) in this embodiment. 1 is an example of a configuration block diagram of a hardware environment of a computer that executes a program in this embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention. The information processing device 1 includes an acquisition section 2, a proposal section 3, and a reservation registration section 4. An example of the information processing device 1 is an automatic response device 12, which will be described later.

When receiving a call from a user terminal, the acquisition unit 2 uses voice guidance to prompt the user using the user terminal to input voice information, and also creates a reservation including the desired date and time based on the voice input. Get conditions. Examples of the acquisition unit 2 include a voice recognition unit 24 and an automatic response unit 25, which will be described later. An example of a user terminal is a user terminal 17, which will be described later.

The proposal unit 3 selects reservations that meet the reservation conditions from the first slot of the time slot from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time (standard reservation slot time) in the inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time slot. Search for available slots. As a result of the search, if there is no vacant slot that matches the reservation conditions, the proposal unit 3 moves from a second predetermined time (before and after the allowable time) to a second predetermined time (before and after the allowable time) of the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions. Among the slots included up to the time when the first predetermined time is added after the first predetermined time (time) after that, a vacant slot in a time slot that can be reserved is suggested to the user by voice. An example of inventory information is the inventory management DB 44. An example of the proposal section 3 is an automatic response section 25, which will be described later. One or more vacant slots may be proposed. The frames included from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time (allowable time before and after) to the time obtained by adding the first predetermined time after the second predetermined time after the desired date and time (allowable time before and after) are as follows. For example, assume that the desired date and time is 19:00, the standard reservation time is 2 hours, the allowable time before and after is ±1 hour, and the minimum allowable time is 60 minutes. At this time, the first predetermined time (i.e., 18:00) before the desired date and time (19:00) and after the second predetermined time (i.e., 20:00) of the desired date and time (19:00). 2 hours) is added to the time (22:00), the frames included from 18:00 to 22:00. In this case, if reservations can be started in 15-minute increments, the slots that can be proposed are standard reservation time slots (standard reservation slots), for example, 18:00-20:00, 18:15- 20:15, 18:15-20:15, 18:30-20:30, 18:45-20:45, 19:15-21:15, 19:30-21:30, 19:45-21: 45, from 20:00 to 22:00. Furthermore, assuming that reservations can be started and ended in 15-minute increments, for example, in the case of time reduction guidance described later, the available slots are, for example, the reservation slots from 19:00 to 20:00, and from 19:00 to 20:00. 15 reservation slots, 19:00-20:30 reservation slot, 19:00-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-20:15 reservation slot, 19:15-20:30 reservation slot, 19 : 15-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-21:00 reservation slot, 19:30-20:30 reservation slot, 19:30-20:45 reservation slot, 19:30-21:00 There will be reservation slots for 19:45-20:45, 19:45-21:00, and 20:00-21:00.

With this configuration, in the automatic response system, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a customer abandons a reservation because there is no vacant reservation slot that meets the customer's reservation conditions, and to reduce the loss of an opportunity to attract customers to the store. I can do it.

If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, the proposal unit 3 selects slots that are included between the desired date and time and a second predetermined time (before and after the allowable time) and a second predetermined time (before and after the allowable time) from the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions. Among the slots included after the time), a vacant slot of the first predetermined time (standard reservation slot time) that can be reserved is suggested to the user by voice. In the above example, the slots that can be proposed (standard reservation slots) are, for example, the reservation slot from 18:00 to 20:00, the reservation slot from 18:15 to 20:15, and the reservation slot from 18:15 to 20:15. slot, 18:30-20:30 reservation slot, 18:45-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-21:15 reservation slot, 19:30-21:30 reservation slot, 19:45- Reservations will be made for 21:45 and from 20:00 to 22:00.

With this configuration, it is possible to present reservation available time slots to customers, thereby reducing the number of customers giving up on reservations, and at the same time reducing the loss of opportunities to attract customers to the store. That is, if the customer cannot make a reservation in the time slot desired by the customer, but if the time slots before and after that time slot are available for reservation, the time slots before and after that can be suggested to the user as available time slots. As a result, if the user has no problem with the proposed time slot, the user can reserve the time slot. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of customers giving up on reservations, and at the same time, it is possible to reduce the loss of opportunities to attract customers to the store.

If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, the proposal unit 3 will make a reservation from the first predetermined time (standard reservation time) between the desired date and time and after the first predetermined time (standard reservation time) based on the reservation conditions. In a short period of time, the system will suggest vacant time slots that can be reserved to the user by voice. This is related to the proposal of a reservation slot in the case of time-saving guidance, which will be described later. If reservations can start and end in 15-minute increments, and the minimum allowable time is 1 hour, the possible slots that can be proposed are, for example, 19:00-20:00 reservation slots, 19:00-20:15 Reservation slot, 19:00-20:30 reservation slot, 19:00-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-20:15 reservation slot, 19:15-20:30 reservation slot, 19:00-20:30 reservation slot. Reservation slot for 15-20:45, Reservation slot for 19:15-21:00, Reservation slot for 19:30-20:30, Reservation slot for 19:30-20:45, Reservation slot for 19:30-21:00. There will be a reservation slot, a reservation slot from 19:45 to 20:45, a reservation slot from 19:45 to 21:00, and a reservation slot from 20:00 to 21:00.

By configuring it in this way, it is possible to present customers with available reservation times, although the time is shorter than the standard reservation time, thereby reducing customers' abandonment of reservations, and increasing the store's chances of attracting customers. loss can be reduced.

The information processing device 1 further includes a reservation registration section 4. The reservation registration unit 4 registers reservation information corresponding to the proposed vacant slot when the user responds by voice to the effect that the proposed vacant slot is to be reserved. An example of the reservation registration section 4 is an automatic response section 25, which will be described later. At this time, since the vacant slot corresponding to the reservation information has been reserved, the reservation registration unit 4 updates the inventory information to reduce the inventory by that amount.

With this configuration, although users cannot reserve seats for their original desired date and time, they can reserve suggested vacant slots, thereby reducing customers' abandonment of reservations, and improving store can reduce the loss of opportunities to attract customers.

The information processing device 1 further includes a notification section 5. When the user follows predetermined voice guidance and inputs a voice input indicating that he or she has a preference for a course or other, the notification unit 5 sends a message containing a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a website for inputting the course or other preference. , may be transmitted to the user terminal. An example of the notification section 5 is a notification section 26 described later.

With this configuration, it is possible to improve customer satisfaction and reduce the loss of opportunities to attract customers to the store by responding to needs other than customers who wish to make a reservation (course reservations).

Furthermore, when the user inputs voice input to change or cancel the reservation according to predetermined voice guidance, the notification unit 5 sends a message containing the URL of the website for changing or canceling the reservation. , may be transmitted to the user terminal.

With this configuration, it is possible to improve customer satisfaction and reduce the loss of opportunities to attract customers to the store by responding to the needs of customers other than those who wish to make a reservation (changing or canceling a reservation). I can do it.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the automatic response system in this embodiment. The automatic response system 11 includes an automatic response device 12 , a unified reservation management device 13 , a store terminal 15 , a user terminal 17 , a web server device 18 , and a communication network 19 . The automatic response device 12, the unified reservation management device 13, the store terminal 15, the user terminal 17, and the web server device 18 are interconnected by a communication network 19.

The automatic response device 12, the unified reservation management device 13, the store terminal 15, the user terminal 17, and the web server device 18 are each equipped with a central processing unit (CPU), memory, storage medium, communication interface, etc. (all not shown). It is an electronic computer. Each device executes a predetermined computer program using a CPU, memory, storage medium, and the like.

The communication network 19 is a communication network including a circuit-switched fixed telephone network, a packet-switched IP (Internet Protocol) telephone network, other telephone networks, the Internet, and the like. The line network includes, for example, a 3G network, an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, and/or an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network. The user terminal 17 can communicate with the automatic response device 12 through the telephone network. In telephone networks, telephone numbers are used to identify the originating and destination devices of calls. Communication systems between the fixed telephone network, the IP telephone network, and the line network can be mutually converted using a gateway (GW) device or the like.

The user terminal 17 is a terminal having a telephone call function, and is, for example, an electronic device such as a landline telephone, a mobile telephone, or a smartphone. The call function may be, for example, a call function using a mobile communication network or a call function using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication.

The web server device 18 manages a web site (reservation site) for accepting reservations for the store 16, and provides a service (hereinafter referred to as web reservation service) for accepting reservations for the store 16 via the reservation site to users. This is a server device provided to The web server device 18 also stores data for various online forms to be described later, and displays the online forms on the display section of the user terminal 17 in response to a request from the user terminal 17. Although only one web server device 18 is shown in FIG. 2 for convenience, a plurality of web server devices 18 may actually be connected.

The integrated reservation management device 13 is used to realize integrated management (WEB reservation management) of reservations made to stores such as restaurants, for example, through reservation sites, telephone calls, online forms, and the like. The reservation unified management device 13 is communicably connected to the WEB server device 18 via the communication network 19. The unified reservation management device 13 manages reservations (seat inventory management) for the store 16 that accepts reservations.

The store terminal 15 displays a store management screen, a settings screen, etc. for employees of the store to check the reservation status, seat inventory, seating arrangement status, etc. for the store 16 where the store terminal 15 is installed. It is a terminal for The store terminal 15 includes, for example, a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, a tablet computer, and the like.

The automatic response device 12 (Interactive Voice Response: IVR) detects an incoming call, automatically establishes the call, plays guidance by voice, and responds to various calls based on the voice response of the user who made the call. It is an information processing device that executes processing.

Note that in FIG. 2, only one store terminal 15 is shown in one store for convenience, but there may be multiple store terminals 15 in one store, and one or more store terminals 15 may be provided in each store. There may be a store terminal 15.

Further, the automatic response device 12, the reservation central management device 13, and the web server device 18 may each be a server system configured with one or more physical information processing devices, or one or more virtual server devices. It may be a virtual server system configured by. Further, the automatic response device 12 may also serve as the reservation unified management device 13.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the automatic response system in this embodiment. The automatic response device 12 includes a control section 21 and a storage section 31. The control unit 21 functions as a setting unit 22, a call processing unit 23, a voice recognition unit 24, an automatic response unit 25, and a notification unit 26 by reading the program according to the present embodiment from the storage unit 31 and executing it.

When a store staff member logs in via a web browser installed on the store terminal 15, the setting section 22 causes the store terminal 15 to display a settings screen for making settings regarding the automatic response system, or displays information entered on the settings screen. The contents are registered in the reservation unified management device 13. An example of the content input on the setting screen is setting information such as whether to enable automatic response to the user using voice guidance. This allows store personnel to determine whether or not to enable the automatic response system while checking information on seat vacancies and busy conditions at the store.

The call processing unit 23 controls and transfers outgoing and incoming calls. More specifically, if the call processing unit 23 determines that automatic response with the user using voice guidance is set to be enabled on the setting screen when there is a call from the user terminal 17, Incoming call processing is performed to establish a call state between the user terminal 17 and the automatic response device 12. On the other hand, if the call processing unit 23 determines that the setting screen is set to disable the automatic response with the user using voice guidance when there is a call from the user terminal 17, the call processing unit 23 disables the call. Transfer to the store terminal 15 or the store's telephone. The call processing unit 23 also makes a call to the user terminal 17 .

When an incoming call is detected by the call processing unit 23, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the content of the call voice and the language from the signal received by the incoming call. Note that as a means for extracting language from speech, for example, a speech recognition engine such as a speech recognition API (Application Programming Interface) or a speech recognition library that is publicly available may be used. Further, the voice recognition unit 24 may be realized by voice recognition AI (Artificial Intelligence).

The automatic response unit 25 automatically responds to the content recognized by the voice recognition unit 24. Specifically, the automatic response unit 25 plays automatic voice guidance to the user terminal 17 through an established call, or forwards a tone signal transmitted from the user terminal 17 to the store terminal 15 or a registered telephone number. or Further, the automatic response section 25 performs a reservation process on the reservation unified management device 13 based on the content recognized by the voice recognition section 24 . When acquiring a reservation, the automatic response unit 25 transmits to the reservation unified management device 13, for example, the name input by voice input by the user, the contact telephone number, the reservation date, the reservation time, the number of people making the reservation, and the like.

The notification unit 26 notifies the user terminal 17 of a predetermined message by short mail service (SMS). Note that the SMS notification method is not limited to SMS, and notification may be made by e-mail or direct message (DM) service of social network service (SNS), for example.

The storage unit 31 stores information regarding setting screen data 32 and voice guidance data 33. The setting screen data 32 is setting screen data displayed on the screen of the user terminal 17 by the setting unit 22 via the web browser. The voice guidance data 33 is voice guidance data used by the IVR function of the voice recognition unit 24.

The reservation unified management device 13 includes a control section (not shown) and a storage section 41. The storage unit 41 stores a store setting information DB 42, a customer management DB 43, an inventory management DB 44, and a reservation management DB 45. Here, DB is an abbreviation for database.

The store setting information DB 42 is a database that stores information regarding the store and setting information of the automatic response system. The customer management DB 43 is a database that stores information regarding customers. The inventory management DB 44 is a database that stores information including the maximum number of reservable tables, the number of reserved tables, the number of reservable tables (remaining number of tables (table inventory)), etc. regarding the seats (tables) in the store. The reservation management DB 45 is a database that stores information regarding reservations accepted for each store.

The web server device 18 includes a control section (not shown) and a storage section 35. The storage unit 35 stores reservation site data 36 and online form data 37. The reservation site data 36 is data regarding a reservation site that is publicly available on a website. The online form data 37 is data for various input screens for users to make online reservations, change reservations, cancel reservations, make inquiries, etc. Note that the reservation site data 36 and online form data 37 may be stored in the storage unit 31 of the automatic response device 12.

Note that the automatic response device 12, the unified reservation management device 13, and the web server device 18 may each be a server system configured with one or more physical information processing devices, or may be a server system configured with one or more virtual server devices. It may be a virtual server system configured by.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a database managed by the reservation unified management device 13 in this embodiment.

The store setting information DB 42 includes "store ID", "store name", "customer information telephone number", "forwarding destination telephone number", "business hours", "allowable before and after hours", "voice automatic response flag", "minimum It includes data items such as "Number of people", "Maximum number of people", "Standard reservation slot time", "Reservation acceptance time increment", "Time reduction guidance flag", "Minimum allowable time", "Allowable time before and after", etc. Identification information for identifying a store is stored in the item "store ID." The item "store name" stores the store name. The item "Customer telephone number" stores the telephone number of the customer service desk. The item "transfer destination telephone number" stores the telephone number of the transfer destination. The item "business hours" stores the business hours of the store. The item "Voice automatic response flag" stores ON when the automatic voice response is to be enabled, and OFF when the automatic voice response is to be disabled. The item "minimum number of people" stores the minimum number of people for making a reservation. The item "maximum number of people" stores the maximum number of people when making a reservation. The item "standard reservation time" stores the reservation time (reservation time) that is set by default when making a reservation. The item "reservation reception time increment" stores the unit of time increments (for example, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.) when accepting reservations. The item "time reduction guidance flag" is set to "1" when time reduction guidance is provided to the user, and "0" is stored when time reduction guidance is not provided to the user. The time reduction guidance is to inform the user that although the reservation cannot be made within the standard reservation time, it is possible to make a reservation for a shorter time (minimum allowable time) than the standard reservation time. The "minimum allowable time" stores the minimum allowable time. The item "allowable time before and after" stores time for setting the desired date and time obtained from the user as the center and setting the time before and after the desired date and time as the search range. For example, if the desired date and time is 15:00 on September 10, 2023, the allowable time before and after = ±120 minutes means 13:00 and 120 minutes before 15:00 (i.e. -120 minutes before). It shows that it is 17:00 later (that is, +120 minutes later).

The customer management DB 43 includes data items such as "store ID", "customer ID", "name", "telephone number", and "email address". Identification information for identifying a store is stored in the item "store ID." The item "Customer ID" stores identification information for identifying a customer. The item "telephone number" stores the customer's telephone number. The item "email address" stores the customer's e-mail address.

The inventory management DB 44 contains information such as "Store ID", "Seat Type ID", "Date", "Time Zone", "Maximum Number of Reservable Tables", "Number of Reserved Tables", "Number of Reservable Tables", and "When Full Contains data items such as "flags". Identification information (store ID) for identifying a store is stored in the item "store ID." The item “date” stores a date. The item “time zone” stores the time zone. The item "maximum number of reservable tables" stores the number of reservable tables (upper limit number). The item “number of reserved tables” stores the number of reserved tables. The item "number of reservable tables" stores the number (remaining number) obtained by subtracting the number of reserved tables from the maximum number of reservable tables. In the item "full time flag", flag=1 is stored when the seat is full, and flag=0 is stored otherwise.

The reservation management DB 45 includes "store ID," "reservation number," "dialed number identification service (DNIS)," "outgoing number (automatic number identification: ANI)," "reservation date," "time zone," Includes data items such as "number of people making reservation" and "contact phone number". Identification information (store ID) for identifying a store is stored in the item "store ID." The item "reservation number" stores a reservation number for managing reservation information. The item "incoming call number" stores the telephone number from which the user called (for example, the telephone number of the store where the reservation was made). The item "calling number" stores the telephone number of the user who called the telephone number indicated by the called number. The reserved date is set in the item "Reserved date." In the item "time zone", the time zone of the reservation on the reserved date is set. The item “Number of people making a reservation” stores the number of people making a reservation. The item "contact phone number" stores the contact phone number.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen in this embodiment. When the store staff logs in to the automatic response device 12 using the web browser installed on the store terminal 15, the setting unit 22 displays the automatic response system setting screen 51 on the store terminal 15 based on the setting screen data 32. Display it on the screen.

The setting screen 51 includes a store name setting field 52, a business hours setting field 53, a customer information number (incoming call number) setting field 54, a forwarding destination telephone number setting field 55, an automatic voice response flag setting field 56, a minimum number of people setting field 57, Maximum number of people setting field 58, standard reservation time setting field 59, reservation acceptance time increment setting field 60, time reduction guidance flag setting field 61, minimum allowable time setting field 62, allowable time setting field 63, registration button 64, cancel button Including 65 etc.

A store name is entered in the store name setting field 52. The business hours of the store are entered in the business hours setting field 53. In the customer information number (incoming call number) setting field 54, a telephone number that the user calls when making reservations, inquiries, etc. to the store is input. The forwarding destination telephone number is entered in the forwarding destination telephone number setting field 55.

In the voice automatic response flag setting field 56, check the box to enable the automatic response system to accept reservations, inquiries, etc., and uncheck the automatic response system to not accept reservations, inquiries, etc. .

In the minimum number of people setting field 57, the minimum number of people accepted at the time of reservation is input. In the maximum number of people setting field 58, the minimum number of people accepted at the time of reservation is input. The standard reservation time setting field 59 is a setting field for setting the customer's stay time (standard reservation time) when making a reservation (for example, 90 minutes, 120 minutes, 150 minutes, 180 minutes, etc.) by default. be.

The reservation reception time step setting field 60 is a field for setting the time step unit (for example, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.) when accepting reservations. For example, if 15 minutes is set as the time increment, the times at which reservations are accepted are 19:00, 19:15, 19:30, and 19:45 in the 7:00 PM time zone. becomes.

In the time saving guidance flag setting field 61, a check is set to ON to enable time saving guidance, and a check is set to OFF to disable time saving guidance. In the minimum permissible time setting field 62, the minimum time (minimum permissible time) for accepting a reservation, which is shorter than the standard reservation slot time, is input. In the allowable before/after time setting field 63, a time is entered to set the desired date and time obtained from the user as the center and to set the time before and after the desired date and time as the search range. For example, if the desired date and time is 15:00 on September 10, 2023, if you set the allowable time before and after = ±120 minutes, then 13:00 and 120 minutes before 15:00 (i.e. -120 minutes before) Minutes later (that is, +120 minutes later) at 17:00 becomes the allowable time. When the registration button is pressed, the setting information entered in the input field is registered.

When the registration button 64 is pressed, the contents entered on the setting screen 51 are transmitted to the reservation unified management device 13 and registered in the store setting information DB 42. When the cancel button 65 is pressed, the contents entered on the setting screen 51 are discarded and the screen returns to the transition source screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an online reservation form in this embodiment. The online reservation form 71 is an input screen for reservations that is displayed when the URL embedded in the message sent from the automatic response device 12 to the user terminal 17 that made the call is accessed.

The online reservation form 71 includes a desired date input field 72, a desired time input field 73, a number of people input field 74, a course input field 75, an other request input field 76, a name input field 77, a contact information input field 78, and a registration button 79. , a cancel button 80, etc.

In the desired date input field 72, the date for the reservation is input. In the desired time input field 73, the time to make a reservation is input. The number of people making a reservation is entered in the number of people input field 74. In the course input field 75, a meal course can be selected and set from a pull-down menu. In the other request input column 76, for example, requests for courses, etc. are input. In the name input field 77, the name of the person making the reservation is input. Contact information (for example, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) is input in the contact information input field 78.

When the registration button 79 is pressed, the contents entered in the reservation online form 71 are transmitted to the reservation unified management device 13 and registered in the reservation management DB 45. When the cancel button 80 is pressed, the contents entered in the online reservation form 71 are discarded and the screen returns to the transition source screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an online form for changing or canceling a reservation in this embodiment. The online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation is an input screen for changing or canceling a reservation that is displayed when you access the URL embedded in the message sent from the automatic answering device 12 to the user terminal 17 that made the call. be. Reservation information registered in the reservation management DB 45 is displayed on the reservation change/cancellation online form 91.

The online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation includes a desired date input field 92, a desired time input field 93, a number of people input field 94, a course input field 95, an other request input field 96, a name input field 97, and a contact information input field 98. , a reservation change button 99, a reservation cancellation button 100, a cancel button 101, and the like. Desired date input field 92, desired time input field 93, number of people input field 94, course input field 95, other request input field 96, name input field 97, contact information input field 98, cancel button 101, desired date input field 72 , the desired time input field 73, the number of people input field 74, the course input field 75, the other request input field 76, the name input field 77, the contact information input field 78, and the cancel button 80, so their explanation will be omitted.

When the reservation change button 99 is pressed, the contents re-entered in the reservation change/cancellation online form 91 are sent to the reservation unified management device 13, and the reservation management DB 45 is updated. When the reservation cancellation button 100 is pressed, the information displayed on the reservation change/cancellation online form 91 is transmitted to the reservation unified management device 13, and the information corresponding to the information is deleted from the reservation management DB 45.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram when setting information is registered in the automatic response system in this embodiment. The store person in charge accesses the automatic response device 12 using a web browser installed in the store terminal 15, displays a login screen, and inputs the store ID and password. Then, the store representative can log in to the automatic response system (S1). When logged in, a setting screen 51 is displayed on the store terminal 15 (S2).

Store personnel enter setting information (for example, store name, business hours, customer information phone number, forwarding destination phone number, automatic voice response flag, minimum number of people, maximum number of people, standard reservation time, reservation (reception time increment, time reduction guidance flag, minimum allowable time, allowable time before and after, etc.) and presses the registration button 64 provided on the setting screen 51 (S3). Then, the setting information is transmitted to the automatic response device 12. When the automatic response device 12 receives the setting information, it registers it in the store setting information DB 42 of the reservation unified management device 13 (S4).

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram at the time of voice guidance in the automatic response system in this embodiment. The user uses the user terminal 17 to call the phone number (customer information phone number) of the store where he or she wants to make a reservation (S11).

Incoming calls from users are handled by the automatic answering device 12. That is, when there is an incoming call to the customer guidance telephone number (incoming call number) set on the setting screen 51, the automatic response device 12 reproduces voice guidance using the voice guidance data 33 (S12).

The user responds by voice according to the voice guidance (S13). The automatic response device 12 performs voice recognition on the voice from the user terminal 17 and acquires the desired time and number of people the user wants to make a reservation for. The automatic response device 12 searches the inventory management BD 44 of the reservation unified management device 13 based on the desired time and the desired number of people (S14), and obtains the search results (S15).

The automatic response device 12 responds to the user terminal 17 with voice guidance based on the search result (S16). In response, the user can also respond by voice (S17) (return to S13). S13 to S16 are repeated as necessary.

If the user's voice response is outside the range of automatic voice response, the automatic response device 12 sends a message including the URL where the online form is installed to the user terminal 17 by SMS (S111). Here, the online form is a general term for the reservation online form 71, the reservation change/reservation cancellation online form 91, the inquiry online form, and the like. Note that if the user's voice response is outside the range of automatic voice response, the automatic response device 12 may forward the call to a pre-registered phone number.

When the user receives the message, the user operates the user terminal 17 and clicks on the URL. Then, the user terminal 17 transmits an online form display request to the WEB server device 18 indicated by the URL (S112). Upon receiving the online form display request, the web server device 18 displays the online form on the display section of the user terminal 17 (S113).

The user operates the user terminal 17 to make a request to make a reservation, change the reservation, cancel the reservation, make an inquiry, etc. in accordance with the online form displayed on the display section of the user terminal 17 (S114).

When the web server device 18 receives a request to make a reservation, change a reservation, cancel a reservation, make an inquiry, etc., the web server device 18 requests the reservation central management device 13 to process (register, change, and cancel reservation information, or inquiry, etc.) (S115).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the main menu using voice guidance of the automatic response device in this embodiment. When there is an incoming call from a user to the customer information number (incoming call number), the call processing unit 23 detects the incoming call (S21).

Then, the call processing unit 23 searches the store setting information DB 42 using the called number (DNIS), and stores the setting information (store name, business hours, customer information phone number, forwarding destination phone number) corresponding to the called number (DNIS). number, automatic voice response flag, minimum number of people, maximum number of people, standard reservation time, reservation acceptance time increments, time reduction guidance flag, minimum allowable time, allowable time before and after, etc.) are acquired (S22).

The automatic response unit 25 reads the automatic voice response flag from the setting information and determines whether the automatic voice response flag is ON or OFF (S23). If it is determined that the automatic voice response flag is OFF (NO in S23), the automatic response unit 25 determines whether the current time is during store business hours (S29).

If it is determined that the current time is during the store's business hours (YES in S29), the automatic response unit 25 transfers the incoming call to the store's phone number (forwarding destination phone number) (S30), and this flow ends. do.

If it is determined that the current time is outside the store's business hours (NO in S29), the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to say, "The current time is outside store business hours. Please call again during business hours." ” (S31), and this flow ends.

If it is determined that the automatic voice response flag is ON (YES in S23), the automatic response unit 25 sends an initial message (for example, ``Thank you for calling. This is [〇〇 Dining].'') by voice guidance. play and respond to the user. In addition, in the part surrounded by [ ], the store name obtained from the setting information is read out by voice synthesis.

Furthermore, the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to select whether "I am making a reservation for a seat only," "I have a course or other requests," "changing a reservation, canceling a reservation," or "contact me." A message asking the user to select one of the options is played to respond to the user (S24).

In response, the user selects one of the options by voice. Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the language content from the received user's voice signal, and determines the option specified by the user voice (S26).

If it is determined that the option designated by the user's voice is "seat only reservation" (YES in S26), the automatic response unit 25 performs voice automatic response processing (S27). The automatic voice response process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B.

If it is determined that the option specified by the user's voice is not a seat-only reservation (NO in S26), the automatic response unit 25 performs an online form transmission process (S28). The online form transmission process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a detailed flowchart of the online form transmission process (S28) in this embodiment.

If it is determined that the option specified by the user's voice is "I have a course or other preference" (YES in S31), the automatic response unit 25 sends the caller's phone number ( A message containing the URL of the online reservation form 71 is sent to the incoming user's telephone number (S32).

When the user receives a message including the URL of the online reservation form through the user terminal 17, the user clicks the URL. Then, the user terminal 17 accesses the WEB server device 18 that stores the online reservation form 71 based on the URL, and requests display of the online reservation form. Then, the online reservation form 71 is displayed on the display section of the user terminal 17. The user operates the user terminal 17, inputs various information into the online reservation form 71, and presses the registration button 79. Then, the web server device 18 registers the content entered in the reservation online form 71 as reservation information in the reservation management DB 45 of the reservation unified management device 13, and also registers the content entered in the online reservation form 71 in the reservation management DB 45 of the reservation central management device 13, and also registers the content entered in the reservation online form 71 in the inventory management DB 44 in order to reduce the inventory of seats by that amount. Update inventory information. This completes the reservation.

If it is determined that the option specified by the user's voice is "change reservation, cancel reservation" (YES in S33), the automatic response unit 25 sends an SMS to the caller's phone via the notification unit 26. A message containing the URL of the online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation is sent to the number (phone number of the user who made the call) (S34).

When the user receives a message including the URL of the reservation change/cancellation online form 91 through the user terminal 17, the user clicks the URL. Then, based on the URL, the user terminal 17 accesses the WEB server device 18 that stores the online reservation change/reservation cancellation form 91, and makes a reservation online form display request (including the telephone number of the user who made the call). ) to send. When the WEB server device 18 receives the reservation online form display request (including the telephone number of the incoming user), it acquires reservation information corresponding to the user's telephone number (calling number) from the reservation management DB 45. The web server device 18 transmits a reservation change/reservation cancellation online form 91 containing the acquired reservation information to the user terminal 17.

Then, on the display section of the user terminal 17, an online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation, in which the reservation information is input, is displayed. In the case of changing the reservation, the user operates the user terminal 17 to input the items to be changed from the items displayed on the online form 91 for reservation change/reservation cancellation, and presses the change reservation button 99. Then, the web server device 18 updates the reservation management DB 45 of the reservation unified management device 13 based on the changed items, and also updates the inventory management DB 44 as necessary. This completes the reservation change.

Further, in the case of canceling a reservation, the user operates the user terminal 17 and presses the reservation cancellation button 100 on the online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation. Then, based on the changed items, the web server device 18 deletes the reservation information corresponding to the user's telephone number (calling number) from the reservation management DB 45 of the reservation central management device 13, and stores the deleted inventory as a vacant seat. The inventory management DB 44 is updated to return to . This completes the reservation cancellation.

If it is determined that the option specified by the user's voice is "Inquiry" (NO in S33), the automatic response unit 25 sends the caller's telephone number (the incoming caller's number) via the notification unit 26 via the notification unit 26. A message containing the URL of the online inquiry form is sent to the user's telephone number (S35).

When the user receives a message including the URL of the online form for inquiries through the user terminal 17, the user clicks the URL. Then, the user terminal 17 accesses the server device storing the online inquiry form based on the URL and requests the online inquiry form to be displayed. Then, an online inquiry form is displayed on the display section of the user terminal 17. The user operates the user terminal 17, inputs the details of the inquiry into the inquiry online form, and presses the send button. Then, the web server device 18 transmits the contents of the inquiry to the store terminal 15.

Note that instead of sending a message containing the URL of the online inquiry form, the automatic response unit 25 may forward the incoming call to the store's phone number (forwarding destination phone number), or perform the same steps as in S29 to S31. may be processed.

The automatic response unit 25 determines the success or failure of message transmission in S32, S34, and S35 (S36). If the message transmission is successful (NO in S36), the automatic response unit 25 ends this flow.

If the message transmission fails (YES in S36), the automatic response unit 25 determines whether the current time is during store business hours (S37). If it is determined that the current time is during the store's business hours (YES in S37), the automatic response unit 25 transfers the incoming call to the store's phone number (forwarding destination phone number) (S30), and this flow ends. do. If the automatic response unit 25 determines that the current time is outside the store's business hours (NO in S37), the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to say, ``The current time is outside store business hours. Please call again during business hours.'' ” (S39), and this flow ends.

12A and 12B are detailed flowcharts of the automatic voice response process (S27) in this embodiment. The automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing, for example, "Now, we will accept your reservation with an automatic voice" as a reservation acceptance start message (S41).

Next, the automatic response unit 25 plays a message prompting the user to respond with the desired date and time using voice guidance, for example, "Please respond with the date and time of your reservation at 6:00 p.m. in February." and responds to the user (S42).

In response, the user communicates the desired date and time by voice over the phone. Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the desired date and time designated by the user voice (S43). Note that if the result determined by the voice recognition unit 24 does not match the reservation reception time unit (for example, 15 minutes) (for example, 19:10), the automatic response unit 25 will change the desired date and time to 19:00. Please answer in 15-minute increments, such as , 7:15 p.m., 7:30 p.m. You may respond to the user by playing a message prompting the user to respond with the desired date and time again, such as "", and then perform the process of S43 again.

Next, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message prompting the user to answer the desired number of people, for example, "Please tell us the number of people in your reservation." using voice guidance (S44). .

In response, the user uses voice to tell the desired number of people over the phone. Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the content of the language from the received signal, and determines the number of people designated by the voice by the user (S45).

The automatic response unit 25 determines whether the recognized desired date and time is not a past date (S46). If it is determined that the recognized desired date and time is in the past (NO in S46), the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to send a message to the effect that the reservation is not possible because it is in the past (for example, ``The date and time in the past are different from the current time)''. "You cannot make a reservation by time." etc.) to respond to the user (S47), and the process returns to S42.

If it is determined that the recognized desired date and time is on or after the current day (YES in S46), the automatic response unit 25 determines that the recognized desired number of people is within a predetermined range (for example, within a range of the minimum number of people or more and the maximum number of people or less). (S48).

If it is determined that the recognized desired number of people is not within the predetermined range (NO in S48), the automatic response unit 25 sends an SMS via the notification unit 26 to the phone number of the incoming caller (the phone number of the user who received the call). A message containing the URL of the online inquiry form is sent to (S65). Note that instead of sending a message containing the URL of the online inquiry form, the automatic response unit 25 may forward the incoming call to the store's phone number (forwarding destination phone number), or perform the same steps as in S29 to S31. may be processed.

If it is determined that the recognized desired number of people is within the predetermined range (S48: YES), the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people (S49). That is, the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 for a vacant slot that corresponds to the desired date and time and has seats that can accommodate the desired number of people.

As a result of the search in S49, if there is a vacant slot corresponding to the desired date and time and the desired number of people (YES in S50), the automatic response unit 25 sends a message (by voice guidance) indicating that reservations can be made with the desired date and time and the desired number of people. For example, "We can offer you a seat at your desired date and time." etc.) is played to respond to the user (S51).

As a result of the search in S49, if there are no available slots corresponding to the desired date and time and the desired number of people (NO in S50), the automatic response unit 25 sends a message (by voice guidance) to the effect that reservations are not possible under the specified reservation conditions. For example, it plays "We are sorry, but there are no seats available for that time slot." and responds to the user (S52).

The automatic response unit 25 performs a reservation possible date and time proposal process (S53). The reservation possible date and time proposal process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 13.

Next, the automatic response unit 25 reads the reservation possible date and time proposal flag from the memory, and determines whether the reservation possible date and time proposal flag is 1 (S54). The reservation possible date and time suggestion flag will be explained with reference to FIG. 13. If it is determined that the reservation possible date and time proposal flag = 0 (NO in S54), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S65, and this flow ends.

If it is determined that the reservation available date and time proposal flag = 1 (YES in S54), the automatic response unit 25 prompts the customer to enter their name using voice guidance, for example, "Please answer with your full name." A message prompting the user to answer is played to respond to the user (S55).

In response, the user speaks his or her full name over the phone. Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the user's name (S56).

Next, the automatic response unit 25 plays a message prompting the user to answer the user's contact information (telephone number) using voice guidance, for example, "Please answer your contact number." , responds to the user (S57).

In response, the user communicates his or her contact information (telephone number) by voice over the phone. Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and language content from the received signal, and determines the user's contact information (telephone number) (S58).

The automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 again based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people (S59), and finds the vacant slots searched in S49, S73, or S78 (described in detail in FIG. 13). (S60). If there are no vacant slots searched in S49, S73, or S78 (NO in S60), the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to display a reservation failure message (for example, "We are sorry. We were unable to complete your reservation. We apologize for the inconvenience, but please make a reservation again.'') and responds to the user (S63). Thereafter, the automatic response unit 25 performs the processes from S71 onward in FIG. 13 until the process at S63 is repeated a predetermined number of times (for example, twice, three times, etc.) (NO at S64). When the process of S63 is repeated a predetermined number of times (YES in S64), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S65 and ends this flow.

If the vacant slot is still available (YES in S60), the automatic response unit 25 registers the reservation information (desired date and time, desired number of people, name, contact information) received from the user in the reservation management DB 45. Further, the automatic response unit 25 updates the inventory management DB 44 based on the reservation information, and reduces the seat inventory accordingly (S61).

The automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to notify the completion of the reservation, for example, "Dear [○○], we have accepted your reservation. Please be careful when coming on the day of your visit. Thank you for calling." The message is played back to respond to the user (S62), and this flow ends.

FIG. 13 is a detailed flowchart of the reservation possible date and time proposal process (S53) in this embodiment. The automatic response unit 25 initializes the reservation possible date and time suggestion flag to 0 (S71). The reservation possible date and time proposal flag is information temporarily held in memory.

The automatic response unit 25 reads the time reduction guidance flag from the setting information and determines whether the time reduction guidance flag = ON (S72). If it is determined that the time reduction guidance flag is OFF (NO in S72), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S78.

If it is determined that the time reduction guidance flag = ON (YES in S72), the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 based on the time period from the desired time on the desired day to the minimum allowable time and the desired number of people ( S73). Assume that the desired time on the desired date is 19:00, the reservation reception time increments are, for example, 15 minutes, the minimum allowable time is 60 minutes, and the desired number of people is 5. Please note that the reservation slot from 19:00 to 21:00 cannot be reserved because there are no seats in stock because the reservation slot is full. In this case, as a result of the search, the candidates for reservation slots (if 5 seats are available) are, for example, reservation slots for 19:00 to 20:00, reservation slots for 19:00 to 20:15, and reservation slots for 19:00. ~20:30 reservation slot, 19:00-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-20:15 reservation slot, 19:15-20:30 reservation slot, 19:15-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-21:00 reservation slot, 19:30-20:30 reservation slot, 19:30-20:45 reservation slot, 19:30-21:00 reservation slot, 19:45- A reservation slot for 20:45, a reservation slot for 19:45 to 21:00, and a reservation slot for 20:00 to 21:00 are acquired.

As a result of the search in S73, if there is no vacant slot corresponding to the time slot from the desired time to the minimum allowable time on the desired date and the desired number of people (NO in S74), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process in S78.

As a result of the search in S73, if there is a vacant slot corresponding to the minimum allowable time period from the desired time on the desired date and the desired number of people (YES in S74), the automatic response unit 25 uses audio guidance to select the desired date and time. A message is played to the effect that reservations cannot be made within the standard reservation time slot, but reservations can be made within the minimum allowable time (S75). For example, the message may be, ``We cannot make a reservation for 2 hours from 7pm, but you can make a reservation for 1 hour from 7pm.Do you want to make a reservation?Please answer ``Yes'' or ``No.'' ”

In response, the user answers via telephone whether he/she wants to make a reservation in the proposed time slot by saying "yes" or "no." Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the user's response (S76).

If it is determined that the user's response is “yes” (YES in S77), the automatic response unit 25 updates the reservation available date and time proposal flag to 1 and stores it in the work area of the memory (S85). With this, this flow ends. If it is determined that the user's response is “no” (NO in S77), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S78.

If you proceed to NO in S72, NO in S74, and NO in S77, the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 to find seats that are in the time slot before or after the desired date and time and that can accommodate the desired number of people. A search is made to see if the frame is vacant (S78). The time zone before and after the desired date and time is a time zone whose start time is a time that takes into account the allowable time before and after the desired date and time. For example, if the desired date and time is 18:00 on September 10, 2023, and the allowable time before and after = ±60 minutes is set, the time zone before and after the desired date and time is 1 hour from 18:00. This refers to the time slot from 17:00 before (ie, -60 minutes before) the standard reservation time slot, and the time slot from 19:00 to the standard reservation time one hour later (ie, +60 minutes later).

More specifically, it will be explained. Assume that the desired date and time is 19:00, the standard reservation time is 2 hours, the allowable time before and after is ±1 hour, the minimum allowable time is 60 minutes, the reservation acceptance time increment is 15 minutes, and the number of people desired is 5 people. Please note that the reservation slot from 19:00 to 21:00 cannot be reserved because there are no seats in stock because the reservation slot is full. At this time, the standard reservation slot time (2 hours) starts from the permitted time before and after the desired date and time (19:00) (i.e., 18:00) and the permitted time before and after the desired date and time (19:00) (i.e., 20:00). 22:00, that is, from 18:00 to 22:00, a time slot of the standard reservation time slot that can be reserved is searched. As a result of the search, the candidates for the reservation slot to be searched (if there are five seats available) include, for example, the reservation slot for 18:00 to 20:00, the reservation slot for 18:15 to 20:15, and the reservation slot for 18:15. ~20:15 reservation slot, 18:30-20:30 reservation slot, 18:45-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-21:15 reservation slot, 19:30-21:30 reservation slot, a reservation slot from 19:45 to 21:45, and a reservation slot from 20:00 to 22:00 are acquired.

If it is a time slot before or after the desired date and time and there is no vacant seat slot that can accommodate the desired number of people (NO in S79), the automatic response unit 25 ends this flow.

If it is a time slot before or after the desired date and time and there is a vacant seat slot that can accommodate the desired number of people (YES at S79), the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to provide a time slot before or after the desired start time. A message will be played confirming that the time slot is available and that you would like to make a reservation (for example, "We are available from 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Would you like to take the bait? Please answer yes or no.") , responds to the user (S80).

In response, the user answers via telephone whether he/she wants to make a reservation in the proposed time slot by saying "yes" or "no." Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the user's response (S81).

If it is determined that the user's response is “no” (NO in S82), the automatic response unit 25 ends this flow. If it is determined that the user's response is "yes" (YES in S82), the automatic response unit 25 uses voice guidance to send a message prompting the user to answer which slot to reserve (for example, "Reserve"). Please answer the time.'') to respond to the user (S83).

In response, the user answers via telephone which slot to reserve. Then, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and language content from the received signal, and determines the user's response. If the automatic response unit 25 determines that the user has responded, the automatic response unit 25 reproduces the message "I understand. Thank you" through voice guidance and responds to the user (S84). Thereafter, the automatic response unit 25 updates the reservation available date and time proposal flag to 1 and stores it in the work area of the memory (S85). With this, this flow ends.

Note that if the user's voice response cannot be determined, the automatic response unit 25 reproduces a message to the effect of "Unable to recognize" using voice guidance and responds to the user. Then, by voice guidance, the message that was played immediately before voice recognition is played again, and the voice recognition process is performed. playback and return to the process of S75). If the user's voice response cannot be determined even after repeating the prompting for re-response and re-voice recognition a predetermined number of times, the automatic response unit 25 sends an online form to the user terminal 17. (For example, online form 71 for reservations, online form 91 for changing or canceling reservations, online form for inquiries) can be sent via SMS, or the incoming call can be forwarded to telephone number) or may be processed in the same manner as S29 to S31.

FIG. 14 is an example of a configuration block diagram of a hardware environment of a computer that executes a program in this embodiment. The computer 201 may be the automatic response device 12 or the unified reservation management device 13, or may be the store terminal 15, the user terminal 17, or the web server device 18. The computer 201 includes a CPU 202, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, a storage device 205, an input I/F 206, an output I/F 207, a communication I/F 208, a reading device 209, and a bus 210.

Here, CPU (central processing unit) indicates a central processing unit. ROM indicates read-only memory. RAM indicates random access memory. I/F indicates an interface. The bus 210 may be connected to a CPU 202, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, a storage device 205, an input I/F 206, an output I/F 207, a communication I/F 208, and a reading device 209 if necessary.

The CPU 202 reads the program according to the present embodiment from the storage device 205, and when functioning as the automatic response device 12, for example, the CPU 202 includes the setting section 22, call processing section 23, voice recognition section 24, automatic response section 25, and notification section 26. Run the program as ROM 203 indicates a read-only memory. RAM 204 is a memory that temporarily stores information.

The storage device 205 is a device that stores a large amount of information. As the storage device 205, various types of storage devices can be used, such as a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), and a flash memory card. The storage device 205 stores programs according to the embodiment of the present invention and various data stored in the storage unit 31.

The input I/F 206 can be connected to input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, electronic camera, web camera, microphone, scanner, sensor, tablet, touch panel, and information reading device. Furthermore, the output I/F 207 can be connected to an output device such as a display, touch panel, projector, printer, or speaker.

The communication I/F 208 is an interface such as a port for connecting to a communication network and communicating with other devices. The communication network may be the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a leased line, a wired network, a wireless network, or the like. The reading device 209 is a device that reads a portable recording medium.

A program that implements the processing described in the above embodiment may be stored in, for example, the storage device 205 from the program provider side via the communication network and the communication I/F 208. Further, a program that implements the processing described in the above embodiments may be stored in a commercially available and distributed portable storage medium. In this case, this portable storage medium may be set in the reading device 209, and the program may be read and executed by the CPU 202. Various types of storage media can be used as the portable storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card, a USB memory device, and a semiconductor memory card. A program stored in such a storage medium is read by the reading device 209.

Further, the program may be installed on a stand-alone computer, or may be installed on a cloud computer to provide only the functions to the user.

According to the present embodiment, in the automatic response system, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a customer gives up on a reservation due to there being no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and to reduce the loss of opportunities to attract customers to the store. can.

In addition, in this embodiment, if a reservation cannot be made within the reservation slot for the user's desired date and time, some time slots within the reservation slot or reservation slots before and after the reservation slot are proposed, but this is not limited to this. Instead, for example, a reservation slot for the same time the next day or a reservation slot for the same time on the same day of the week next week may be proposed.

In addition, as examples of online forms, examples relating to the online form 71 for reservations, the online form 91 for changing/cancelling reservations, and the online form for inquiries have been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. An online form for booking confirmation may also be provided.

Although the present aspect has been described above based on the embodiments and modified examples, the embodiments of the above-described aspect are for facilitating understanding of the present aspect, and do not limit the present aspect. This aspect may be modified and improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and this aspect includes equivalents thereof. Furthermore, if the technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

1 automatic response system 2 storage unit 3 acquisition unit 4 determination unit 5 reservation registration unit 6 automatic response setting unit 7 user terminal 8 store terminal 11 automatic response system 12 automatic response device 13 unified reservation management device 15 store terminal 16 store 17 user terminal 18 WEB server device 19 Communication network 21 Control unit 22 Setting unit 23 Call processing unit 24 Voice recognition unit 25 Automatic response unit 26 Notification unit 31 Storage unit 41 Storage unit 42 Store setting information DB
43 Customer management DB
44 Inventory management DB
45 Reservation management DB

Claims (8)

When a call is received from a user terminal, using voice guidance, the user using the user terminal is prompted to input voice information, and based on the voice input, the reservation conditions including the desired date and time of the reservation are acquired. Department and
In the inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time period, search for a reservable vacant slot that matches the reservation conditions from the first slot of the time slot from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time, and search results , if there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time to the second predetermined time after the desired date and time plus the first predetermined time, based on the reservation conditions. a suggestion unit that suggests to the user, by voice, an available slot in a time slot that can be booked among the included slots;
An information processing device comprising: If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, the proposal unit adds the first predetermined time from a second predetermined time before the desired date and time to a second predetermined time after the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, among the frames included up to the time, an available slot for the first predetermined time that can be reserved is suggested to the user by voice. If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, the proposal section may make a reservation for a time shorter than the first predetermined time between the desired date and time and after the first predetermined time based on the reservation conditions. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus proposes a vacant slot in a time slot to the user by voice. The information processing device further includes:
a reservation registration unit that registers reservation information corresponding to the proposed vacant slot when the user makes a voice response indicating that the proposed vacant slot is to be reserved;
The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: The information processing device further includes:
When the user follows a predetermined voice guidance and inputs by voice that he/she wishes to take a course or other, a notification is sent to the user terminal that includes a URL of a website for inputting the course or other wishes. Department and
The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: The information processing device further includes:
When the user follows the predetermined voice guidance and inputs voice input to change or cancel the reservation, a message containing the URL of the website for changing or canceling the reservation is sent to the user terminal. A notification section to send,
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the information processing device comprises: to the computer,
When a call is received from a user terminal, using voice guidance, the user using the user terminal is prompted to input voice information, and based on the voice input, the reservation conditions including the desired date and time of the reservation are acquired. processing and
In the inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time period, search for a reservable vacant slot that matches the reservation conditions from the first slot of the time slot from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time, and search results , if there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time to the second predetermined time after the desired date and time plus the first predetermined time, based on the reservation conditions. A proposal process of proposing to the user by voice an available slot in a reservable time slot among the included slots;
An information processing program that executes. The computer is
When there is an incoming call from a user terminal, using voice guidance, prompting the user using the user terminal to input voice, and based on the voice input, acquiring reservation conditions including the desired date and time for reservation,
From the inventory information regarding the availability of seats at the store for each time period, search for available reservations that meet the reservation conditions from the first slot in the time slot from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time, and search results. , if there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions, based on the reservation conditions, from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time to the second predetermined time after the desired date and time plus the first predetermined time. Proposing to the user, by voice, an available slot in a reservable time slot among the included slots;
An information processing method for performing processing.