JP2004056192A - Reception system, reception method, and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To vent the irritation of a customer by allowing the customer to select an operator who is convenient for himself/herself and to watch the length of a waiting Q (queue) to judge how long the waiting time is for connection. <P>SOLUTION: This system is provided, in a server 13, with an image composing unit 23 for composing images picked up by a plurality of PCs into one image; waiting Q management unit 26 for individually managing connection requests to each of the PCs as waiting Qs and successively connect them to the PCs; transmission buffer 21 for inserting the waiting Q length into an image composed by the unit 23 and transmitting it to each of the customer PCs; customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 for monitoring to confirm that the customer PC is connected or disconnected; and reception PC connection monitoring unit 24 for managing to confirm whether or not a reception PC is connected to the customer PC. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a reception system in a call center where a plurality of operators perform reception or a reception system such as a consultation business as a business model and a reception method, and in particular, displays the degree of connection waiting congestion for each operator to obtain customer understanding. The present invention relates to an accepting system and an accepting method in a call center, and a program thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) has been used in call centers and the like. This is a device or an operation for appropriately distributing a call received at the representative number to a free operator. Incoming calls are evenly distributed to the operator, and the administrator has a function of monitoring the contents of the telephone call and collecting communication statistical information.
[0003]
As described above, in a call center where a plurality of operators accept calls, a method is used in which vacant operators at the time of an incoming call are sequentially selected and connected in a predetermined procedure. When there are a plurality of vacant operators, an algorithm is used in which the most recently connected operator is selected and connected, or randomly selected and connected. If all the operators are busy, it connects to the earliest available operator.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In this case, there is a problem that a customer who makes a call cannot select an operator. Further, a method of designating an operator who wants to make a call after being connected to a vacant operator can be adopted. However, in a call center, there is a problem that extra work of telephone transfer increases.
Further, the ACD device needs to be provided with a function of connecting a call to a line on hold, which has caused a cost increase.
Also, when the call center is congested, it is unknown how long the customer waits or how many customers have issued a connection request, and the number of the waiting Q is unknown. There was a problem of disappearing.
[0005]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these conventional problems, and when a customer makes a connection request to a call center, a list of operators and the number of calls waiting for connection for each operator can be displayed on the customer's PC. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving system and a receiving method capable of issuing a connection request after understanding the degree of congestion of a target operator, and a program therefor.
[0006]
Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm the operator with images and videos, and to frequently consult and make inquiries and understand the situation well, or how to respond to each customer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving system and a receiving method capable of selecting an operator and issuing a connection request, and a program therefor.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The receiving system of the present invention is a receiving system in which a server connected to a LAN is connected to a personal computer and a plurality of personal computers capable of performing voice and video communication via the Internet or an IP network. An image synthesizing unit for synthesizing an image captured by a computer on one screen, a waiting Q managing unit for individually managing connection requests to individual personal computers as waiting Q, and sequentially connecting to personal computers, and a waiting Q length And a transmission / reception unit that inserts the personal computer into the image synthesized by the image synthesis unit and transmits the image to the customer personal computer; a customer personal computer connection monitoring unit that monitors whether the customer personal computer is connected or disconnected; Computer It is characterized by comprising a personal computer connection monitoring unit accepts managing whether or not it is connected with the customer a personal computer.
[0008]
According to the reception method of the present invention, when the timer overflows, the storage contents of the reception personal computer connection monitoring unit are scanned, and if there is an empty / busy display 0, the storage contents of the waiting Q management unit are searched and the registered customer address is checked For example, the leading customer address is selected, the customer personal computer is connected to the receiving personal computer, and a connection start notification is received from the receiving personal computer, whereby the reception personal computer connection monitoring unit displays the empty / busy indication of 1 in the receiving personal computer. , The connected customer address is deleted from the storage content of the waiting Q management unit, and the customer address is deleted from the storage content of the customer personal computer connection monitoring unit.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a receiving system showing one embodiment of the present invention.
A customer PC 12 having a camera, a microphone, and a speaker and a reception center 11 having a camera, a microphone, and a speaker are connected via the Internet or an IP network 14. Note that a configuration in which the customer PC 12 is not provided with a camera is also possible.
In FIG. 1, the reception center is assumed to be a telephone reception system such as a call center. However, a business operator operating the reception center has a business model of in-band sales, customer care such as complaint consultation, mental health consultation, legal It is also possible that a plurality of responders, such as consultation, perform business corresponding to customers via the Internet.
[0010]
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the reception center in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a server 13 and a plurality of receiving PCs 16 and 17 are connected to the Internet or an IP network 14 via a LAN and a router 15. The server 13 manages the idle / busy management of the plurality of receiving PCs 16 and 17, manages the connection waiting Q from the customer, processes the connection to the empty receiving PCs 16 and 17, and combines the images from the receiving PCs 16 and 17. Be executed.
[0011]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the server in FIG.
The transmission buffer 21 and the reception buffer 22 are connected to a LAN.
The image synthesizing unit 23 synthesizes the video received from the receiving PC on one screen, and superimposes the number of customer PCs waiting for connection for each receiving PC managed by the waiting Q management unit 26 on the synthesized screen. A combined screen is created and transmitted to the customer PC. In addition, it has a function of superimposing only a specific receiving PC and the number of customer PCs waiting for connection to form one screen and transmitting the screen to the customer PC.
The waiting Q management unit 26 stores the connection addresses of the customer PCs waiting for connection for each receiving PC in the order of connection application.
[0012]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a table configuration of the waiting Q management unit in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the table of the waiting Q management unit 26 stores a receiving PC number and a customer address in the order of reception received by the receiving PC.
The connection address means an address on the LAN to which the specific customer PC and the server 13 are connected. By passing this address to a specific receiving PC, the customer PC and the receiving PC can communicate with each other.
The correspondence between the PC number in FIG. 5 and the physical ID (eg, Mac address) of the actual PC is separately managed inside the server.
[0013]
The reception PC connection monitoring unit 24 shown in FIG. 3 manages whether or not the reception PC is currently connected to and communicates with the customer PC. As a management method, by transmitting information from the receiving PC to the server 13 when the receiving PC starts or ends communication with the customer PC, the server 13 uses the table shown in FIG. Can be managed.
The customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 monitors whether the customer PC is connected to or disconnected from the server 13 in a state of waiting for connection to the receiving PC. A monitoring table inside the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 is shown in FIG. 7 described later.
[0014]
FIGS. 6 and 7 are table configuration diagrams of the receiving PC connection monitoring unit and the customer PC connection monitoring unit in FIG.
The table of the receiving PC connection monitoring unit 24 in FIG. 6 stores a receiving PC number and its empty / busy indication (1 or 0). That is, it becomes clear whether the receiving PC is currently connected to the customer PC and is communicating. Note that the empty / busy indicator 1 is closed, that is, communication is in progress, and 0 is empty.
7 stores a customer address, a connection request PC number, and a connection indication (1 or 0). When there is an incoming call from the customer and the customer selects a specific receiving PC, the control unit 25 shown in FIG. 3 writes the receiving PC number, the customer address and “1” which is a display indicating that the connection is being made in the table of FIG.
[0015]
The control unit 25 of the server 13 periodically refers to this table, checks the corresponding address, and if the customer PC disconnects, displays “1” in the table of FIG. To '0'.
FIG. 7 shows that the connection from the receiving PC number 1 to the customer address cn3 has been completed (connection display 0), and that it is currently connected to the customer address cn1 (connection display 1).
The control unit 25 detects the incoming call from the customer PC, transmits the composite screen of all the reception PCs to the customer PC to the customer PC, receives the reception PC selection information from the customer PC, and sends the customer to the waiting Q management unit 26. A series of controls such as registration of the PC, transmission of the image of the selected receiving PC and the waiting Q length to the customer PC are executed.
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a server showing another embodiment in FIG.
The difference from the configuration of FIG. 3 is that an image storage unit 28 for storing moving images and still images prepared in advance in the server 13 is provided. In the case of FIG. 4, upon receiving an incoming call from the customer PC, instead of synthesizing the images from all the receiving PCs and transmitting them to the customer PC, the image corresponding to each receiving PC is taken out from the image storage unit 28, This is combined, the waiting Q length of each receiving PC is added, and the result is transmitted to the customer PC. Further, upon receiving the receiving PC selection information from the customer PC, an image corresponding to the receiving PC is extracted from the image storage unit 28 and transmitted to the customer PC together with the waiting Q length. Other functions are the same as those described in FIG.
[0017]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the customer registration process of the server according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Here, the processing from the reception of an incoming call from the customer PC to the state of waiting for connection is shown. First, when there is an incoming call from the customer PC (step 101), the images captured by all the receiving PCs are combined (step 102), and the Q length of each receiving PC is inserted and displayed (step 103). Then, the image in which the Q length of the PC is inserted into the composite image is transmitted to the customer (step 104). When the PC selection information is received from the customer (step 105), the customer address, the connection request PC number and the connection display shown in FIG. 7 are registered in the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 (step 106) and registered in the waiting Q management unit 26. (Step 107), and transmits the photographed image of the selected PC and the Q length to the customer PC (Step 108).
[0018]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the PC connection process of the server according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Here, a process in the case of executing a connection between the customer PC waiting for connection and the selected receiving PC is shown. First, when the timer overflows (step 111), the content of the receiving PC connection monitoring unit 24 is scanned (step 112), and it is determined whether or not the empty / busy display is 0 (step 113). If there is, it is closed, so the process returns to step 112 and scans again. If it is “0”, the table of the waiting Q management unit 26 is searched (step 114).
[0019]
As a result of the table search, if there is a registered customer address (step 115), the first customer address is selected (step 116), the customer PC is connected to the receiving PC (step 117), and a connection start notification is received from the receiving PC. Is received (step 118).
As a result, the table of the receiving PC connection monitoring unit 24 is set to "1" (step 119), and the connected customer address is deleted from the table of the waiting Q management unit 26 (step 120). Is deleted from the table (step 121).
[0020]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process of updating a table of a customer PC connection monitoring unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Here, the update flow of the table in the case where the customer PC is disconnected before the connection with the receiving PC in the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 is shown.
When the timer overflows (step 131), the connection status is checked for each customer address in the table of the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 (step 132). If the customer PC is connected (step 133), the process returns to step 132 to check the connection status. On the other hand, if not connected, the connection display is changed to "0" (step 134).
[0021]
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process of updating a table of the waiting Q management unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Here, the waiting Q management unit 26 periodically checks the table of the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27, and when the disconnection of the customer PC occurs, deletes the address of the disconnected customer PC from the waiting Q table to be managed. Thus, the updating process is shown. First, when the timer overflows (step 141), the control unit 25 extracts the customer address and the PC number of the connection display 0 from the table of the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27 (step 142). The customer address is deleted from the corresponding PC number in the table of the waiting Q management unit 26 (step 143). From the table of the customer PC connection monitoring unit 27, all data of connection display 0 is deleted (step 144). Thus, the process ends (step 145).
8 to 11 are performed by the control unit 25.
[0022]
FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are a selection screen at the time of a customer incoming call and a connection waiting screen after selection.
FIG. 12 is an example of a screen when the customer PC and the server 13 are connected. In this example, there are three receiving PCs, and an image of the operator photographed by the camera of the receiving PC and each waiting Q. The length is displayed.
FIG. 13 is an example of a screen displayed on the customer PC after the customer selects an operator of the connection scale until the customer is actually connected to the receiving PC. In these examples, since the real-time video from the receiving PC is displayed, the sound is cut off. This is because, when the conversation between the operator and another customer is heard, the secret of the individual is leaked.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when an image storage unit 28 is provided in the server 13 and a moving image or a still image stored therein is used, appropriate audio information can also be transmitted to the customer PC at the same time. .
[0023]
FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram when a business model is constructed in the receiving center of the present invention.
When receiving the declaration price from another company 32 and receiving a request for transmitting a commercial image, the receiving center 31 transmits the commercial image to the customer PC 33 via the Internet or the IP network 34. In addition, the reception center 31 carries out original business such as customer care with the customer PC 33 via the Internet or the IP network 34.
[0024]
Examples of applications of the reception center of the present invention include a business in which a plurality of responders respond to customers via the Internet, such as customer care such as in-band sales, consultation on complaints, mental health, and legal consultation.
Further, the commercial image is stored in the image storage unit 28, and after selecting the receiving operator, the commercial image is displayed on the customer PC 33 instead of the image of the receiving PC, or the receiving PC image and the commercial image are divided into screens. It is also possible to display it. In this case, while operating this system, a declaration fee is received from a company that provides commercial images.
[0025]
The customer registration flow in the server of FIG. 8 or the PC connection flow in the server of FIG. 9 is converted into a program, and the converted program is mounted on a computer scheduled at the receiving center, and the program is installed or the network is installed. The present invention can be easily realized by executing a program on another computer by downloading the program to another computer via the computer.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a customer can select a reception operator that is convenient for him, and can determine how long a waiting time can be connected while looking at the waiting Q length. The convenience of the customer is improved, and the frustration of waiting can be eliminated.
Further, since the waiting Q length for each receiving operator can be known, a usage method of selecting the receiving operator having the shortest waiting Q becomes possible.
In addition, by constructing the receiving business as a business model such as customer care such as complaint consultation, mental health, legal consulting, etc., and in-band sales business, it is possible to receive declaration price, receiving fee and sales fee. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a receiving system showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a reception center in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a server in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing another embodiment of the server in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a table configuration diagram of a waiting Q management unit in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a table configuration diagram of a receiving PC connection monitoring unit in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a table configuration diagram of a customer PC connection monitoring unit in FIG. 3;
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of customer registration in a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of PC connection in a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of updating a customer PC connection monitoring unit table according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of updating a waiting Q management unit table according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a selection screen when a customer receives a call in the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a view of a connection waiting screen after selection according to the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram when a business model is constructed by a reception center according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 reception center, 12 customer PC, 13 server, 15 router
14 Internet / IP network, 16, 17 PC for reception,
21: transmission buffer, 22: reception buffer, 23: image synthesizing unit,
24: acceptance PC connection monitoring unit, 25: control unit, 26: waiting Q management unit,
27: customer PC connection monitoring unit, 28: image storage unit, 32: another company,
31: reception center as a business model, 23: customer PC,
34 Internet / IP network.

Claims (9)

In a receiving system in which a server connected to a LAN and a personal computer and a plurality of personal computers capable of communicating by voice and video are connected by the Internet or an IP network,
The server includes an image synthesizing unit that synthesizes images captured by a plurality of personal computers on one screen, and individually manages a connection request to each personal computer as a waiting Q, and sequentially waits for a connection to a personal computer. A management unit, a transmission / reception unit that inserts the waiting Q length into the image synthesized by the image synthesis unit and transmits the image to the customer personal computer, and a customer personal computer connection that monitors whether the customer personal computer is connected or disconnected. A receiving system, comprising: a monitoring unit; and a receiving personal computer connection monitoring unit that manages whether the receiving personal computer is connected to a customer personal computer. The receiving system according to claim 1,
The customer personal computer, which has received the image transmitted from the transmitting / receiving unit in the server via the Internet or the IP network, is displayed in the captured image by clicking the captured image of a specific personal computer connected to the LAN. A receiving system for notifying a waiting Q management unit in a server of a connection request to a specific personal computer. In the receiving system according to claim 1 or 2,
An image storage unit for storing a plurality of images connected to the image synthesis unit is provided. When one of a plurality of personal computers connected to the LAN logs in to the server, the image synthesis unit stores the image in the image storage unit. An accepting system for associating a stored image with a logged-in personal computer and synthesizing the image stored in the image storage unit. The receiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
After the waiting Q management unit in the server receives the connection request from the customer personal computer, only the image clicked by the customer personal computer and the waiting Q length held by the waiting Q management unit are transmitted to the customer personal computer. A receiving system characterized by transmitting. In a method for receiving a system in which a server connected to a LAN and a personal computer and a plurality of personal computers capable of performing voice and video communication are connected via the Internet or an IP network,
When the server receives an incoming call from the customer personal computer, the server combines the captured images of all the accepted personal computers, inserts and displays the Q length of each accepted personal computer in the captured image, and transmits the Q length to the customer personal computer,
When the personal computer selection information is received from the customer personal computer, the selection information is registered in the customer personal computer connection monitoring unit and the waiting Q management unit, and the photographed image and the Q length of the selected personal computer are transmitted to the customer personal computer. Receiving method characterized by performing. In a method for receiving a system in which a server connected to a LAN and a personal computer and a plurality of personal computers capable of performing voice and video communication are connected via the Internet or an IP network,
When the timer overflows, the storage contents of the receiving personal computer connection monitoring unit are scanned, and if there is an empty / busy display 0, the storage contents of the waiting Q management unit are searched. By selecting and connecting the customer personal computer and the receiving personal computer, and receiving a connection start notification from the receiving personal computer, the idle / busy display of the receiving personal computer connection monitoring unit is set to 1 and waiting Q management Receiving an address of the connected customer from the storage contents of the unit and deleting the customer address from the storage contents of the connection monitoring unit of the customer personal computer. A receiving program in a server connected by the Internet or an IP network together with a plurality of personal computers capable of performing voice and video communication,
When there is an incoming call from the customer personal computer to the computer in the server, a process of synthesizing the photographed images of all the receiving personal computers, and inserting and displaying the Q length of each receiving personal computer in the photographed image, Transmitting the personal computer selection information from the customer personal computer, registering the selection information in the customer personal computer connection monitoring unit and the waiting Q management unit, and selecting the photographed image and Q length of the selected personal computer. For transmitting to the customer personal computer. A receiving program in a server connected by the Internet or an IP network together with a plurality of personal computers capable of performing voice and video communication,
When the timer in the computer in the server overflows, a process of scanning the storage contents of the reception personal computer connection monitoring unit, a process of searching the storage contents of the waiting Q management unit if there is no empty / busy display 0, If there is an address, a process of selecting the first customer address and connecting the customer personal computer and the receiving personal computer, and receiving a connection start notification from the receiving personal computer, The process of setting the air / bus indication to 1; the process of deleting the connected customer address from the storage content of the waiting Q management unit; and the process of deleting the customer address from the storage content of the customer personal computer connection monitoring unit are executed. Acceptance program to let you. A method of receiving a business model by a receiving company that receives a connection request from a plurality of personal computers capable of communicating by voice and video via the Internet or an IP network, comprising a server and a personal computer connected to a LAN,
Perform customer care such as sales and complaint consultation, mental health, legal consultation, etc.
The commercial image requested by the company is stored, and after the receiving personal computer is selected, the commercial image is transmitted to the customer personal computer and displayed, or the image of the receiving personal computer and the commercial image are displayed. An accepting method characterized in that the screen is divided and displayed.

Images