Customer-Enabled Evaluation and and Control of Communication Center Agent Contact

Abstract

A communication center has agents operating at workstations and enabled to interact with customers, a router for routing incoming transactions from customers to agents, and routing rule sets associated with specific customers. Individual ones of the rule sets include one or more contact constraints set by the customer associated with the rule set.

1 . A communication center comprising:
 agents operating at workstations and enabled to interact with customers;   a router for routing incoming transactions from customers to agents; and   routing rule sets associated with specific customers;   wherein individual ones of the rule sets include one or more constraints set by the customer associated with the rule set.   
   
   
       2 . The communication center of  claim 1  wherein constraints in the rule sets comprise preferences for contact or for avoiding contact with particular agents. 
   
   
       3 . The communication center of  claim 1  wherein, at the end of an interaction between a customer and an agent, the customer is advised of a mechanism for creating or editing a rule set relative to the interaction just completed. 
   
   
       4 . The communication center of  claim 3  wherein the mechanism for creating or editing is an IVR server with functionality for interacting with the customer. 
   
   
       5 . The communication center of  claim 3  wherein the mechanism is a web site. 
   
   
       6 . The communication center of  claim 1  wherein transaction may be real-time voice transactions or text transactions. 
   
   
       7 . A method for managing contact preferences in a communication center, comprising steps of:
 (a) providing customers during or after an interaction with an agent a mechanism for indicating one or more preferences regarding future contacts with the same agent;   (b) storing constraints input from customers in rule sets associated with specific customers for use by a transaction router; and   (c) using a customer ID, accessing the stored constraints by the router, and incorporating the constraints in routing in the event of a subsequent transaction from a customer.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein constraints in the rule sets comprise preferences for contact or for avoiding contact with particular agents. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein, at the end of an interaction between a customer and an agent, the customer is advised of a mechanism for creating or editing a rule set relative to the interaction just completed. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the mechanism for creating or editing is an IVR server with functionality for interacting with the customer. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the mechanism is a web site. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 7  wherein transaction may be real-time voice transactions or text transactions. 
   
   
       13 . A router for routing transactions to agents in a communication center, comprising:
 a mechanism for identifying a customer upon receiving a transaction to route;   stored rule sets associated with individual customers; and   a mechanism for finding a rule set associated with the customer who initiated the transaction, and for applying the rule set in routing the transaction.   
   
   
       14 . The router of  claim 13  wherein the rule sets comprise preferences for contact or for avoiding contact with particular agents. 
   
   
       15 . The router of  claim 13  wherein rule sets are initiated or edited by customers during or after interaction with an agent of the communication center. 
   
   
       16 . The router of  claim 15  wherein a mechanism for in initiating or editing is an IVR server with functionality for interacting with the customer. 
   
   
       17 . The router of  claim 15  wherein a mechanism for initiating or edited a rule set is a web site. 
   
   
       18 . The router of  claim 13  wherein transactions may be real-time voice transactions or text transactions.