Method and system to contact a provider

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and a system to contact a provider via a Graphical User Interface (GUI) are described. The method comprises obtaining, via the GUI, selection criteria provided by a user with respect to a provider of a service and initiating a communication with a provider that was automatically selected based on the selection criteria. The method further comprises obtaining a further input provided by the user and communicating the further input to the selected provider.

1 . A method comprising:
 obtaining, via a Graphical User Interface (GUI), selection criteria provided by a user with respect to a provider of a particular service, the particular service associated with a plurality of providers in an on-line intermediary service;   using at least one processor, automatically initiating a communication with a provider automatically selected from the plurality of providers based on the selection criteria; and   obtaining via the GUI, a further input provided by the user; and   communicating the further input to the selected provider.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the GUI comprises a first screen to obtain selection criteria with respect to a provider of a particular service and a second screen to obtain further input subsequent to the initiating of a communication with the selected provider. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selection criteria reflects a price range for the particular service. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selection criteria reflects geographic location. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selection criteria is related to reputation of a provider of the particular service. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying the communication with the selected provider as a flagged type communication, based on the duration of the communication. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing information associated with the user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising making information associated with the user available to the selected provider. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining feedback from the user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the automatically initiated communication is a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) call. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by the one or processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 obtaining, via a Graphical User Interface (GUI), selection criteria provided by a user with respect to a provider of a particular service, the particular service associated with a plurality of providers in an on-line intermediary service; 
 automatically initiating a communication with a provider automatically selected from the plurality of providers based on the selection criteria; and 
 obtaining via the GUI, a further input provided by the user; and 
 communicating the further input to the selected provider. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the GUI comprises a first screen to obtain selection criteria with respect to a provider of a particular service and a second screen to obtain further input subsequent to the initiating of a communication with the selected provider. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the selection criteria reflects a price range for the particular service. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the selection criteria reflects geographic location. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the selection criteria is related to reputation of a provider of the particular service. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising identifying the communication with the selected provider as a flagged type communication, based on the duration of the communication. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising storing information associated with the user. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising making information associated with the user available to the selected provider. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising obtaining feedback from the user. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instruction data to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:
 obtaining, via a Graphical User Interface (GUI), selection criteria provided by a user with respect to a provider of a particular service, the particular service associated with a plurality of providers in an on-line intermediary service;   automatically initiating a communication with a provider automatically selected from the plurality of providers based on the selection criteria; and   obtaining via the GUI, a further input provided by the user; and   communicating the further input to the selected provider.