TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to call handling methods and associated hardware and systems. Embodiments of the present invention find application, though not exclusively, in call centres and other establishments that typically process a large number of incoming calls. As used in this document, including in the claims, the term "call centre" is to be construed broadly so as to include any establishment that typically processes a large number of incoming calls.

BACKGROUND ART

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed in Australia or elsewhere before the priority date of this application.

One of the major issues associated with the efficient running of call centres is dealing with unpredictable levels of incoming calls and in particular coping with occasions of peak demand. It is known to make use of interactive voice response (IVR) technologies to conduct a degree of initial filtering and sorting. For example, incoming callers may be requested by the IVR unit to use the telephone's alpha/numeric keypad to select the particular service or topic that has prompted the call. In other implementations, voice recognition may be used for this purpose. This information is used by call routing hardware to route the incoming calls to suitable agents. Once the currently available resources of the call centre are fully utilised, the call routing hardware routes each of the incoming calls into at least one queue to wait for an agent to become available. It will be appreciated that it is highly desirable to minimise the time in which callers are left in such queues due to the risk that the caller may choose to abandon the call, along with the annoyance that may have caused to the caller by waiting for an extended time in a queue.

Some prior art systems attempt to deal with the issues outlined in the preceding paragraph by providing callers with an option to receive a call back once the current waiting time has elapsed. However, it has been appreciated by the inventors of the current application that in some circumstances this approach may be ineffective or even potentially detrimental to the overall efficiency of the system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome, or substantially ameliorate, one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a call handling method for use with at least one call centre having call routing hardware configured to route calls that cannot be immediately answered by an agent to at least one queue, the call routing hardware being configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in said queue are anticipated to be routed to an agent, the call handling method including the steps of: advising a prospective caller of the current average estimated waiting time;

providing the prospective caller with an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold; and

in the event that the prospective caller accedes to the option, providing the notification to the prospective caller at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold.

In one embodiment a web site accessible to the prospective caller is configured to perform the step of advising the prospective caller of the current average estimated waiting time and the web site is configured to perform the step of providing the prospective caller with the option to receive a notification. In this embodiment the step of providing the prospective caller with the option to receive a notification may include allowing the prospective caller to select at least one mode of communication by which to receive the notification. Examples of the selectable modes of communication include:

delivery of the notification via the web site; and

delivery of the notification via a mobile phone.

Preferably the web site is configured to capture contact details associated with a selected mode of communication. The web site may also include a suggestion that the prospective caller utilise at least one service delivery option that is an alternative to calling the call centre. Examples of such service delivery options include:

information accessible to the prospective caller via the web site; and

an online chat functionality accessible to the prospective caller via the web site.

In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a call handling method for use with at least one call centre having call routing hardware configured to route calls that cannot be immediately answered by an agent to at least one queue, the call routing hardware being configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in said queue are anticipated to be routed to an agent, the call handling method including the steps of:

receiving a call from a caller;

advising the caller of the current average estimated waiting time;

providing the caller with an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold; and,

in the event that the caller accedes to the option, providing the notification to the caller at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold.

A preferred embodiment of the method includes the step of capturing contact details associated with the caller in response to the caller acceding to the option. Typically the contact details will include the phone number from which the caller placed the call, with the caller's phone number being automatically captured by the call routing hardware.

Preferably the notification includes an indication that the average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold and a recommendation to call a phone number to access the queue.

In one embodiment the call routing hardware is configured to route calls that cannot be immediately answered by an agent to one of a plurality of queues and the call routing hardware is configured record the queue to which each caller was routed. In this embodiment the call routing hardware is configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time for each of the queues and the notification is provided to the caller at a time when the current average estimated waiting time for the queue to which the caller was routed has dropped below the threshold. Preferably the notification includes a phone number that the caller may call to be placed directly into the queue to which the caller was previously routed. Preferably the threshold is a user defined threshold value.

In one embodiment an algorithm is used to calculate a number of notifications to be sent at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold. Preferably at least one of the following values is used as an input for the algorithm:

a number of agents currently logged into the call routing hardware;

the current average estimated waiting time;

historical data indicative of previous responsiveness of callers upon their receipt of notifications;

predicted future system resources.

In a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a call handling system including:

call routing hardware configured to route calls that cannot be immediately answered to at least one queue, the call routing hardware being configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in said queue are anticipated to be answered; a web site hosting apparatus communicatively linked to the call routing hardware, said web site hosting apparatus being accessible by a prospective caller and being configured to provide information to advise the prospective caller of the current average estimated waiting time, the web site hosting apparatus being configured to provide the prospective caller with an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold; and,

in the event that the prospective caller accedes to the option, the web site hosting apparatus being configured to provide the notification to the prospective caller at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided call routing hardware for routing calls that cannot be immediately answered to at least one queue, the call routing hardware being configured to:

calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in said queue are anticipated to be answered;

receive a call from a caller and advise the caller of the current average estimated waiting time; provide the caller with an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold; and

provide the notification to a caller who acceded to the option, the notification being provided at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of establishing contact between a customer and a call centre wherein the call centre has call routing hardware configured to route calls that cannot be immediately answered by an agent to at least one queue, the call routing hardware being configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in said queue are anticipated to be routed to an agent, the method including the steps of:

communicating with a customer's digital device so as to cause the digital device to advise the customer that an entity associated with the call centre wishes to initiate a discussion with them and advising the customer of the current average estimated waiting time;

providing the customer with an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold; and

in the event that the customer accedes to the option, providing the notification to the customer at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold.

Preferably the queue is specifically used for customers that are responding to said method.

Preferably the step of advising the customer that an entity associated with the call centre wishes to initiate a discussion with them includes advising the customer of a topic of the discussion.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, provided by way of example only, together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic depiction of a first embodiment of a call handling system;

Figure 2 is a web site screen as depicted in the first embodiment to a prospective caller;

Figures 3 and 4 are examples of information that may be displayed to a prospective caller via the web site of the first embodiment;

Figure 5 is a flow chart setting out steps taken in the method of the first embodiment;

Figure 6 is an example of a notification that may be displayed to the prospective caller on the web site of the first embodiment;

Figure 7 is a schematic depiction of a second embodiment of a call handling system;

Figure 8 is a flow chart setting out steps taken in the method of the second embodiment;

Figure 9 is an example of an abandoned call report as generated by the second embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 10 is a screen displayed as part of an embodiment implementing the invention in an application executed on a mobile phone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to figure 1, the call handling system 1 includes call routing hardware 6 that is located at, or operable from, a call centre 2. The particular call routing hardware 6 used in the preferred embodiment is a Cisco PBX Precision Routing Engine, although it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be implemented using many other types of switches. The call routing hardware is configured to receive calls and utilise an interactive voice response (IVR) unit to screen and sort the calls to determine an appropriate agent to route each to. Once all of the available agents are taking calls, and therefore further calls cannot immediately be answered, the call routing hardware 6 is configured to route the further calls to at least one queue. Some embodiments make use of a plurality of queues, in which case the information determined from the caller by the IVR unit is used to determine the most appropriate queue in which to place the call. The call routing hardware 6 is communicatively linked to a server 3. In the preferred embodiment this link is via a communications network such as the internet 4, although other forms of communications link may be utilised.

Both the call routing hardware 6 and the server 3 are computing devices, each having a central processing unit, associated memory and one or more storage devices. In this patent specification certain processing steps are outlined as occurring specifically at either the call routing hardware or the server 3. However, it will be appreciated that in alternative embodiments it is possible to communicate data between the call routing hardware 6 and the server 3 and to execute many or all of the processing steps on either of the call routing hardware 6 or the server 3 and this patent specification, including the claims, is to be construed in this broad manner. For example, phrases such as "the call routing hardware being configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time", and the like, are to be construed as including the accessing of data relating to the current operational status of the call routing hardware by an external computing device, such as the server 3, with the calculation of the current average estimated waiting time being performed by that external computing device. Similarly, phrases such as "Server receives updated current average waiting time from call routing hardware" are to be construed as including "Server receives data relating to the current operational status of the call routing hardware and the server calculates the updated current average waiting time".

The call routing hardware 6 is configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in said queue are anticipated to be answered. In some embodiments this is a capability that is native to the call routing hardware 6. On other embodiments, software 7 is installed onto the call routing hardware 6 to add this capability. Yet other embodiments make use of a remote server that is communicatively connected to the call routing hardware 6 and which regularly monitors operational status data provided from the call routing hardware. In a typical embodiment this updating occurs every 6 seconds to 30 seconds. Receipt of this data enables the server to calculate the current average estimated waiting time.

In some embodiments the calculation of the current average estimated waiting time is equal to the average waiting time for the relevant queue as experienced by callers over a preceding window of time. In other more sophisticated embodiments, the estimate also takes into account predicted upcoming variations in call centre resources. For example, one embodiment has access to roster information to determine when agents are scheduled to go to, or return from, breaks, lunch etc. The calculation of the current average estimated waiting time is responsive the predicted upcoming variations in call centre resources. For example, a review of the agent roster may indicate that a number of agents are anticipated to return from a break shortly. Hence, the module of the call routing hardware 6 that is responsible for performing the calculation reduces the average estimated waiting time to account for the additional resources provided by the predicted influx of returning agents.

Throughout the operation of the call centre, the call routing hardware 6 regularly updates its calculation of the current average estimated waiting time. The server 3 receives regular updates from the call routing hardware 6 of the current average estimated waiting time and this value is stored in the memory of the server 3.

A web site hosting apparatus is communicatively linked to the call routing hardware 6 via the server 3. In a typical implementation of the first embodiment it is envisioned that the web hosting apparatus will be operated by one of the entities serviced by the call centre 2. For example, if a gas company is making use of the call centre 2 to receive calls on its behalf, then it is envisioned that the web hosting apparatus will host the gas company's publicly accessible web site 5. In this example, when a customer of the gas company wishes to make contact with the gas company, the customer can either choose to visit the gas company's web site 5, or the customer can use his or her telephone 6 to call the call centre. The former of these options is catered for by the first embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in figures 1 to 6. The latter of these options is catered for by the second embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in figures 7 and 8. However, if desired, the functionality of the first and the second embodiments may be readily combined in a single system.

With reference to the flow chart illustrated in figure 5, the first embodiment of the method of the present invention commences at step SI with a prospective caller choosing to visit the publicly accessible web site 5 of an entity that they wish to contact. The customer uses his or her internet-connected device, such as computer 8, smart phone, tablet, etc., to visit the publicly accessible web site 5, which makes the information illustrated in figure 2 available to the prospective caller. This includes an indication of the current average waiting time for the particular queue that is of interest to the prospective caller. In the illustrated example the current average estimated waiting time is advised to the prospective caller at window 9 and it is currently 8 minutes. The publicly accessible web site 5 obtains regular updates of the current average waiting time from the server 3, and this information is used to regularly refresh the indication provided at window 9.

Once advised of the current average estimated waiting time, the prospective caller chooses at step S2 whether or not to make the call to the call centre immediately. If the caller chooses to make the call immediately, the process flow proceeds to step S3 at which the prospective caller calls the call centre. It therefore follows that the caller has been pre-warned of the likely waiting time, which the caller has made a conscious decision to accept. Due to this 'buy-in', it is believed that the caller is less likely to be annoyed by the waiting time prior to the call being answered by an agent.

Alternatively, if the prospective caller does not wish to make the call immediately, because the prospective caller deems the current average estimated waiting time to be excessive, the process flow instead proceeds to step S4 at which the prospective caller may accede to an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold. In the running example the threshold as selected by the entity that the prospective caller wishes to contact is 2 minutes. This threshold is stored at the server 3.

The prospective caller accedes to the option by using an input device, such as a mouse, touch screen or the like, to click on the window 10 labelled "Click here so we can remind you when waiting time is less than 2 minutes". Next the publicly available web site 5 is configured to provide the prospective caller with an input means, such as a plurality of selectable buttons or the like. This is operable by the prospective caller to select at least one mode of communication by which to receive the notification. Examples of selectable modes of communication include delivery of the notification via the web site 5 and/or delivery of the notification via a sms message sent to the prospective caller's mobile phone. Once the prospective caller has made this selection, the web site 5 is configured to capture contact details associated with a selected mode of communication. If the prospective caller selects delivery of the notification via the web site 5, the web address from which the prospective caller has accessed the web site 5 is captured. If the prospective caller selects delivery of the notification via a sms message, the web site 5 prompts the prospective caller to input his or her mobile phone number.

At step S5 a message is sent via the internet from the publicly available web site 5 to the server 3. This message is coded to indicate that a notification has been requested and includes an indication of the selected mode of communication and the captured contact details. Upon receipt of the message, the server 3 establishes at step S6 a routine to monitor for when the current average estimated waiting time drops below the threshold. At step S7 an updated value for the current average estimated waiting time is received by the server 3 from the call routing hardware 6. At step S8 the processor of the server 3 compares the updated value to the threshold and, if the current average estimated waiting time is still greater than the threshold, then the process flow loops back to step S7.

If at step S8 the processor of the server 3 determines that the average estimated waiting time has dropped to below the threshold, then the process flow proceeds to step S9, at which the server 3 executes a routine to provide the notification via the selected mode of communication. If the prospective caller selected delivery of the notification via the web site 5, then the server 3 causes a notification 11 as shown in figure 6 to be displayed at the prospective user's web address as captured during step S4. In other words, the notification 11 is displayed on the prospective caller's internet connected device over the top of the entity's web site. If the prospective caller selected delivery of the notification via sms, then the server 3 causes a sms message to be sent to the caller's phone number (as previously captured at step S4). In either case the notification 11 includes a notice that the answering time is now below 2 minutes, along with the phone number for the prospective caller to dial.

As shown in figure 2, the web site 5 includes a suggestion that the prospective caller consider utilising service delivery options that are alternatives to calling the call centre 2. These alternative service delivery options include starting an online chat session by clicking on window 12, accessing online assistance information by clicking on window 13 or interacting with a virtual agent by clicking on window 14. Advantageously, the use of such options has the potential to drive down call traffic to the call centre 2.

At step S 10 the prospective caller is free to call the call centre 2 back, either immediately upon receipt of the notification 11, or at a later time as convenient to the prospective caller. The web site 5 can also include notifications relating to known problems or issues. An example of such a notification is given by figure 3, in which an electricity company advises prospective callers of a service disruption. Advantageously, this can also reduce call traffic as prospective callers may decide not to call once they are notified that the entity they had intended to call is aware of the particular issue mentioned in the notification. Notifications such as that illustrated in figure 4 can also relate to marketing issues, such as sales, etc., which may generate additional business for the operator of the web site 5.

The second embodiment as illustrated in figures 7 and 8 is a phone-based system that dispenses with the server 3 and web site 5 of the above-described embodiment. With reference to figure 7, this system makes use of call routing hardware 18 located at, or operable from, a call centre 15 upon which software 16 has been installed to implement the method shown in figure 8. As was the case in the previous embodiment, the call routing hardware 18 is configured to route calls that cannot be immediately answered by an agent to at least one queue and the call routing hardware 18 is configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in the queue are anticipated to be routed to an agent.

At step S12 of figure 8, the method of the second embodiment commences with the receipt at the call centre 15 of a call from a caller. If the phone number from which the caller is placing the call is available to the call routing hardware 18, it is automatically captured at this point and stored in the memory of the call routing hardware.

At step S 13 the call is answered by the call centre's interactive voice response unit (IVR). The IVR asks the caller various questions, to which the caller responds, for example by pressing the touch tone buttons of their phone 17 or verbally if the IVR supports speech recognition. The IVR unit decodes the caller's responses and either routes the call to a suitable agent or to a queue if no agents are available to take the call. In a typical call centre several queues may be utilised for various issues or call-types, in which case the call routing hardware is configured to determine a suitable queue for the call based on the caller's responses. The call routing hardware is also configured to calculate a current average waiting time for each of the queues. Additionally the call routing hardware is configured record the queue to which each caller is routed.

Once the call has been routed to the relevant queue the process flow proceeds to step S14 at which the IVR unit uses pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to verbally advise the caller of the current average estimated waiting time for the queue into which the caller has been placed. For example, the IVR unit may inform the caller that "The current answering time is 10 minutes".

At step S15 the rVR unit provides the caller with an option to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold, which is a user-defined value (i.e. in this context the user is the entity being serviced by the call centre). For example, the IVR unit may say to the caller "If you wish to end the call now and receive a notification once the answering time is below 2 minutes, press 1 now." If the caller does not press 1 within a predefined response time, the method proceeds to step S16 at which the caller is placed on hold until an agent is available to take the call. However, if the caller presses 1, the process flow proceeds to step S17 at which the call routing hardware checks if the caller's phone number was captured when the call was initially received. If not, the IVR unit requests the caller to input their phone number, which is stored in the memory of the call routing hardware. The process flow now proceeds to step SI 8, at which the IVR unit informs the caller that they may now hang up.

At step S 19 the processor of the call routing hardware 18 establishes a routine to monitor for the sending of the notification. At step S20 an updated value for the current average estimated waiting time for the queue to which the caller was routed is calculated by the processor of the call routing hardware. At step S21 the processor of the call routing hardware compares the updated value to the threshold and, if the current average estimated waiting time for the queue to which the caller was routed is still greater than the threshold, then the process flow loops back to step S20. If at step S21 the processor of the call routing system determines that the average estimated waiting time for the queue to which the caller was routed has dropped to below the threshold, then the process flow proceeds to step S22, at which the caller is notified. The call routing hardware looks up the previously stored phone number of the caller and sends a sms notification to the caller's phone advising that the call answering time has dropped below the threshold and recommending that the caller call the call centre back on the relevant phone number.

In one embodiment the phone number provided in the notification 11 is the general call centre phone number, which will be answered by the IVR unit and the caller must again respond to IVR questions in order to be routed to the applicable queue in the manner described above. However, in another embodiment, the phone number listed in the notification 11 is exclusively linked to the queue to which the caller was previously routed. Hence, when calling for the second time, it is no longer necessary for the caller to interact with the IVR unit before being assigned to the relevant queue. Rather, by calling the exclusively linked number, the caller is placed directly into the queue to which the caller was previously routed after receiving a short salutation from the IVR unit.

The second embodiment of the present invention also provides functionality relating to handling of abandoned calls. When a caller tires of waiting in a queue and chooses to hang up, the call routing hardware 6 is configured to maintain records of the type illustrated in figure 9. This includes the date & time of the call, the wait time, the queue, and the phone number from which the call originated. This information is presented to call center administration staff, and to the agents to facilitate the handling of abandoned calls. If desired, the administrator can click on any of the rows and allocate an agent to call the caller back. The agent need merely click on the relevant row to initiate the call.

Immediately subsequent to times of peak demand, it is likely that a large number of notifications may be pending within the system. In such circumstances, if, once the current average waiting time drops below the threshold, the system were to immediately send notifications to all of the people who requested a notification, then the call centre is likely to be inundated by calls from the recipients of the notifications. This would potentially cause the current average waiting time to rise quickly to unacceptable levels so that many of the people calling back would, once again, find themselves in a queue having an unacceptably long waiting time. To avoid this scenario, either the call routing hardware or the server 3 makes use of an algorithm to calculate a number of notifications to be sent at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below the threshold. In other words, rather than immediately send notifications to all of the people who requested one, the system will calculate a number of notifications that may be dispatched with minimal likelihood of inundating the call centre. The aim of the algorithm is to calculate a number of notifications that may be sent out without causing the current average waiting time to exceed the threshold.

The number of agents currently logged into the call routing hardware is used as an input for the algorithm, with a larger number of logged in agents being correlated with a greater number of notifications to be dispatched. The current average estimated waiting time is also used as an input for the algorithm, with current average estimated waiting time being inversely related to the number of notifications to be dispatched. Historical data indicative of previous responsiveness of callers upon their receipt of notifications is also used in the algorithm. This historical data may relate to the proportion of callers for the particular queue of interest who called back within a given time. The historical data could also relate to the average elapsed time for callers in the relevant queue to call back once they received their notifications. In either case, if the historical data indicates that callers for the particular queue of interest are likely to be very responsive to receipt of a notification, then this would correlate with a lower number of notifications to be dispatched and vice versa.

Another factor that impacts upon the number of notifications as calculated by the algorithm is the predicted future system resources. One example of this involves a comparison of the call centre's operational hours against the current time. For example, the system may access a database listing the call centre's operational times and determine that, for example, the call centre will be closing within 10 minutes of the current time. This would be correlated with the dispatching of a low number of notifications. Another example involves assess to agent rostering information to ascertain when agents are likely to go to, and return from, breaks, lunch, etc. If the rostering information suggests that the number of agents is likely to decline in the near future, then this would be correlated with the dispatching of a lower number of notifications and vice versa.

Expressed in more formal mathematical terminology, an embodiment of the algorithm calculates the number * ^{' c} P ^&mai s of notifications 11 to be sent out at a time when the current average waiting time has dropped below the threshold as follows: ώΤ - the interval that defines the frequency at which the system checks for the condition that waiting room notifications should be dispatched; it is expressed in minutes and the default value is set to min

.., ,ί^] is defined as i _t = έ _ε -_ _Λ AT _s i = 1,2, ... - discrete time in which the calculations are performed **** - the number of agents logged in at ^te

! - the number of calls waiting at ^r = ^{1 "} s - waiting time of the ^-th call at ^ with

"^- average waiting time at " ^έ - this value is calculated as ^{" i½} i - i.e. it is the sum for all call waiting times at ^Ϊε divided by the total number of calls at ^is talk time of the _' ^f -th agent at on the current call (if any) with ^

^{" ¾} - average talk time at ^li - this value is calculated as ^{' Λ} ¾ - i.e. it is the sum for all talk time of agents at ^r = on a call divided by the total number of agents on a call at ^r '

^ ifi .es - this is the threshold value configured by the entity's administrator; notifications are dispatched when ^1¾¾ drops below this value

^■ _ ^ _num ber of pending notification requests at "*

Let the current time be ^£ * and the value of ^shrers . This condition means that the algorithm should start dispatching the notifications (if any). The ultimate task of the algorithm is to identify the number of notifications 11 that should be dispatched at this time to ensure that when the callers start making calls into the call centre, the waiting time will not exceed

the optimal number of notifications to be dispatched at

The calculation of ^k **i»*∞w*¾ uses the following notations:

A T™ ¹

And by solving the following equation: ^i: - - is the theoretical number of calls that can be made into the call centre making sure that the average waiting time ^{¾¾+i ~ !} * ^{R 5S} . This said, - can be zero or negative, in the case there is no correlation between the number of calls waiting and the average waiting time at ^Γί .

To compensate for this boundary condition, we calculate this theoretical value as:

j * tick***!— 0 then _we set ^c-c pi— ^β meaning no notifications are to be dispatched at

To calculate the optimal number of tickets ⁱ to be dispatched at ¾ the system also compares ^! to ¹ by calculating another "delta":

Thus, if ^{^ Q} , the number of available agents at ^¾ * became less than the number of agents at ^ ^-1 hence the capacity of the call centre became lower compared to the previous observation period and vice versa.

To compensate for the change in the call centre capacity, let' s consider another value: ΔΤ

X = A A ·

The optimal number of notifications to be dispatched at ^is , therefore, can be calculated as:

\ ax.{x _sampi + Y _U Q} _> if (AT ≤ θ)

Another embodiment of the invention is implemented as an executable application on a hand held digital device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a lap top computer, or the like. For the following example we shall consider the case of a potential caller having a mobile phone onto which the application (or 'app' as it is commonly known) has been downloaded. The app is specifically associated with a particular entity that utilizes a call centre 2. As was the case in relation to previously described embodiments, the call routing hardware 6 of the call centre 2 is configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in at least one queue are anticipated to be routed to an agent, which is regularly updated. In this embodiment the current average estimated waiting time is maintained by the call routing hardware 6 in a manner that is accessible by the digital devices that are running the app.

In one embodiment, the call centre organises callers into two queues related to either ' Sales' enquiries or ' Service' enquiries. The call routing hardware 6 regularly calculates and updates a current average estimated waiting times for both the 'Sales' queue and the ' Service' queue. These two values are maintained by the call routing hardware 6 at a web site that is accessible by the mobile devices that are running the app. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments non-web based forms of communication may be used by the mobile devices that are running the app to access the current average estimated waiting times, such as communication via a cellular network, for example.

The app includes an option that the prospective caller may select if the prospective caller wishes to consider making contact with the call centre 2. When this option is selected, the app is configured to automatically access the two current average estimated waiting time values that are being regularly calculated and updated by the call routing hardware 6. For the sake of an example, we shall assume that when the app polls the call routing hardware 6, it finds that the current average estimated waiting time for the ' Sales' queue is 8 minutes and the current average estimated waiting time for the 'Service' queue is 12 minutes. These values are accessed from the call routing hardware 6 and stored in the mobile phone's memory.

Next the app generates a display as illustrated in figure 10 on the screen of the prospective caller's mobile phone. A ' Sales' region 20 is defined on the screen and a ' Service' region 21 is also defined. When generating the ' Sales' region 20, the app causes the processor of the mobile phone to access the memory location at which the current average estimated waiting time for the ' Sales' queue was stored and this value is inserted into the following indication 22: "current wait time 8 min". The 'Sales' region 20 also includes a 'TAP to call' region 23 and a "TAP to receive reminder when wait time less than 3 minutes" region 24.

When generating the ' Service' region 21 of the display shown in figure 10, the app causes the processor of the mobile phone to access the memory location at which the current average estimated waiting time for the ' Service' queue was stored and this value is inserted into the following indication 25: "current wait time 12 min". The 'Service' region 21 also includes a 'TAP to call' region 26 and a "TAP to receive reminder when wait time less than 3 minutes" region 27.

The display as shown in figure 10 also includes the following regions:

• an entity identification region 28 in which the entity associated with the app, and which may be contacted via the call centre, is identified;

• an advertising region 29 in which messages of an advertising nature are

displayed;

• a chat region 30, which, if touched, causes the app to enter a chat mode

allowing the prospective caller to send text based chat messages to a representative of the entity associated with the app;

• a FAQ region 31, which, if touched, causes the app to display a pre-defined list of frequently asked questions; and

• a social media region 32, which, if touched, causes the app to open a social media site, such as Facebook for example, associated with the entity.

The prospective caller now reviews the display as shown in figure 10 and decides whether his or her enquiry is a 'sales' enquiry or a 'service' enquiry and the prospective caller reviews the information depicted in the relevant region 20 or 21. We shall assume for the sake of an example that the prospective caller wishes to make a 'sales' related enquiry.

Hence, the prospective caller notes from the indication 22 that the current wait time is 8 minutes in this example. Thus advised, the prospective caller has two options. If the prospective caller touches the' TAP to call' region 23, then the app causes the mobile phone to make a call directly to the sales queue. Alternatively, if the caller presses the "TAP to receive reminder when wait time less than 3 minutes" region 24 of the touch sensitive display of the mobile phone, then the mobile phone app executes a routine that regularly re-accesses the current average estimated waiting time for the 'Sales' queue as it is regularly re-calculated by the call routing hardware 6. Each time that the mobile phone accesses an updated value for the current average estimated waiting time for the 'Sales' queue, the app causes the mobile phone's processor to compare the updated value to the 3 minute threshold. If the updated value is greater than 3 minutes, then the routine continues to re-access further updated values. However, if the updated value is less than 3 minutes, then the app causes the mobile phone's processor to provide the prospective caller with a reminder. In one embodiment the reminder takes the form of a display on the touch sensitive screen of the mobile phone, which indicates: "The wait time is now under 3 minutes. TAP to call now". If the prospective caller touches this region of the mobile phone touch sensitive display, then the app causes the mobile phone to make a call directly to the sales queue. Other embodiments make use of alternative types of reminders, such as audible alerts, phone handset vibrations, etc.

As compared to prior art systems that prompt the agents to call the callers back (such as the system disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 8,781,096, for example), it is believed by the inventors that the current invention has a number of advantages. The prior art call back systems prompt agents to call callers back at a time that may, or may not, be convenient for the callers. For example, the call back may be made whilst the caller is driving their car or in a meeting, etc. This wastes valuable call center resources. In contrast, the present invention provides a notification 1 1 to the caller and then leaves it to the caller to call the call center back. This gives the caller the freedom to call the call center at a time that is convenient to the caller.

The prior art call back systems effectively convert agents who are optimally used to handle incoming calls into agents either making outgoing calls or into agents answering automated outgoing calls. Whilst agents are making outgoing calls, there is a risk that the current average waiting time may increase due to the diversion of call center resources. In contrast, the present invention allows the agents to function solely as agents receiving incoming calls, which is likely to help reduce the queues during peak calling periods more efficiently as compared to the prior art call back systems.

It is believed by the inventors that the first embodiment of the present invention can help prompt happier customers because they do not have to call to find out that that the call center cannot service them within a time frame that is acceptable to the caller, because this information is made available at the entity's web site 5. This advantage is also applicable to the 'app' version of the invention.

Another embodiment of the invention may be utilized in a situation in which the call centre wishes to establish telephone communication with a customer. As was the case in relation to the previously described embodiment, the call routing hardware 6 of the call centre 2 is configured to calculate a current average estimated waiting time before callers waiting in at least one queue are anticipated to be routed to an agent, which is regularly updated.

However, in this case the queue in question is specifically utilised for customer's replying to contact requests issued by the call centre, which will be referred to as the 'customer contact' queue. The current average estimated waiting time for the 'customer contact' queue is maintained by the call routing hardware 6 in a manner that is accessible by the customer's digital devices that are running an app.

When someone at the call centre, or someone at the entity associated with the call centre, decides that they wish to contact a customer, they make an input into their

computerised system identifying the customer and providing a brief summary of the topic on which discussion is desired. The call centre's computerised system then accesses the CRM database to find the contact details of a digital device of the identified customer, such as their mobile phone number or an IP address by which to communicate with their digital device. The call centre's computerised system then communicates with the identified customer's digital device so as to cause the customer's digital device to display a message stating that the entity wishes to discuss the topic with them and advising them of the current average estimated waiting time. For the sake of an example, we shall assume that the communication is via an app that is installed on the customer's mobile phone. The app provides the customer with an option to either call the entity via the call centre immediately, or to receive a notification at a time when the current average estimated waiting time has dropped below a threshold. An example of such a message as received by the customer is as follows:

"XYZ Electricity Company wishes to speak with you about an unexpected blackout at your house. The current wait time is 9 minutes. Press 'here' to call immediately. Press 'here' to be notified when the waiting time is less than 2 minutes."

If the customer presses the option to call immediately, the app causes the customer's mobile phone to make a call that is automatically routed to the 'customer contact' queue. However, if the customer presses the option to receive a notification, the app executes a routine that regularly re-accesses the current average estimated waiting time for the 'customer contact' queue as it is regularly re-calculated by the call routing hardware 6. Each time that the mobile phone accesses an updated value for the current average estimated waiting time for the 'customer contact' queue, the app causes the mobile phone's processor to compare the updated value to the 2 minute threshold. If the updated value is greater than 2 minutes, then the routine continues to re-access further updated values. However, if the updated value is less than 2 minutes, then the app causes the mobile phone's processor to provide the prospective caller with a reminder. An example of such a reminder, which is displayed by the app on the customer's phone, is as follows:

"The wait time is now under 2 minutes. TAP to call now".

If the customer presses the region of the mobile phone's touch sensitive display associated with calling now, then the app causes the mobile phone to make a call directly to the 'customer contact' queue.

While a number of preferred embodiments have been described, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.