Calling center employing unified control system

Claim 2

The system as recited in Claim 1 further comprising a dialer to thereby allow said system to place outbound calls to said third parties.

Claim 3

The system as recited in Claim 1 wherein said unified controlling means resides within a common memory and is under control of a common processor, said unified controlling means capable of controlling both said mechanized communication and said interaction with said agent.

Claim 4

The system as recited in Claim 1 wherein said system is adapted to interact with a host computer to thereby allow said system to retrieve data from a database within said host computer, said data employable in said communication with said party.

Claim 5

The system as recited in Claim 1 further comprising: means for creating a single record containing data gathered during said call; and means for storing data pertaining to said call in said single record throughout a duration of said call, said data gathered from said functional partitions within said system to thereby eliminate a need to gather a particular datum multiple times during said call.

Claim 6

The system as recited in Claim 5 wherein said agent workstation is capable of displaying portions of said record to said agent.

Claim 7

An integrated telephone call handling system, comprising: a telephone line coupling said system with a telephone network to thereby allow communication between said system and parties via said network; a plurality of functional partitions within a common memory and under control of a common processor, said functional partitions capable of providing mechanized communication with said parties via said system and said network, said communication comprising data selected from the group consisting of: voice, text and image data; a plurality of agent workstations and agent telephones coupled to said system, said workstations and telephones capable of providing agent communication with said parties via said system and said network; a unified controller within said system for controlling calls between said system and said parties, said controller (1) capable of transferring said calls among said functional partitions and agent workstations and telephones, (2) capable of directing communications between said parties and functional partitions and (3) capable of directing communications between said parties and said agent workstations and agent telephones, said controller including a unified script language to thereby allow unified scripting of a call from inception to termination, including scripting of interaction between said parties and agents.

Claim 8

An integrated telephone call handling system, comprising: a common memory for storing data selected from the group consisting of: voice, text and image data; a common processor for accessing said common memory to thereby provide communication with a caller via a telephone exchange coupled to said processor in a system mode selected from the group consisting of: mail, interactive and bulletin; a telephone instrument coupled to said system to permit said agent to speak to said caller, said instrument permitting communication between an agent and said caller during communication between said system and said caller; means for creating a single record containing data gathered during a single call session; and means for storing data pertaining to said single call session in said single record throughout a duration of said call, said data gathered from a plurality of functional partitions within said system to thereby eliminate a need to gather a particular datum multiple times during said single call.

Claim 9

In a communications system having (1) an agent for communicating with inquiring parties, (2) a database of information pertaining to accounts of said parties and (3) call completion capability for terminating calls to a plurality of different call terminations, said terminations including automated data response for obtaining information from a selected one of said accounts, a control unit for answering calls from said inquiring parties and for directing any of said calls to a selected one of said call terminations, comprising: means for (1) interactively communicating with one of said parties to determine which call termination is required, (2) establishing a first call termination with respect to said one of said parties and (3) transferring to said first call termination any data obtained with respect to said one of said parties; means for continuing to monitor established communication connections to permit modification of said first call termination when said one of said parties desires connection to a second call termination; means for transferring to said second call termination said any data obtained with respect to said one of said parties and any data obtained during said first call termination; and wherein said first call termination is a data response and wherein said second call termination is to said agent, said system further including means, associated with said agent, for providing selected account information to said agent when said agent becomes connected to said one of said parties and wherein said communicating means includes means for providing a preselected portion of said one of said parties's account data to said agent concurrent with said transferring of said second call termination to said agent, said preselected portion including a portion of said any data obtained with respect to said one of said parties.

Claim 10

In a communications system having (1) an agent for communicating with inquiring parties, (2) a database of information pertaining to accounts of said parties and (3) call completion capability for terminating calls to a plurality of different call terminations, said terminations including automated data response for obtaining information from a selected one of said accounts, a method of answering calls from said inquiring parties and of directing any of said calls to a selected one of said call terminations, comprising the steps of: interactively communicating with one of said parties to determine which call termination is required; establishing a first call termination with respect to said one of said parties; transferring to said first call termination any data obtained with respect to said one of said parties; continuing to monitor established communication connections to permit modification of said first call termination when said one of said parties desires connection to a second call termination; and transferring to said second call termination said any data obtained with respect to said one of said parties and any data obtained during said first call termination.