Patent US2801818A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5818907A
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Method and system for automatically monitoring the performance quality of call center service representatives
Assignee: eTalk Corp
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Filing: 1997-08-04
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Granted: 1998-10-06
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Expires: 2017-08-04
Abstract
Abstract A method and system permit monitoring the performance of a call center agent or similar service representative in servicing calls in a call center by determining an interval within which to monitor the service representative's performance in responding to calls, as well as by determining a number of calls or length of time for monitoring the representative within the interval. The invention automatically and randomly determines the precise time within the interval for monitoring the agent for a pre-determined period of time or for a pre-determined number of calls and records the performance of the service representative at the automatically and randomly determined time with or without notification to the agent. The recorded performance may then be listened to and annotated by a call center supervisor. This provides the call center supervisor with an automated method and system for scheduling and monitoring the performance of call center agents or service representatives that is consistent and equitable among all monitored agents.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael J. Maloney
- 👤 David T. McCalmont
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 10:31
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07C; G07C1/00; G07C1/10; H; H04; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/22; H04M3/36; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/51; H04M2203/00; H04M2203/40; H04M2203/402; H04M2203/60; H04M2203/6018; H04M3/2281; H04M3/42221; H04M3/5175
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
62 words
A method for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in handling customer calls, the method comprising the steps of: determining for each service representative a maximum number of customer calls to be monitored; and automatically recording a number of customer calls less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls for each service representative in a memory in digital format.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
62 words
A method for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in handling customer calls, the method comprising the steps of: determining for each service representative a maximum number of customer calls to be monitored; and automatically recording a number of customer calls less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls for each service representative in a memory in digital format.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of randomly determining which customer calls to record for each service representative to be monitored.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of playing back the recorded customer calls at variable playback speeds.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of annotating the recorded customer calls by retrieving the recorded customer calls from the memory and adding data to the recorded customer calls.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of automatically generating periodic reports of a plurality of the recorded customer calls.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
70 words
A system for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in servicing customer calls, the system comprising: a processor for executing instructions, the instructions comprising instructions for determining for each representative a maximum number of customer calls to be monitored; and a recorder for automatically recording a number of customer calls less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls for each representative in a memory in digital format.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
70 words
A system for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in servicing customer calls, the system comprising: a processor for executing instructions, the instructions comprising instructions for determining for each representative a maximum number of customer calls to be monitored; and a recorder for automatically recording a number of customer calls less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls for each representative in a memory in digital format.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 6 further comprising instructions for randomly determining which customer calls to record for each service representative to be monitored.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 6 further comprising instructions that permit a user to retrieve the recorded customer calls from the memory and for adding data to the recorded customer calls.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 6 further comprising instructions that permit the recorded customer calls to be played back.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 6 further comprising instructions that permit the recorded customer calls to be played back at one of a plurality of different speeds.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 6 further comprising instructions for automatically generating periodic reports on a plurality of the recorded customer calls.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
105 words
A system for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in servicing customer calls, the system comprising: a supervisor workstation for executing supervisor instructions, the supervisor instructions comprising instructions for determining a maximum number of customer calls to be monitored for each service representative; a service monitoring control processor for executing service monitoring control instructions, the service monitoring control instructions comprising instructions for scheduling the recording by a recorder of a number of customer calls less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls for each representative; and the recorder for recording the customer calls for each representative in a memory in digital format.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
105 words
A system for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in servicing customer calls, the system comprising: a supervisor workstation for executing supervisor instructions, the supervisor instructions comprising instructions for determining a maximum number of customer calls to be monitored for each service representative; a service monitoring control processor for executing service monitoring control instructions, the service monitoring control instructions comprising instructions for scheduling the recording by a recorder of a number of customer calls less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls for each representative; and the recorder for recording the customer calls for each representative in a memory in digital format.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 12 wherein the service monitoring control instructions further comprise instructions for notifying the service representatives that the recording will occur.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 12 wherein the service monitoring control instructions further comprise instructions for randomly determining which customer calls to record for each service representative to be monitored.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 12 wherein the service monitoring control instructions further comprise instructions that permit a user to retrieve the recorded customer calls from the memory and to add data to the recorded customer calls.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 12 wherein the service monitoring control instructions further comprise instructions that permit the recorded customer calls to be played back.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 12 wherein the service monitoring control instructions further comprise instructions for reporting the recorded customer calls to the supervisor workstation.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
67 words
A method for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in servicing customer calls, the method comprising the steps of: determining a maximum number of customer calls to be recorded for each service representative; randomly determining which customer calls to record; and automatically recording the determined customer calls so that the number of customer calls recorded is less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
67 words
A method for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in servicing customer calls, the method comprising the steps of: determining a maximum number of customer calls to be recorded for each service representative; randomly determining which customer calls to record; and automatically recording the determined customer calls so that the number of customer calls recorded is less than or equal to the maximum number of customer calls.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of automatically generating periodic reports of a plurality of the recorded customer calls.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of playing back the recorded customer calls at variable playback speeds.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of annotating the recorded customer calls by retrieving the recorded customer calls from the memory and adding data to the recorded customer calls.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
80 words
A method for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in handling customer calls, the method comprising: determining for each service representative a maximum number of customer calls to monitor; selecting a voice file associated with the service representative; selecting a customer call to record; recording the customer call in the voice file; repeating the steps of selecting and recording for each customer call to monitor; and closing the voice file if the maximum number of customer calls have been recorded.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
80 words
A method for monitoring a plurality of service representatives in handling customer calls, the method comprising: determining for each service representative a maximum number of customer calls to monitor; selecting a voice file associated with the service representative; selecting a customer call to record; recording the customer call in the voice file; repeating the steps of selecting and recording for each customer call to monitor; and closing the voice file if the maximum number of customer calls have been recorded.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining a maximum monitoring length; and closing the voice file if the maximum monitoring length has been reached.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining a maximum monitoring length; and closing the voice file if the maximum monitoring length has been reached, wherein the maximum monitoring length is reached before the maximum number of customer calls have been recorded.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining a maximum monitoring length; determining that the maximum monitoring length has been reached during the recording of a particular customer call; and closing the voice file after recording the particular customer call.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining a maximum monitoring length; determining that the maximum monitoring length has been reached during the recording of a particular customer call and before the maximum number of customer calls have been recorded; and closing the voice file after recording the particular customer call.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 22, wherein the step of selecting a customer call comprises randomly selecting the customer call to record.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising accessing the voice tile and playing back the recorded customer calls at variable playback speeds.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising: retrieving a selected recorded customer call from the voice file; and adding data to the selected recorded customer call.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 22, further comprising generating periodic reports of a plurality of the recorded customer calls.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 22, wherein the voice file comprises a memory in digital format.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 22, wherein the step of selecting a customer call comprises detecting the connection of a customer call to the service representative.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-10-05 | 2002-04-06 | 2002-10-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-10-05 | 2006-04-06 | 2006-10-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-10-05 | 2010-04-06 | 2010-10-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |