Information processing device, information processing program, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide an information processing device and method and an information processing program that reduces a chance of a user abandoning a reservation because of absence of a reservable free quota conforming to the reservation condition of a user and provide automatic answering technology for reducing losses of opportunity to attract customers.SOLUTION: The information processing device comprises: an acquisition unit for prompting voice input by a user using a user terminal by using voice guidance when there is an incoming call from a user terminal, and acquiring a reservation condition including a desired date and time at which a reservation is desired, on the basis of voice input; and a proposition unit for searching for a reservable free quota matching the reservation condition from a first quota in a time slot from the desired date and time to a first prescribed time in stock information pertaining to the occupancy state of seats in a store per time slot, and when there is no free quota matching the reservation condition as the result of search, proposing a free quota in a reservable time slot, out of quotas from before a second prescribed time of the desired date and time to after the second prescribed time of the desired date and time plus a first prescribed time, to the user by voice on the basis of the reservation condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing program, and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of communication technology, a reservation system has been disclosed that connects to the Internet and reserves seats at stores, event venues, etc., via, for example, a website (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, a user can make a reservation for a store by accessing a web server device that manages the website using a user terminal such as a personal computer (PC), smartphone, or tablet terminal, and inputting the information required for the reservation.

[0003] Furthermore, in recent years, in order to efficiently handle the increasing number of orders, registrations, inquiries, and the like from customers, companies have disclosed automatic response systems in call centers that receive calls from customers and perform interactive voice response (IVR) (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The automatic response system responds to inquiries by phone from customers and plays back audio guidance. The customer operates the push buttons following the audio guidance.

[0004] Also, a reservation system that makes a reservation based on the voice spoken by a user has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3). The reservation system includes a voice input unit that acquires the voice spoken by a user, a voice recognition unit that extracts words related to a reservation from the voice acquired by the voice input unit, a storage unit that stores rule data for determining candidates for reservation targets corresponding to the user's voice from the words related to the reservation, a candidate determination unit that determines one or more candidates for the reservation targets from the words extracted by the voice recognition unit by referring to the rule data, and a reservation agent unit that makes a reservation for the one or more determined candidates for the reservation targets.

[0005] Also disclosed is a reservation management program that handles reservations based on the contents of a telephone call made by a person wishing to make a reservation and notifies a store manager of the reservation contents (see, for example, Patent Document 4). The reservation management program causes a computer to function as a voice recognition means that recognizes telephone conversation voices, a response content selection means that selects response contents based on the recognized voice, a reservation information extraction means that extracts information necessary for making a reservation at a facility as reservation information from information recognized by the voice recognition means, a reservation availability determination means that compares the reservation information with reservation status information in which the reservation status of the facility is recorded to determine whether or not the reservation can be made, and a reservation information transmission means that transmits the reservation information to a terminal at the facility when the reservation availability determination means determines that the reservation is available.

[0006] Also, a reservation device that can make a reservation by telephone without the intervention of a user has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 5). The reservation device that acts as an agent for making a reservation to a store has an acquisition means for acquiring user information associated with the user making the reservation, and an interaction means for making a reservation to a person in charge of the store by engaging in a dialogue in natural language, and the interaction means generates a first sentence to be transmitted to the store based on the user information, transmits a voice synthesized based on the first sentence to the store via a telephone line, generates an interaction result based on a result of recognizing the voice acquired via the telephone line, and provides the result to the user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6298564 [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-023017 A [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2021-96732 [Patent Document 4] Patent Publication No. 2021-22021 [Patent Document 5] JP 2017-228221 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] When a customer calls to make a reservation at a store such as a restaurant that has an automatic response system for accepting reservations, the automatic response system receives the customer's desired date and time and the desired number of people and registers them as reservation information.

[0009] However, if the reservation slots for the time slot that matches the received desired date and time and number of people are already filled and there are no seats in stock, the automated response system will automatically respond to the customer with a message that the reservation cannot be made. The customer will then either specify a different time slot as the new desired date and time and make a new reservation, or give up on the reservation at that store. This means that the store will miss an opportunity to attract customers. Also, for the customer, if there are available slots for reservations in the time slots before or after the original desired date and time, they may make a reservation, assuming that it is acceptable to make a reservation from, for example, 30 minutes before or after.

[0010] Therefore, the present invention provides an automatic response technique that reduces the number of times a customer gives up on a reservation because there are no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and reduces the loss of opportunities for a store to attract customers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises an acquisition unit that, when an incoming call is received from a user terminal, uses voice guidance to prompt a user using the user terminal to make voice input, and acquires reservation conditions including a desired date and time for making a reservation based on the voice input, and a suggestion unit that searches for available reservable slots that meet the reservation conditions from a first slot in a time slot from the desired date and time to a first specified time in inventory information regarding the availability of seats in a store for each time slot, and if the search results in no available slots that meet the reservation conditions, suggests to the user by voice an available reservable slot in a time slot from among slots that are included in the period from a second specified time before the desired date and time to a time after the second specified time of the desired date and time plus the first specified time, based on the reservation conditions.

[0012] When there are no available slots that meet the reservation conditions, the suggestion unit voice-suggests to the user an available slot for the first specified time that can be reserved based on the reservation conditions from among slots that fall between a second specified time before the desired date and time and a time that is between the second specified time after the desired date and time plus the first specified time.

[0013] The suggestion unit is characterized in that, when there are no available slots that meet the reservation conditions, it suggests to the user via voice an available slot for a time period that can be reserved based on the reservation conditions between the desired date and time and the first specified time and that is shorter than the first specified time.

[0014] The information processing device is further characterized by having a reservation registration unit that registers reservation information corresponding to the proposed available slot when the user responds by voice to the effect that he or she will make a reservation for the proposed available slot.

[0015] The information processing device is further characterized by having a notification unit that, when the user follows predetermined voice guidance and voice-inputs a course or other preference, sends a message to the user terminal including the URL of a website for inputting the course or other preference.

[0016] The information processing device is further characterized by having a notification unit that, when the user follows predetermined voice guidance and voice inputs that there is a change or cancellation of the reservation, sends a message including the URL of a website for changing or canceling the reservation to the user terminal.

[0017] An automatic answering program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute, when an incoming call is received from a user terminal, an acquisition process which uses voice guidance to prompt the user using the user terminal to make voice input, and acquires reservation conditions including a desired date and time for the reservation and the desired number of people based on the voice input, and a proposal process which searches for available reservation slots that meet the desired conditions from inventory information regarding the availability of seats in the store for each time period, and if there are no available reservation slots that meet the desired conditions, propose to the user via voice an available reservation time slot based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people.

[0018] In an automatic response method according to one aspect of the present invention, when a computer receives an incoming call from a user terminal, it uses voice guidance to prompt the user of the user terminal to make voice input, and based on the voice input, it obtains reservation conditions including the desired date and time for the reservation and the desired number of people, searches for available reservation slots that meet the desired conditions from inventory information regarding the availability of seats in the store for each time period, and if there are no available reservation slots that meet the desired conditions, suggests to the user via voice a available reservation time slot based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to an information processing technique relating to one aspect of the present invention, in an automatic response system, it is possible to reduce the number of times a customer gives up on a reservation because there are no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and to reduce the loss of opportunities for a store to attract customers. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram showing an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an automatic response system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a functional block diagram of an automatic response system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a database managed by a reservation central management device 13 in this embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an online reservation form in the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an online form for changing or canceling a reservation in this embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process for registering setting information in the automatic response system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of voice guidance in the automatic answering system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart of a main menu by voice guidance of the automatic answering device in the present embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a detailed flowchart of online form transmission processing (S28) in this embodiment. [Figure 12A] 13 is a detailed flowchart (part 1) of the automatic voice response process (S27) in this embodiment. [Figure 12B] 13 is a detailed flowchart (part 2) of the automatic voice response process (S27) in this embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a detailed flowchart of available reservation date and time suggestion processing (S53) in this embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hardware environment of a computer that executes a program according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] 1 is a diagram showing an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention. The information processing device 1 includes an acquisition unit 2, a proposal unit 3, and a reservation registration unit 4. An example of the information processing device 1 is an automatic response device 12, which will be described later.

[0022] When receiving an incoming call from a user terminal, the acquisition unit 2 uses voice guidance to prompt the user of the user terminal to input voice, and acquires reservation conditions including a desired date and time for making a reservation based on the voice input. Examples of the acquisition unit 2 include a voice recognition unit 24 and an automatic response unit 25, which will be described later. An example of a user terminal is a user terminal 17, which will be described later.

[0023] The suggestion unit 3 searches for a reservable vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions from the first slot of the time slot from the desired date and time to the first predetermined time (standard reservation slot time) in the inventory information related to the availability of seats in the store for each time slot. If there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions as a result of the search, the suggestion unit 3 proposes to the user by voice a vacant slot in a time slot that can be reserved from among slots included from before the desired date and time to the time after the second predetermined time (allowable before and after time) of the desired date and time plus the first predetermined time based on the reservation conditions. An example of inventory information is the inventory management DB 44. An example of the suggestion unit 3 is the automatic response unit 25 described later. One or more vacant slots may be proposed. The slots included from before the desired date and time to the time after the second predetermined time (allowable before and after time) of the desired date and time plus the first predetermined time are as follows. For example, assume that the desired date and time is 19:00, the standard reservation slot time is 2 hours, the allowable before and after time is ±1 hour, and the minimum allowable time is 60 minutes. In this case, the slot included from the second predetermined time before the desired date and time (19:00) (i.e., 18:00) to the time after the second predetermined time after the desired date and time (19:00) (i.e., 20:00) plus the first predetermined time (2 hours) (22:00) is the slot included from 18:00 to 22:00. In this case, if the start of a reservation can be made in 15-minute increments, for example, the proposed slots are, in the case of the standard reservation slot time slot (standard reservation slot), for example, 18:00-20:00, 18:15-20:15, 18:15-20:15, 18:30-20:30, 18:45-20:45, 19:15-21:15, 19:30-21:30, 19:45-21:45, and 20:00-22:00.Also, if the start and end of reservations can be made in 15-minute increments, for example, the time-saving guidance that can be offered in the case of the following described time-saving guidance, the slots that can be suggested are, for example, 19:00-20:00 reservation slot, 19:00-20:15 reservation slot, 19:00-20:30 reservation slot, 19:00-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-20:15 reservation slot, 19:15-20:30 reservation slot, 19:15-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-21:00 reservation slot, 19:30-20:30 reservation slot, 19:30-20:45 reservation slot, 19:30-21:00 reservation slot, 19:45-20:45 reservation slot, 19:45-21:00 reservation slot, 20:00-21:00 reservation slot.

[0024] By configuring in this way, the automatic response system can reduce the number of times that a customer gives up on a reservation because there are no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and can also reduce the loss of opportunities for the store to attract customers.

[0025] When there is no available slot that meets the reservation conditions, the suggestion unit 3 proposes to the user by voice an available slot for a first predetermined time (standard reservation slot time) that can be reserved among the slots included in the slots included in the second predetermined time (allowable before and after time) before the desired date and time and the slots included in the second predetermined time (allowable before and after time) after the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions. In the above example, the proposeable slots (standard reservation slots) are, for example, a reservation slot from 18:00 to 20:00, a reservation slot from 18:15 to 20:15, a reservation slot from 18:15 to 20:15, a reservation slot from 18:30 to 20:30, a reservation slot from 18:45 to 20:45, a reservation slot from 19:15 to 21:15, a reservation slot from 19:30 to 21:30, a reservation slot from 19:45 to 21:45, and a reservation slot from 20:00 to 22:00.

[0026] By configuring in this way, it is possible to present available reservation time slots to customers, reducing the number of times that customers give up on their reservations while also reducing the loss of opportunities for the store to attract customers. In other words, if a reservation cannot be made during the customer's desired time slot, but the time slots before and after that are available, the time slots before and after that can be suggested to the user as available reservation time slots. As a result, if the user is okay with the suggested time slot, the user can make a reservation for that time slot. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of times that customers give up on their reservations while also reducing the loss of opportunities for the store to attract customers.

[0027] When there is no available time slot that meets the reservation conditions, the suggestion unit 3 suggests to the user by voice an available time slot that can be reserved within a first predetermined time (standard reservation time slot) from the desired date and time based on the reservation conditions and that is shorter than the first predetermined time (standard reservation time slot). This is related to the suggestion of a reservation slot in the case of time-saving guidance, which will be described later. If the start and end of a reservation can be in 15-minute increments, for example, and the minimum allowable time is one hour, the possible slots that can be proposed are, for example, a 19:00-20:00 reservation slot, a 19:00-20:15 reservation slot, a 19:00-20:30 reservation slot, a 19:00-20:45 reservation slot, a 19:15-20:15 reservation slot, a 19:15-20:30 reservation slot, a 19:15-20:45 reservation slot, a 19:15-21:00 reservation slot, a 19:30-20:30 reservation slot, a 19:30-20:45 reservation slot, a 19:30-21:00 reservation slot, a 19:45-20:45 reservation slot, a 19:45-21:00 reservation slot, and a 20:00-21:00 reservation slot.

[0028] By configuring in this way, a time slot available for reservation can be presented to the customer, although it is shorter than the standard reservation time slot, thereby reducing the number of customers abandoning the reservation and reducing the loss of opportunities for the store to attract customers.

[0029] The information processing device 1 further includes a reservation registration unit 4. When the user responds by voice that he / she will reserve the proposed vacant slot, the reservation registration unit 4 registers reservation information corresponding to the proposed vacant slot. An example of the reservation registration unit 4 is an automatic response unit 25 described later. At this time, since the vacant slot corresponding to the reservation information has been reserved, the reservation registration unit 4 updates the inventory information to reduce the inventory by that amount.

[0030] By configuring it in this way, although the user cannot reserve a seat for the time slot on the originally desired date and time, the user can reserve the proposed available time slot, thereby reducing the number of customers abandoning their reservation and reducing the loss of opportunities for the store to attract customers.

[0031] The information processing device 1 further includes a notification unit 5. When the user follows a predetermined voice guidance and voice-inputs that there is a course or other preference, the notification unit 5 may transmit to the user terminal a message including a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a website for inputting the course or other preference. An example of the notification unit 5 is a notification unit 26 described later.

[0032] By configuring in this way, it is possible to respond to needs other than those of customers wishing to make a reservation (reservations for a course meal), thereby improving customer satisfaction and reducing lost opportunities to attract customers to the store.

[0033] In addition, when the user follows the specified voice guidance and voice-inputs that he / she wishes to change or cancel the reservation, the notification unit 5 may send a message including the URL of a website for changing or canceling the reservation to the user terminal.

[0034] By configuring in this way, it is possible to respond to needs other than those of customers wishing to make reservations (such as changing or canceling reservations), thereby improving customer satisfaction while reducing lost opportunities to attract customers to the store.

[0035] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0036] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the automatic response system in this embodiment. The automatic response system 11 includes an automatic response device 12, a centralized reservation management device 13, a store terminal 15, a user terminal 17, a web server device 18, and a communication network 19. The automatic response device 12, the centralized reservation management device 13, the store terminal 15, the user terminal 17, and the web server device 18 are connected to each other via the communication network 19.

[0037] The automatic response device 12, the centralized reservation management device 13, the store terminal 15, the user terminal 17, and the WEB server device 18 are each a so-called electronic computer equipped with a central processing unit (CPU), memory and storage media, a communication interface, etc. (none of which are shown in the figures). Each device executes a predetermined computer program using the CPU, memory, storage media, etc.

[0038] The communication network 19 is a communication network including a circuit-switched fixed telephone network, a packet-switched IP (Internet Protocol) telephone network, other telephone networks, the Internet, and the like. The circuit network includes, for example, a 3G network, an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, and / or an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network. The user terminal 17 can make a call with the automatic answering device 12 through the telephone network. In the telephone network, a telephone number is used to identify the device of the call origin and the device of the call destination. Communication methods can be mutually converted between the fixed telephone network, the IP telephone network, and the circuit network by a gateway (GW) device or the like.

[0039] The user terminal 17 is a terminal having a calling function, and is, for example, an electronic device such as a landline phone, a mobile phone, a smartphone, etc. The calling function may be, for example, a calling function via a mobile communication network, or a calling function via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication.

[0040] The WEB server device 18 is a server device that manages a WEB site (reservation site) for accepting reservations for the store 16, and provides users with a service (hereinafter, referred to as a WEB reservation service) for accepting reservations for the store 16 via the reservation site. The WEB server device 18 also stores data of various online forms, which will be described later, and displays the online forms on the display unit of the user terminal 17 in response to a request from the user terminal 17. Note that, for convenience, only one WEB server device 18 is shown in FIG. 2, but in reality, multiple WEB server devices 18 may be connected.

[0041] The unified reservation management device 13 is used to realize centralized management (WEB reservation management) of reservations for establishments such as restaurants, made via a reservation site, telephone, online form, etc. The unified reservation management device 13 is communicably connected to a WEB server device 18 via a communication network 19. The unified reservation management device 13 manages reservations (seat inventory management) for the establishments 16 that accept reservations, etc.

[0042] The store terminal 15 is a terminal for displaying a store management screen, a setting screen, etc., for an employee of the store to check the reservation status, seat inventory, seating arrangement status, etc., for the store 16 in which the store terminal 15 is installed. The store terminal 15 includes, for example, a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, a tablet computer, etc.

[0043] The automatic answering device 12 (Interactive Voice Response: IVR) is an information processing device that detects an incoming call, automatically establishes a call, plays voice guidance, and executes various processes based on the voice response of the user who made the call.

[0044] For the sake of convenience, FIG. 2 shows only one store terminal 15 in one store, but there may be multiple store terminals 15 in one store, and each of multiple stores may have one or more store terminals 15.

[0045] Furthermore, the automatic response device 12, the reservation unified management device 13, and the WEB server device 18 may each be a server system consisting of one or more physical information processing devices, or a virtual server system consisting of one or more virtual server devices. Furthermore, the automatic response device 12 may also serve as the reservation unified management device 13.

[0046] 3 is a functional block diagram of the automatic answering system in this embodiment. The automatic answering device 12 includes a control unit 21 and a storage unit 31. The control unit 21 reads out the program according to this embodiment from the storage unit 31 and executes it, thereby functioning as a setting unit 22, a call processing unit 23, a voice recognition unit 24, an automatic answering unit 25, and a notification unit 26.

[0047] When a store staff member logs in via a web browser installed in the store terminal 15, the setting unit 22 displays a setting screen on the store terminal 15 for setting the automatic response system, and registers the contents entered on the setting screen in the centralized reservation management device 13. An example of the contents entered on the setting screen is setting information such as whether to enable automatic response to users by voice guidance. This allows the store staff member to determine whether to enable the automatic response system while looking at the store's available seating information and busy status.

[0048] The call processing unit 23 controls and transfers outgoing and incoming calls. More specifically, when a call is made from the user terminal 17 and the call processing unit 23 determines that the setting screen is set to enable automatic response to the user by voice guidance, the call processing unit 23 performs incoming call processing and establishes a call state between the user terminal 17 and the automatic answering device 12. On the other hand, when a call is made from the user terminal 17 and the call processing unit 23 determines that the setting screen is set to disable automatic response to the user by voice guidance, the call processing unit 23 transfers the call to the store terminal 15 or the store's phone. The call processing unit 23 also makes an outgoing call to the user terminal 17.

[0049] When an incoming call is detected by the call processing unit 23, the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the call voice and the language content from the signal received by the incoming call. As a means for extracting the language from the voice, for example, a voice recognition engine such as a publicly available voice recognition API (Application Programming Interface) or a voice recognition library may be used. The voice recognition unit 24 may also be realized by a voice recognition AI (Artificial Intelligence).

[0050] The automatic response unit 25 automatically responds to the contents recognized by the voice recognition unit 24. Specifically, the automatic response unit 25 plays an automatic voice guide to the user terminal 17 through the established call, and transfers a tone signal sent from the user terminal 17 to the store terminal 15 or a registered telephone number. In addition, the automatic response unit 25 performs reservation processing for the centralized reservation management device 13 based on the contents recognized by the voice recognition unit 24. When a reservation is acquired, the automatic response unit 25 transmits, for example, the name, contact telephone number, reservation date, reservation time, number of people, etc., input by the user to the centralized reservation management device 13 by voice.

[0051] The notification unit 26 notifies the user terminal 17 of a predetermined message by short mail service (SMS). Note that the SMS notification method is not limited to SMS, and may be, for example, notification by email or a direct message (DM) service of a social network service (SNS).

[0052] The storage unit 31 stores information related to the setting screen data 32 and the voice guidance data 33. The setting screen data 32 is setting screen data that is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 17 via a Web browser by the setting unit 22. The voice guidance data 33 is voice guidance data used by the IVR function of the voice recognition unit 24.

[0053] The reservation unified management device 13 includes a control unit (not shown) and a storage unit 41. The storage unit 41 stores a store setting information DB 42, a customer management DB 43, an inventory management DB 44, and a reservation management DB 45. Here, DB is an abbreviation for database.

[0054] The store setting information DB 42 is a database that stores information about stores and setting information for the automatic response system. The customer management DB 43 is a database that stores information about customers. The inventory management DB 44 is a database that stores information about seats (tables) at a store, including the maximum number of tables that can be reserved, the number of tables already reserved, the number of reservations that can be made (the remaining number of tables (table inventory)), etc. The reservation management DB 45 is a database that stores information about reservations accepted by store.

[0055] The WEB server device 18 includes a control unit (not shown) and a memory unit 35. The memory unit 35 stores reservation site data 36 and online form data 37. The reservation site data 36 is data related to a reservation site that is publicly available on the WEB site. The online form data 37 is data of various input screens that allow a user to make reservations, change reservations, cancel reservations, make inquiries, etc. online. The reservation site data 36 and online form data 37 may be stored in the memory unit 31 of the automatic response device 12.

[0056] In addition, the automatic response device 12, the centralized reservation management device 13, and the WEB server device 18 may each be a server system consisting of one or more physical information processing devices, or a virtual server system consisting of one or more virtual server devices.

[0057] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a database managed by the reservation central management device 13 in this embodiment.

[0058] The store setting information DB42 includes data items such as "store ID", "store name", "customer information telephone number", "transfer destination telephone number", "business hours", "allowable time before and after", "interactive voice response flag", "minimum number of people", "maximum number of people", "standard reservation frame time", "reservation acceptance time interval", "time reduction information flag", "minimum allowable time", and "allowable time before and after". The item "store ID" stores identification information for identifying a store. The item "store name" stores the store name. The item "customer telephone number" stores the telephone number of the customer window. The item "transfer destination telephone number" stores the telephone number of the transfer destination. The item "business hours" stores the business hours of the store. The item "interactive voice response flag" stores ON when the interactive voice response is enabled, and stores OFF when the interactive voice response is disabled. The item "minimum number of people" stores the minimum number of people when making a reservation. The item "maximum number of people" stores the maximum number of people when making a reservation. The item "standard reservation frame time" stores the reservation time (reservation frame) set by default when making a reservation. The item "Reservation acceptance time interval" stores the time interval (e.g., 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.) when accepting reservations. The item "Time reduction guide flag" stores "1" when time reduction guide is given to the user, and "0" is set when time reduction guide is not given to the user. Time reduction guide is to inform the user that a reservation cannot be made within the standard reservation time frame, but a reservation can be made if it is acceptable for a time shorter than the standard reservation time frame (minimum allowable time). The "minimum allowable time" stores the minimum allowable time. The item "Allowable before and after time" stores the time for searching the time before and after the desired date and time acquired from the user as the center. For example, if the desired date and time is 15:00 on September 10, 2023, the allowable before and after time = ±120 minutes indicates 13:00, 120 minutes before (i.e., -120 minutes before) 15:00, and 17:00, 120 minutes after (i.e., +120 minutes after).

[0059] The customer management DB43 includes data items such as "store ID," "customer ID," "name," "telephone number," and "email address." The item "store ID" stores identification information that identifies a store. The item "customer ID" stores identification information that identifies a customer. The item "telephone number" stores the customer's telephone number. The item "email address" stores the customer's email address.

[0060] The inventory management DB44 includes data items such as "store ID," "seat type ID," "date," "time period," "maximum number of tables that can be reserved," "number of reserved tables," "number of tables available for reservation," and "full flag." The "store ID" item stores identification information (store ID) that identifies the store. The "date" item stores the date. The "time period" item stores the time period. The "maximum number of tables that can be reserved" stores the number of tables that can be reserved (upper limit). The "number of reserved tables" item stores the number of reserved tables for the table. The "number of tables available for reservation" item stores the number (remaining number) obtained by subtracting the number of reserved tables from the maximum number of tables that can be reserved for the table. The "full flag" item stores flag = 1 when the table is full, and flag = 0 when not.

[0061] The reservation management DB45 includes data items such as "store ID", "reservation number", "incoming number (Dialed Number Identification Service: DNIS)", "calling number (Automatic Number Identification: ANI)", "reservation date", "time period", "number of people making reservation", and "contact phone number". The item "store ID" stores identification information (store ID) that identifies the store. The item "reservation number" stores the reservation number that manages reservation information. The item "incoming number" stores the phone number that the user called (e.g., the phone number of the store where the reservation is made). The item "calling number" stores the phone number of the user who called the phone number indicated by the incoming number. The item "reservation date" sets the date of the reservation. The item "time period" sets the time period of the reservation on the date of the reservation. The item "number of people making reservation" stores the number of people making the reservation. The item "contact phone number" stores the phone number of the contact.

[0062] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen in this embodiment. When a store staff member logs in to the automatic answering device 12 using a Web browser installed in the store terminal 15, the setting unit 22 displays a setting screen 51 of the automatic answering system on the display screen of the store terminal 15 based on the setting screen data 32.

[0063] The settings screen 51 includes a store name setting field 52, a business hours setting field 53, a customer information number (incoming number) setting field 54, a forwarding phone number setting field 55, an automatic voice response flag setting field 56, a minimum number of people setting field 57, a maximum number of people setting field 58, a standard reservation slot time setting field 59, a reservation acceptance time increment setting field 60, a time reduction notification flag setting field 61, a minimum allowable time setting field 62, an allowable before and after time setting field 63, a register button 64, a cancel button 65, etc.

[0064] The store name is input in the store name setting field 52. The store's business hours are input in the business hours setting field 53. The customer information number (incoming number) setting field 54 is input with a phone number to be called when a user makes a reservation or makes an inquiry to the store. The forwarding phone number setting field 55 is input with a forwarding phone number.

[0065] In the automated voice response flag setting field 56, a check is placed ON if the automated response system is to be used to accept reservations, inquiries, etc., and a check is placed OFF if the automated response system is not to be used to accept reservations, inquiries, etc.

[0066] The minimum number of people accepted at the time of reservation is input in the minimum number of people setting field 57. The minimum number of people accepted at the time of reservation is input in the maximum number of people setting field 58. The standard reservation slot time setting field 59 is a setting field for setting the default length of stay of guests when making a reservation (standard reservation slot time) (for example, 90 minutes, 120 minutes, 150 minutes, 180 minutes, etc.).

[0067] The reservation acceptance time increment setting field 60 is a field for setting the time increment (e.g., 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.) when accepting reservations. If 15 minutes is set as the time increment, for example, the times when reservations are accepted in the 19:00 time slot will be 19:00, 19:15, 19:30, and 19:45.

[0068] In the time-saving guidance flag setting field 61, a check is turned on when the time-saving guidance is enabled, and a check is turned off when the time-saving guidance is disabled. In the minimum allowable time setting field 62, a minimum time (minimum allowable time) that is shorter than the standard reservation frame time and that accepts reservations is input. In the allowable before and after time setting field 63, a time is input for setting the desired date and time acquired from the user as the center and the time before and after the desired date and time as the search range. For example, if the desired date and time is 15:00 on September 10, 2023, and the allowable before and after time is set to ±120 minutes, the allowable before and after times are 13:00, 120 minutes before (i.e., -120 minutes before) and 17:00, 120 minutes after (i.e., +120 minutes after) 15:00. When the registration button is pressed, the setting information input in the input field is registered.

[0069] When the register button 64 is pressed, the contents entered on the setting screen 51 are sent to the reservation centralized management device 13 and registered in the store setting information DB 42. When the cancel button 65 is pressed, the contents entered on the setting screen 51 are discarded and the screen returns to the previous screen.

[0070] 6 is a diagram showing an example of an online reservation form in this embodiment. The online reservation form 71 is an input screen for reservation that is displayed when a URL embedded in a message sent from the automatic answering device 12 to the user terminal 17 that has made a call is accessed.

[0071] The online reservation form 71 includes a field for inputting a desired date 72, a field for inputting a desired time 73, a field for inputting a number of people 74, a field for inputting a course 75, a field for inputting other requests 76, a field for inputting a name 77, a field for inputting contact information 78, a registration button 79, a cancellation button 80, and the like.

[0072] The date for which a reservation is made is input in the desired date input field 72. The time for which a reservation is made is input in the desired time input field 73. The number of people input field 74 is the number of people for whom a reservation is made. The course input field 75 allows a meal course to be selected and set from a pull-down menu. The other requests input field 76 allows, for example, requests for courses to be input. The name of the person making the reservation is input in the name input field 77. The contact information input field 78 allows contact information (for example, a telephone number, email address, etc.) to be input.

[0073] When the user presses the register button 79, the contents entered in the online reservation form 71 are sent to the centralized reservation management device 13 and registered in the reservation management DB 45. When the user presses the cancel button 80, the contents entered in the online reservation form 71 are discarded and the screen returns to the previous screen.

[0074] 7 is a diagram showing an example of an online form for changing or canceling a reservation in this embodiment. The online form for changing or canceling a reservation 91 is an input screen for changing or canceling a reservation that is displayed when a URL embedded in a message sent from the automatic answering device 12 to the user terminal 17 that has made a call is accessed. The online form for changing or canceling a reservation 91 displays reservation information registered in the reservation management DB 45.

[0075] The online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation includes a desired date input field 92, a desired time input field 93, a number of people input field 94, a course input field 95, other requests input field 96, a name input field 97, a contact information input field 98, a change reservation button 99, a cancel reservation button 100, and a cancel button 101. The desired date input field 92, desired time input field 93, number of people input field 94, course input field 95, other requests input field 96, name input field 97, contact information input field 98, and cancel button 101 are the same as the desired date input field 72, desired time input field 73, number of people input field 74, course input field 75, other requests input field 76, name input field 77, contact information input field 78, and cancel button 80, and therefore their explanation will be omitted.

[0076] When the change reservation button 99 is pressed, the information re-entered in the reservation change / cancellation online form 91 is sent to the centralized reservation management device 13, and the reservation management DB 45 is updated. When the cancel reservation button 100 is pressed, the information displayed in the reservation change / cancellation online form 91 is sent to the centralized reservation management device 13, and the corresponding information is deleted from the reservation management DB 45.

[0077] 8 is a sequence diagram when registering setting information to the automatic answering system in this embodiment. A store clerk uses a Web browser installed in the store terminal 15 to access the automatic answering device 12, displays a login screen, and enters a store ID and password. The store clerk can then log in to the automatic answering system (S1). Once logged in, a setting screen 51 is displayed on the store terminal 15 (S2).

[0078] The store staff enters setting information (e.g., store name, business hours, customer assistance phone number, forwarding phone number, automatic voice response flag, minimum number of people, maximum number of people, standard reservation time frame, reservation acceptance time increment, time shortening guidance flag, minimum allowable time, allowable time before and after, etc.) into the input fields on the setting screen, and presses the registration button 64 on the setting screen 51 (S3). This setting information is then sent to the automatic response device 12. Upon receiving this setting information, the automatic response device 12 registers it in the store setting information DB 42 of the centralized reservation management device 13 (S4).

[0079] 9 is a sequence diagram of voice guidance in the automatic answering system in this embodiment. The user uses the user terminal 17 to call the telephone number (customer information telephone number) of the store for which the user wishes to make a reservation (S11).

[0080] An incoming call from a user is handled by the automatic answering device 12. That is, when an incoming call is made to the customer information telephone number (incoming call number) set on the setting screen 51, the automatic answering device 12 reproduces voice guidance using the voice guidance data 33 (S12).

[0081] The user responds by voice following the voice guidance (S13). The automatic response device 12 recognizes the voice from the user terminal 17 and acquires the desired time and number of people that the user wishes to reserve. The automatic response device 12 searches the inventory management BD 44 of the centralized reservation management device 13 based on the desired time and number of people (S14) and acquires the search results (S15).

[0082] The automatic response device 12 responds to the user terminal 17 with voice guidance based on the search results (S16). In response to this, the user can further respond by voice (S17) (return to S13). S13 to S16 are repeated as necessary.

[0083] If the user's voice response is outside the scope of the automated voice response, the automated answering device 12 sends a message including a URL where an online form is installed to the user terminal 17 by SMS (S111). Here, the online form is a general term for the online reservation form 71, the online reservation change / cancellation form 91, the online inquiry form, etc. If the user's voice response is outside the scope of the automated voice response, the automated answering device 12 may transfer the call to a pre-registered telephone number.

[0084] When the user receives the message, he or she operates the user terminal 17 to click on the URL. Then, the user terminal 17 transmits an online form display request to the WEB server device 18 indicated by the URL (S112). When the WEB server device 18 receives the online form display request, it causes the display unit of the user terminal 17 to display the online form (S113).

[0085] The user operates the user terminal 17 to make a request to make a reservation, change a reservation, cancel a reservation, make an inquiry, etc., in accordance with the online form displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 17 (S114).

[0086] When the WEB server device 18 receives a request to make a reservation, change a reservation, cancel a reservation, make an inquiry, etc., it executes processing (registration, change or cancellation of reservation information, or inquiry, etc.) to the reservation unified management device 13 in response to the request (S115).

[0087] 10 is a flow chart of a main menu by voice guidance of the automatic answering device in this embodiment. When a call is received from a user to a customer information number (receiving number), the call processing unit 23 detects the incoming call (S21).

[0088] The call processing unit 23 then searches the store setting information DB 42 using the incoming call number (DNIS) and obtains setting information corresponding to the incoming call number (DNIS) (store name, business hours, customer assistance phone number, forwarding phone number, automated voice response flag, minimum number of people, maximum number of people, standard reservation slot time, reservation acceptance time increments, time-saving guidance flag, minimum allowable time, allowable time before and after, etc.) (S22).

[0089] The automatic response unit 25 reads the automatic voice response flag from the setting information and determines whether the automatic voice response flag is ON or OFF (S23). If it is determined that the automatic voice response flag is OFF (NO in S23), the automatic response unit 25 determines whether the current time is during the business hours of the store (S29).

[0090] If it is determined that the current time is within the business hours of the store (YES in S29), the automatic response unit 25 transfers the incoming call to the store's telephone number (forwarding telephone number) (S30), and this flow ends.

[0091] If it is determined that the current time is outside the store's business hours (NO in S29), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user through voice guidance saying, "The store's reception hours are currently closed. Please call again during business hours" (S31), and this flow ends.

[0092] When it is determined that the automatic voice response flag is ON (YES in S23), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing an initial message through voice guidance (for example, "Thank you for calling. This is [XX Dining]."). Note that the part enclosed in [ ] is the store name obtained from the setting information and read out by voice synthesis.

[0093] Furthermore, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message through voice guidance asking the user to select one of the following options: "I am reserving a seat only", "I have a course or other preference", "I would like to change or cancel my reservation", or "I would like to contact me" (S24).

[0094] In response, the user selects one of the options by voice, and the voice recognition unit 24 recognizes the voice and the language content from the received user voice signal and determines the option designated by the user's voice (S26).

[0095] When it is determined that the option designated by the user by voice is "reservation of seat only" (YES in S26), the automatic response unit 25 performs automatic voice response processing (S27). The automatic voice response processing will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 12A and 12B.

[0096] When it is determined that the option specified by the user by voice is not a reservation of a seat only (NO in S26), the automatic response unit 25 performs an online form transmission process (S28). The online form transmission process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0097] FIG. 11 is a detailed flowchart of the online form transmission process (S28) in this embodiment.

[0098] If it is determined that the option specified by the user by voice is "Course or other preference" (YES in S31), the automatic response unit 25 sends a message including the URL of the online reservation form 71 to the caller's telephone number (the telephone number of the user who made the call) by SMS via the notification unit 26 (S32).

[0099] When the user receives the message including the URL of the online reservation form at the user terminal 17, the user clicks on the URL. Then, the user terminal 17 accesses the WEB server device 18 storing the online reservation form 71 based on the URL, and requests the online reservation form to be displayed. Then, the online reservation form 71 is displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 17. The user operates the user terminal 17 to input various information into the online reservation form 71 and presses the register button 79. Then, the WEB server device 18 registers the contents input into the online reservation form 71 as reservation information in the reservation management DB 45 of the centralized reservation management device 13, and updates the inventory information in the inventory management DB 44 to reduce the inventory of the corresponding seats. This completes the reservation.

[0100] If it is determined that the option specified by the user by voice is "change reservation / cancel reservation" (YES in S33), the automatic response unit 25 sends a message including the URL of an online form 91 for changing / cancelling the reservation by SMS to the telephone number of the caller (the telephone number of the user who made the call) via the notification unit 26 (S34).

[0101] When the user receives the message including the URL of the online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation on the user terminal 17, the user clicks on the URL. The user terminal 17 then accesses the WEB server device 18 that stores the online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation based on the URL, and transmits a request to display the online form for reservation (including the telephone number of the user who made the call). When the WEB server device 18 receives the request to display the online form for reservation (including the telephone number of the user who made the call), it acquires reservation information corresponding to the user's telephone number (calling number) from the reservation management DB 45. The WEB server device 18 transmits the online form 91 for changing or canceling a reservation, including the acquired reservation information, to the user terminal 17.

[0102] Then, the online form 91 for changing / cancelling a reservation with the reservation information entered is displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 17. When changing a reservation, the user operates the user terminal 17 to input information for the items to be changed from the items displayed on the online form 91 for changing / cancelling a reservation, and presses the change reservation button 99. The Web server device 18 then updates the reservation management DB 45 of the centralized reservation management device 13 based on the changed items, and updates the inventory management DB 44 as necessary. This completes the reservation change.

[0103] In addition, when canceling a reservation, the user operates the user terminal 17 to press the reservation cancellation button 100 on the reservation change / cancellation online form 91. The WEB server device 18 then deletes the reservation information corresponding to the user's telephone number (calling number) from the reservation management DB 45 of the centralized reservation management device 13 based on the changed items, and updates the inventory management DB 44 so that the deleted inventory is returned to vacant seats. This completes the reservation cancellation.

[0104] If it is determined that the option specified by the user's voice is "inquiry" (NO in S33), the automatic response unit 25 sends a message including the URL of an online inquiry form to the caller's telephone number (the telephone number of the user who made the call) by SMS via the notification unit 26 (S35).

[0105] When the user receives the message including the URL of the online inquiry form at user terminal 17, the user clicks on the URL. Then, based on the URL, user terminal 17 accesses the server device that stores the online inquiry form and requests to display the online inquiry form. Then, the online inquiry form is displayed on the display unit of user terminal 17. The user operates user terminal 17 to input the content of the inquiry into the online inquiry form and presses the send button. Then, WEB server device 18 transmits the content of the inquiry to store terminal 15.

[0106] Instead of sending a message including the URL of the online inquiry form, the automatic response unit 25 may forward the incoming call to the store's telephone number (forwarding telephone number), or may process the call in the same manner as in S29 to S31.

[0107] The automatic response unit 25 judges whether the transmission of the messages in S32, S34, and S35 was successful (S36). If the transmission of the message was successful (NO in S36), the automatic response unit 25 ends this flow.

[0108] If the message transmission fails (YES in S36), the automatic response unit 25 judges whether the current time is during the store's business hours (S37). If it is judged that the current time is during the store's business hours (YES in S37), the automatic response unit 25 transfers the incoming call to the store's telephone number (forwarding telephone number) (S30), and this flow ends. If it is judged that the current time is outside the store's business hours (NO in S37), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by voice guidance saying, "The store's reception hours are currently closed. Please call again during business hours" (S39), and this flow ends.

[0109] 12A and 12B are detailed flowcharts of the automatic voice response process (S27) in this embodiment. The automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by reproducing a reservation acceptance start message such as "Now, we will take your reservation via automatic voice" (S41).

[0110] Next, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message prompting the user to answer the desired date and time, such as "Please answer the date of your reservation as 6:00 p.m. on the first day of February" (S42).

[0111] In response, the user verbally communicates the desired date and time over the telephone. The voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the desired date and time specified by the user's voice (S43). Note that if the result determined by the voice recognition unit 24 does not match the reservation acceptance time increment (e.g., 15 minutes) (e.g., 19:10), the automatic response unit 25 may respond to the user by playing a message urging the user to answer the desired date and time again, such as "Please answer in 15-minute increments, such as 19:00, 19:15, or 19:30, for your desired date and time," and may then perform the process of S43 again.

[0112] Next, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message urging the user to answer the desired number of people, such as "Please tell us the number of people for your reservation" (S44).

[0113] In response, the user verbally communicates the desired number of people over the phone. The voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the number of people specified by the user (S45).

[0114] The automatic response unit 25 judges whether the recognized desired date and time is a past date (S46). If it is judged that the recognized desired date and time is a past date (NO in S46), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message by voice guidance to the effect that the reservation is not possible because it is a past date (for example, "Reservations cannot be made for times past the current time" or the like), and returns to the processing of S42.

[0115] If it is determined that the recognized desired date and time is the current date and time or later (YES in S46), the automatic response unit 25 determines whether the recognized desired number of people is within a predetermined range (for example, a number in the range between a minimum number of people and a maximum number of people) (S48).

[0116] When it is determined that the recognized desired number of people is not within a predetermined range (NO in S48), the automatic response unit 25 sends a message including a URL of an online inquiry form to the caller's phone number (the phone number of the user who made the call) by SMS via the notification unit 26 (S65). Note that instead of sending a message including the URL of the online inquiry form, the automatic response unit 25 may forward the call to the store's phone number (forwarding phone number), or may process the call in the same manner as S29 to S31.

[0117] When it is determined that the recognized desired number of people is within a predetermined range (YES in S48), the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people (S49). That is, the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 for an available time slot that corresponds to the desired date and time and has seats that can accommodate the desired number of people.

[0118] If the search in S49 finds that there are available slots corresponding to the desired date and time and the desired number of people (YES in S50), the automatic response unit 25 will respond to the user by playing a message via voice guidance to the effect that a reservation is possible for the desired date and time and for the desired number of people (for example, "We can provide you with seats for your desired date and time") (S51).

[0119] If the search in S49 finds no available slots for the desired date and time and number of people (NO in S50), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message to the effect that the reservation is not possible under the specified reservation conditions (for example, "We are sorry, but we have no seats available during that time period") through audio guidance (S52).

[0120] The automatic response unit 25 performs reservation possible date and time suggestion processing (S53). The reservation possible date and time suggestion processing will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0121] Next, the automatic response unit 25 reads the reservation available date and time proposal flag from the memory, and judges whether the reservation available date and time proposal flag is 1 or not (S54). The reservation available date and time proposal flag will be described in Fig. 13. If it is judged that the reservation available date and time proposal flag = 0 (NO in S54), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S65, and this flow ends.

[0122] If it is determined that the reservation available date and time suggestion flag is equal to 1 (YES in S54), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message prompting the user to answer the name using voice guidance, such as, for example, "Please answer with your full name," (S55).

[0123] In response, the user verbally states his or her full name over the telephone, and the voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal to determine the user's name (S56).

[0124] Next, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message urging the user to provide their contact information (telephone number) through voice guidance, such as "Please provide your contact telephone number" (S57).

[0125] In response, the user verbally communicates his / her contact information (phone number) over the telephone. The voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the user's contact information (phone number) (S58).

[0126] The automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 again based on the desired date and time and the desired number of people (S59), and judges whether the vacant slots searched in S49, S73, or S78 (described in detail in FIG. 13) are still available (S60). If there are no vacant slots searched in S49, S73, or S78 (NO in S60), the automatic response unit 25 plays a reservation failure message (e.g., "We are sorry. Your reservation could not be completed. We apologize for the inconvenience, but please make a reservation again.") by voice guidance and responds to the user (S63). After that, the automatic response unit 25 performs the process from S71 in FIG. 13 onwards until the process of S63 is repeated a predetermined number of times (e.g., twice, three times, etc.) (NO in S64). After the process of S63 is repeated a predetermined number of times (YES in S64), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S65 and ends this flow.

[0127] If the vacant slots are still available (YES in S60), the automatic response unit 25 registers the reservation information (desired date and time, desired number of people, name, contact information) received from the user in the reservation management DB 45. Furthermore, the automatic response unit 25 updates the inventory management DB 44 based on the reservation information, and reduces the seat inventory accordingly (S61).

[0128] The automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message to notify the user of completion of the reservation using voice guidance, such as, for example, "Mr. / Ms. [XX], your reservation has been accepted. Please be careful on the day of your call. Thank you for calling." (S62), and this flow ends.

[0129] 13 is a detailed flowchart of the reservation available date and time proposal process (S53) in this embodiment. The automatic response unit 25 initializes the reservation available date and time proposal flag to 0 (S71). The reservation available date and time proposal flag is information temporarily stored in memory.

[0130] The automatic response unit 25 reads the time-saving guidance flag from the setting information and determines whether the time-saving guidance flag is ON or not (S72). If it is determined that the time-saving guidance flag is OFF (NO in S72), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S78.

[0131] If it is determined that the time reduction guidance flag is ON (YES in S72), the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 based on the time period of the minimum allowable time from the desired time on the desired date and the desired number of people (S73). Assume that the desired time on the desired date is 19:00, the reservation acceptance time increment is, for example, 15 minutes, the minimum allowable time is 60 minutes, and the desired number of people is 5. Note that the reservation slots from 19:00 to 21:00 are fully booked, etc., so there are no seats in stock and they cannot be reserved. In this case, as a result of the search, the following reservation slots are obtained as candidates (if there are seats available for 5 people): 19:00-20:00 reservation slot, 19:00-20:15 reservation slot, 19:00-20:30 reservation slot, 19:00-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-20:15 reservation slot, 19:15-20:30 reservation slot, 19:15-20:45 reservation slot, 19:15-21:00 reservation slot, 19:30-20:30 reservation slot, 19:30-20:45 reservation slot, 19:30-21:00 reservation slot, 19:45-20:45 reservation slot, 19:45-21:00 reservation slot, and 20:00-21:00 reservation slot.

[0132] If the search result in S73 indicates that there is no available time slot that matches the time slot of the minimum allowable time from the desired time on the desired date and the desired number of people (NO in S74), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S78.

[0133] If the search in S73 finds that there is a vacant slot that matches the time slot and the desired number of people from the desired date and time with the minimum allowable time (YES in S74), the automatic response unit 25 will play a message by voice guidance to the effect that reservations cannot be made from the desired date and time within the standard reservation slot time, but can be made within the minimum allowable time (S75). For example, the message could be, "You cannot make a reservation for two hours from 7 pm, but you can make a reservation for one hour from 7 pm. Would you like to make a reservation? Please answer 'yes' or 'no.'"

[0134] In response to this, the user responds by voice, "Yes" or "No," as to whether or not they would like to make a reservation during the proposed time slot. The voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the user's response (S76).

[0135] If it is determined that the user's response is "Yes" (YES in S77), the automatic response unit 25 updates the reservation possible date and time proposal flag to 1 and saves it in the working area of ​​the memory (S85). This ends this flow. If it is determined that the user's response is "No" (NO in S77), the automatic response unit 25 performs the process of S78.

[0136] If the answer is NO in S72, NO in S74, or NO in S77, the automatic response unit 25 searches the inventory management DB 44 to find whether there is a vacant seat frame that can accommodate the desired number of people and is in a time frame before or after the desired date and time (S78). The time frame before or after the desired date and time refers to a time frame that starts at a time that takes into account the allowable time before and after the desired date and time. For example, if the desired date and time is 18:00 on September 10, 2023, and the allowable time before and after = ±60 minutes is set, the time frame before or after the desired date and time refers to the time frame from 17:00 to the standard reservation time frame one hour before 18:00 (i.e., -60 minutes before) and the time frame from 19:00 to the standard reservation time frame one hour later (i.e., +60 minutes after).

[0137] More specifically, let us explain. Assume that the desired date and time is 19:00, the standard reservation frame time is 2 hours, the allowable time before and after is ±1 hour, the minimum allowable time is 60 minutes, the reservation acceptance time increment is 15 minutes, and the desired number of people is 5. Note that the reservation frame from 19:00 to 21:00 cannot be reserved because there is no seat inventory due to being fully booked or the like. In this case, a time slot for the standard reservation frame time that can be reserved is searched from the slots included from the allowable time before and after the desired date and time (19:00) (i.e., 18:00) to the time (22:00) that is the allowable time before and after the desired date and time (19:00) (i.e., 20:00) plus the standard reservation frame time (2 hours), that is, the slots included from 18:00 to 22:00. As a result of the search, the following reservation slots are obtained as candidates for the searched reservation slots (if there are seats available for 5 people): 18:00-20:00, 18:15-20:15, 18:15-20:15, 18:30-20:30, 18:45-20:45, 19:15-21:15, 19:30-21:30, 19:45-21:45, and 20:00-22:00.

[0138] If there are no available seats within the time slot before or after the desired date and time that can accommodate the desired number of people (NO in S79), the automatic response unit 25 ends this flow.

[0139] If there are available seats for the time slot before or after the desired date and time that can accommodate the desired number of people (YES in S79), the automatic response unit 25 will respond to the user by playing a voice guidance message indicating that the time slot before or after the desired start time is available and asking whether to make a reservation (for example, "We can accommodate you from 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., would you like to make a reservation? Please answer yes or no.") (S80).

[0140] In response to this, the user responds by voice, "Yes" or "No," as to whether or not they would like to make a reservation during the proposed time slot. The voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language content from the received signal, and determines the user's response (S81).

[0141] If it is determined that the user's response is "No" (NO in S82), the automatic response unit 25 ends this flow. If it is determined that the user's response is "Yes" (YES in S82), the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message (for example, "Please tell us the time you would like to reserve") that prompts the user to answer by voice guidance (S83).

[0142] In response, the user responds by voice over the phone as to which slot they would like to reserve. The voice recognition unit 24 then recognizes the voice and the language from the received signal, and determines the user's response. If the user's response is determined, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a voice guidance message stating, "Understood. Thank you," (S84). The automatic response unit 25 then updates the reservation available date and time suggestion flag to 1, and saves this in the working area of ​​memory (S85). This ends this flow.

[0143] If the automatic response unit 25 is unable to determine the user's voice response, the automatic response unit 25 responds to the user by playing a message to the effect that "your voice could not be recognized" through voice guidance. Then, the message played immediately before the voice recognition is played again through voice guidance, and the voice recognition process is performed (for example, if the voice recognition is not possible in S76, the message to the effect that "your voice could not be recognized" is played by voice, and the process returns to S75). If the automatic response unit 25 is unable to recognize the user's voice response even after repeating the re-response prompt and re-voice recognition a predetermined number of times, the automatic response unit 25 may send a message including a URL of an online form (for example, the online form 71 for reservation, the online form 91 for reservation change / cancellation, or the online form for inquiries) to the user terminal 17 by SMS, or may forward the call to the store's telephone number (forwarding telephone number), or may process the same as S29 to S31.

[0144] 14 is an example of a configuration block diagram of a hardware environment of a computer that executes a program in this embodiment. The computer 201 may be the automatic response device 12 or the centralized reservation management device 13, or may be the store terminal 15, the user terminal 17, or the WEB server device 18. The computer 201 is composed of a CPU 202, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, a storage device 205, an input I / F 206, an output I / F 207, a communication I / F 208, a reading device 209, and a bus 210.

[0145] Here, CPU (central processing unit) refers to a central processing unit. ROM refers to a read-only memory. RAM refers to a random access memory. I / F refers to an interface. A CPU 202, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, a storage device 205, an input I / F 206, an output I / F 207, a communication I / F 208, and a reading device 209 as necessary may be connected to the bus 210.

[0146] The CPU 202 reads out the program according to this embodiment from the storage device 205, and when functioning as the automatic answering device 12, for example, executes the program as the setting unit 22, the call processing unit 23, the voice recognition unit 24, the automatic answering unit 25, and the notification unit 26. The ROM 203 indicates a read-only memory. The RAM 204 is a memory for temporary storage.

[0147] The storage device 205 is a device that stores a large amount of information. As the storage device 205, various types of storage devices such as a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory card, etc. The storage device 205 stores a program according to an embodiment of the present invention and various data stored in the storage unit 31.

[0148] The input I / F 206 can be connected to input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, an electronic camera, a web camera, a microphone, a scanner, a sensor, a tablet, a touch panel, an information reading device, etc. The output I / F 207 can be connected to output devices such as a display, a touch panel, a projector, a printer, a speaker, etc.

[0149] The communication I / F 208 is an interface such as a port for connecting to a communication network and communicating with other devices. The communication network may be the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a dedicated line, a wired line, a wireless line, etc. The reading device 209 is a device for reading a portable recording medium.

[0150] The program for realizing the process described in the above embodiment may be stored in, for example, the storage device 205 from the program provider via the communication network and the communication I / F 208. The program for realizing the process described in the above embodiment may be stored in a portable storage medium that is commercially available and distributed. In this case, the portable storage medium may be set in the reading device 209, and the program may be read and executed by the CPU 202. As the portable storage medium, various types of storage media such as CD-ROM, flexible disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, IC card, USB memory device, and semiconductor memory card can be used. The program stored in such a storage medium is read by the reading device 209.

[0151] Furthermore, the program may be installed on a stand-alone computer, or may be installed by a cloud computer and provide only its functions to the user.

[0152] According to this embodiment, the automatic response system can reduce the number of times a customer gives up on a reservation because there are no available reservation slots that meet the customer's reservation conditions, and can reduce the loss of opportunities for the store to attract customers.

[0153] In this embodiment, if a reservation cannot be made within the reservation slot for the user's desired date and time, a certain time period within that reservation slot or a reservation slot before or after that reservation slot is suggested. However, this is not limited to this, and for example, a reservation slot for the same time the following day or the same time on the same day of the following week may be suggested.

[0154] Further, examples of online forms have been described in relation to the online reservation form 71, the online reservation change / cancellation form 91, and the online inquiry form, but the present invention is not limited to these, and for example, an online reservation confirmation form for confirming reservation details may also be provided.

[0155] Although the present aspect has been described above based on the embodiment and modified examples, the above-mentioned embodiment of the aspect is intended to facilitate understanding of the present aspect and does not limit the present aspect. The present aspect may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents are included in the present aspect. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it may be deleted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0156] 1. Automated Response System 2 Storage area 3 Acquisition part 4 Judgment section 5. Reservation Registration Department 6 Automatic response settings section 7 User terminal 8. Store terminals 11. Automated Response System 12 Auto-Answering Machine 13. Centralized reservation management device 15 Store terminal 16 stores 17 User terminal 18 WEB server equipment 19. Communications Networks 21 Control section 22 Setting section 23 Call Processing Unit 24 Voice Recognition Unit 25 Automatic response unit 26 Notification Department 31 Storage section 41 Storage section 42 Store setting information DB 43 Customer management DB 44 Inventory Management DB 45 Reservation Management DB

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that, when receiving an incoming call from a user terminal, prompts a user of the user terminal to input voice information using voice guidance and acquires reservation conditions including a desired date and time for reservation based on the voice input; a suggestion unit that searches for a reservable vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions from a first slot in a time slot from the desired date and time to a first specified time in inventory information related to the availability of seats in the store for each time slot, and if there is no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions as a result of the search, suggests to the user by voice a vacant slot in a time slot that can be reserved from among slots that are included in the time from a second specified time before the desired date and time to a time that is the second specified time after the desired date and time plus the first specified time, based on the reservation conditions; An information processing device comprising:

2. When there is no available slot that satisfies the reservation conditions, the suggestion unit proposes to the user by voice a available slot for the first specified time that can be reserved based on the reservation conditions, among slots included in a time period from a second specified time before the desired date and time to a time period after the second specified time of the desired date and time plus the first specified time.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

3. When there is no available time slot that meets the reservation conditions, the suggestion unit proposes to the user by voice an available time slot that can be reserved based on the reservation conditions between the desired date and time and the first specified time and that is shorter than the first specified time.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

4. The information processing device further includes: a reservation registration unit that registers reservation information corresponding to the proposed available slot when the user responds by voice to the effect that he / she will make a reservation for the proposed available slot; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

5. The information processing device further includes: a notification unit that, when the user inputs a course or other preference by voice in accordance with a predetermined voice guidance, transmits to the user terminal a message including a URL of a website for inputting the course or other preference; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

6. The information processing device further includes: a notification unit that, when the user inputs a voice command to change or cancel a reservation in accordance with a predetermined voice guidance, transmits to the user terminal a message including a URL of a website for changing or canceling the reservation; 4. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

7. On the computer, an acquisition process for, when receiving an incoming call from a user terminal, prompting a user of the user terminal to input voice information using voice guidance and acquiring reservation conditions including a desired date and time for reservation based on the voice input; a suggestion process for searching for a reservable vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions from a first slot in a time slot from the desired date and time to a first specified time in inventory information related to the availability of seats in the store for each time slot, and if no vacant slot that meets the reservation conditions is found as a result of the search, suggesting to the user by voice a vacant slot in a time slot that can be reserved from among slots included in the time from a second specified time before the desired date and time to a time that is the second specified time after the desired date and time plus the first specified time, based on the reservation conditions; An information processing program that executes the above.

8. The computer When receiving an incoming call from a user terminal, prompt the user of the user terminal to input voice information using voice guidance, and acquire reservation conditions including a desired date and time for reservation based on the voice input; a search is performed for a reservable available slot that matches the reservation conditions from a first slot in a time slot from the desired date and time to a first specified time in inventory information related to the availability of seats in the store for each time slot, and if there is no available slot that matches the reservation conditions as a result of the search, a suggestion is made to the user by voice based on the reservation conditions of an available slot in a time slot that is included in the period from a second specified time before the desired date and time to a time that is the second specified time after the desired date and time plus the first specified time; An information processing method for performing a process.

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