Call center system and its operation program

Abstract

To provide a call center system capable of connecting, with high security, between shop terminals each installed in a plurality of shops of a plurality of companies and operator terminals installed in a call center and each operated by an operator while preventing information leakage, and moreover capable of efficiently promoting customer service operations by reducing a connection wait time for customers who come to the shops.SOLUTION: A call center system includes: a shop terminal 17a and a shop terminal 17b in a shop A and a shop B, respectively; an operator terminal 12 in a call center 9; a wide area communication network 8 for connecting the shop terminal 17, etc. to the operator terminal 12; a signaling server 6 for controlling incoming / outgoing calls of the shop terminal 17, etc. and the operator terminal 12; an application server 5 for selecting and assigning the operator terminal 12 to be called; a database server 4 for storing information of the shop A and the shop B; and a highly secure closed communication network 13 for connecting between the database server 4 and the application server 5, and the operator terminal 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a call center system that connects a store and a call center so that they can serve customers via video images and audio, and an operating program for the call center system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, call center systems have been adopted in various business fields as systems in which dedicated operators receive inquiries and complaints from customers about products over the telephone and respond to customers. Nowadays, with the spread of communication networks and the increase in communication speed, it has become possible to communicate not only with voice but also with images and videos, and it is becoming possible to provide not only voice but also image and video information according to customer requests. Also, against the background of labor shortages, there is a growing need for call center systems to provide product information and administrative procedures to customers visiting the stores via terminals installed in electronics retail stores and other sales outlets, as a customer service agent in place of store clerks at electronics retail stores.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses technology entitled "Call Center System" that enables the call center to efficiently perform call operations while effectively utilizing the waiting time of customers who visit sales offices by approaching them from the call center. Patent Document 1 discloses technology for efficiently carrying out calling operations at call centers by making it easy to determine whether or not a customer who visits a store is a target customer for an outbound call, particularly in outbound calling operations in which a call center makes a call to a customer. It also discloses technology for increasing customer satisfaction by using video conferencing terminals that enable simultaneous audio and video communication between the customer and the operator using a web camera or the like, and by using materials when giving explanations (specification paragraphs

[0082] -

[0084] ).

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses an invention entitled "Call center operation system" in which operators respond to inquiry information from a customer terminal used by a user who makes an inquiry to a call center (specification paragraph

[0012] ), and that customer terminals 2 equipped with communication functions such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and mobile phones are communicatively connected to a call center operation system 1A via a telephone line network 3 (specification paragraph

[0013] ). The system is equipped with an automatic voice response processing unit 11 that acquires inquiry information sent from the customer terminal 2 and notifies the customer terminal 2 of various responses to the inquiry information by voice (specification paragraph

[0019] ), an ACD unit 13 that automatically distributes the response to an available operator (specification paragraph

[0025] ), and in situations where it is not possible to connect to an operator, it is possible to notify the user of when an operator will contact them, thereby reducing stress for the user and reducing the trouble of having to call the call center again (specification paragraph

[0065] ).

[0005] Patent Document 3, titled "Counter Operation Support System," discloses technology that enables sufficient support for counter operations that have previously been lacking by connecting, via a network, for example, a branch office system 10 including counter terminals at the branch office of a financial institution, a call center 26 (specification paragraph

[0036] ) for receiving inquiries and consultations from customers over the phone, a contact center 27 (specification paragraph

[0037] ) that operators who serve customers at the counter contact when they need specialized knowledge or advice, and a support center system (specification paragraph

[0029] ) equipped with a database that stores information collected through multiple channels and a server that creates counter operation support information based on the information stored in the database (Figure 1). In addition, paragraph

[0028] of the specification of this patent document states that the network 25 connecting the sales office system 10 and the financial host center 20 may be a wireless or wired dedicated communication network or a public communication network, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a VPN (Virtual Private Network).Furthermore, paragraphs

[0035] and

[0036] of the specification state that the network 35 connecting the sales office system 10, the support center system 30, the call center 26, and the contact center 27 may be a wireless or wired dedicated communication network or a public communication network, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a VPN (Virtual Private Network). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-38723 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-103139 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2003-296556 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, while the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to improve the efficiency of outbound calls by using a video conferencing terminal that allows customers and operators to simultaneously communicate audio and video using a web camera, it does not disclose any technology related to improving the efficiency of inbound calls, nor does it disclose any technology for efficiently allocating inbound calls from a large number of customers, resulting in the problem that it only contributes to a partial improvement in efficiency. In addition, while the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2 makes it possible to respond to inbound calls more efficiently, it only notifies the customer of when an operator will contact them in the event that the call cannot be distributed to an available operator.No technology is disclosed for shortening the waiting time for connection with an operator, and therefore, even if there is advance notice regarding the connection, there is an issue that the waiting time for connection between the customer and the operator cannot be shortened. Furthermore, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 3 discloses a technology that enables support for counter operations by connecting a contact center that operators who deal with customers at call centers or counters can contact when they need specialized knowledge or advice, a database that stores information, and a support center system equipped with a server that creates counter operation support information based on the information stored in the database through a network, which is expected to improve operational efficiency. However, there is no mention or suggestion as to which centers or devices should be connected using what communication lines to ensure high security without information leaks and to improve economic efficiency and operational efficiency, and such issues remain unresolved.

[0008] The present invention has been made in response to such conventional circumstances, and aims to provide a call center system and its operating program that can connect shop terminals installed in multiple stores of multiple companies to operator terminals installed in a call center and operated by operators in a highly secure manner while preventing information leakage, and that can also shorten the time spent waiting for connection for customers visiting the stores, thereby efficiently promoting customer service operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the first invention, a call center system, comprises shop terminals used by customers who use the store, operator terminals used by operators in the call center, a wide area communication network connecting the shop terminals and the operator terminals, an electronic certification authority server that authenticates a client certificate implemented in the shop terminals, a signaling server that controls calling and receiving of the shop terminals and the operator terminals, an application server that receives a destination inquiry signal from the signaling server which has received an outgoing call inquiry signal from the shop terminal, selects and assigns the operator terminal which will be the destination of the call, and transmits the destination identification information to the signaling server to receive destination identification information from the signaling server for the shop terminal to connect to the selected operator terminal, a database server that stores information provided by the store, and a closed communication network which is more secure than the wide area communication network and which connects the database server, the application server, and the operator terminals. In the call center system configured as above, the shop terminals and the operator terminals are connected by a wide area communication network, but the application server and database server that receive the destination inquiry signal from the signaling server, select the destination operator terminal, assign it, and transmit the destination identification information to the signaling server are connected to the operator terminals by a closed communication network that is more secure than the wide area communication network, that is, protected by a high level of security, and the highly secure closed communication network acts to connect the databases that require high security and the application server that generates the destination identification information to the operator terminals. Also, the wide area communication network acts to connect the operator terminals to the shop terminals simply, immediately, and economically. In addition, by implementing a client certificate in the shop terminal and providing an electronic certification authority server that authenticates the client certificate, the security of the connection between the shop terminal and the operator terminal is ensured. Incidentally, the control of call origination and termination between shop terminals and operator terminals by the signaling server means confirming the login of the shop terminals and operator terminals to the call center system, receiving an origination inquiry signal from the shop terminal and sending a destination inquiry signal to the application server requesting the allocation of a destination operator terminal, monitoring the connection status of each shop terminal and each operator terminal on the wide area communication network, etc. Also, destination identification information specifically means information such as numbers and symbols that can identify a terminal, such as a telephone number unique to the destination operator terminal, but it can also mean a combination of information such as the telephone number and network information such as an IP address so that a connection to the wide area communication network, i.e. the Internet, can be made.

[0010] In addition, the second invention is a call center system according to the first invention, characterized in that the shop terminal and the operator terminal are equipped with screens and are capable of sending and receiving voice, text, and images via the wide area communication network, the operator terminal accesses the database server via the highly secure closed area communication network and displays the information on the operator terminal screen, and the shop terminal is not connected to the highly secure closed area communication network, and the content of the information displayed on the operator terminal screen is shared between the shop terminal screen and the shop terminal, making it possible to view the information related to the store. In the call center system of the second invention having the above configuration, in addition to the functions of the first invention, the operator terminal accesses a database server that cannot be accessed by shop terminals, displays highly confidential information stored in this database server on the operator terminal screen, and shares the display contents of this operator terminal screen with the shop terminal screen.

[0011] And the third invention is a call center system according to the first or second invention, characterized in that when the application server receives the destination inquiry signal from the signaling server and there is no free operator terminal, the application server issues a numbered ticket to the shop terminal, notifies the operator terminal that the originating shop terminal is waiting for a connection, and makes a call request to the free operator terminal to make a call to the originating shop terminal selected based on the order of issuance of the numbered tickets, and the operator terminal makes a call to the selected originating shop terminal based on the call request and origin identification information received from the application server, and the selected originating shop terminal receives the call and is connected to the operator terminal. The call center system of the third invention having the above configuration, in addition to the functions of the first invention or the second invention, receives a destination inquiry signal from the signaling server, and if there are no available operator terminals, the application server issues a numbered ticket to the originating shop terminal to notify it of a connection wait, and the application server makes call requests to the operator terminals in the order in which the numbered tickets were issued. Then, when an operator terminal becomes available, the operator terminal makes a call to the originating shop terminal based on the call request from the application server and the origin identification information received from the application server, and the shop terminal receives the call. In addition, the caller identification information specifically means information such as numbers and symbols that can identify the terminal, such as a telephone number unique to the operator terminal from which the call is made, but it can also mean a combination of information such as the telephone number and network information such as an IP address so as to enable connection to a wide area communication network, i.e. the Internet.

[0012] A fourth invention is a call center system according to the third invention, characterized in that in response to a notification from the application server that the shop terminal that is the originator is waiting for connection, the operator terminal requests the application server for the originator identification information regarding the shop terminal that is waiting for connection, the application server transmits the originator identification information regarding the shop terminal that is the originator and waiting for connection to the operator terminal, the operator terminal that has received the originator identification information makes a call to the shop terminal that is the originator based on the originator identification information without receiving the call request from the application server, and the shop terminal selected as the originator receives the call and is connected to the operator terminal. The call center system according to the fourth invention having the above configuration operates in the same manner as the third invention, in that, when the operator terminal receives from the application server a notification that the calling shop terminal is waiting for connection, it requests calling party identification information relating to the calling shop terminal that is waiting for connection from the application server, and when the operator terminal receives this calling party identification information from the application server, when a free connection occurs, it makes a call to the shop terminal based on the calling party identification information without receiving a call request from the application server. Also, the shop terminal makes a call to receive a call from this operator terminal. It should be noted that notifying the operator terminal that a connection wait is occurring at the shop terminal simply notifies the operator terminal that a connection wait is occurring and that a numbered ticket has been issued. The reason why the operator terminal is notified that a shop terminal is waiting for a connection is that by knowing the connection wait at the operator terminal, it is possible to encourage the operator to improve the efficiency of the service during the connection and shorten the connection wait time. However, this notification of the shop terminal's connection wait does not include the sender identification information of the shop terminal, but simply notifies and knows that a connection wait has occurred and the number of shop terminals waiting to be connected, i.e., the number of customers waiting to be connected.

[0013] A fifth invention is a call center system according to the fourth invention, characterized in that the application server, without waiting for a request for the call origin identification information from the operator terminal, sends to the operator terminal a notification of the occurrence of a connection wait for the originating shop terminal to the operator terminal, including the call origin identification information, and the operator terminal makes a call to the originating shop terminal based on the call origin identification information without receiving the call request from the application server, and the selected shop terminal of the call origin receives the call and is connected to the operator terminal. In the call center system of the fifth invention having the above configuration, the operator terminal operates in such a way that the application server sends to the operator terminal a notification of the occurrence of a waiting for connection at the shop terminal that originated the call, together with the call origin identification information, without requesting the call origin identification information that was requested from the application server in the fourth invention.

[0014] A call center operating program, which is a sixth invention, is a program executed by a computer to operate a call center having: an electronic certificate authority server that connects shop terminals used by customers who use a shop and operator terminals used by operators in a call center using a wide area communication network and authenticates client certificates installed in the shop terminals; a signaling server that controls call origination and reception between the shop terminals and the operator terminals; an application server that receives a call origination inquiry signal from the signaling server that has received a call origination inquiry signal from the shop terminal, selects and assigns the operator terminal to be the call destination, and transmits the call origination identification information to the signaling server so that the shop terminal receives call origination identification information from the signaling server for connecting to the selected operator terminal; a database server that stores information provided by the shop; and a closed area communication network that connects the database server, the application server, and the operator terminals and is more secure than the wide area communication network. the system includes a ticket issuing step of issuing a numbered ticket to the shop terminal when the operator terminal is not available when the application server receives the destination inquiry signal from the signaling server; a connection waiting notification step of the application server notifying the operator terminal that a connection waiting has occurred at the shop terminal that is the source of the call; a call request step of the application server making a call request to the operator terminal that has become available so that the operator terminal makes a call to the shop terminal that is the source of the call selected based on the order of issuance of the numbered tickets; a call origination information request step of the operator terminal that has become available requesting call origination information from the application server; a call origination information sending step of the application server sending the call origination information relating to the shop terminal that is the source of the call waiting to the operator terminal that has become available;and a connection step for connecting the operator terminal that has become free upon receiving the incoming call. The call center operating program, which is the sixth invention having the above-mentioned configuration, is an invention in which the call center system, which is the third invention, is regarded as a program invention, and therefore its operation is similar to that of the third invention.

[0015] The seventh invention is a call center operation program according to the sixth invention, characterized in that, in addition to not having the call origination request step, the program includes, after the connection waiting notification step, the call origination identification information request step, the call origination identification information sending step, the call origination step, and the connection step. The call center operation program, which is the seventh invention having the above-mentioned configuration, is an invention in which the call center system, which is the fourth invention, is viewed as a program invention, and therefore its function is the same as that of the fourth invention.

[0016] The call center operation program of the eighth invention is characterized in that, in the seventh invention, in the connection waiting notification step, the call origin identification information is included in the notification of the occurrence of connection waiting from the shop terminal from which the call was made and sent to the operator terminal that has become available, and the program includes the call origin identification information request step and the call origin identification information sending step, but includes the call origination step and the connection step. The call center operation program, which is the eighth invention having the above-mentioned configuration, is an invention in which the call center system, which is the fifth invention, is viewed as a program invention, and therefore its function is the same as that of the fifth invention. Effect of the Invention

[0017] In the call center system according to the first aspect of the invention, the database server and application server that store the information provided by the store are connected to the operator terminal via a highly secure closed communication network, and are not connected to the shop terminal, so there is no possibility of secret leakage and highly secure communication is possible. Also, the shop terminal is connected to the operator terminal via a wide area communication network, so connection is easy, but the shop terminal is equipped with a client certificate and is provided with an electronic certification authority server that authenticates the client certificate, so the security of the connection between the shop terminal and the operator terminal can also be guaranteed.

[0018] In the call center system according to the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, the operator terminal can safely access information stored in the database server through a highly secure closed area communication network, display this information on the operator terminal screen, and share the contents of the operator terminal screen by displaying them on a shop terminal screen through a wide area communication network, so that even if the shop terminal cannot access the database server, the contents of the stored information can be viewed through the operator terminal screen and the shop terminal screen. Therefore, there is little risk of the database server being accessed from outside and the stored information being accessed, and it is possible to manage the database server with a high level of security.

[0019] In the call center system according to the third invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second invention, when there are no available operator terminals for an inquiry from a shop terminal, the application server issues a numbered ticket to the shop terminal from which the call originates and notifies it of a waiting connection, thereby reducing the risk of causing anxiety or stress to the customer using the shop terminal from which the call originates. Also, since the application server makes call requests to the operator terminal in the order in which the numbered tickets were issued, it is possible to guide customers to operators in a rational order in which they are waiting.

[0020] In the call center system of the fourth invention, in addition to the effects of the third invention, when an operator terminal receives a notification from the application server that the originating shop terminal is waiting for connection, it requests originating identification information for the originating shop terminal waiting for connection from the application server, and when this originating identification information is received from the application server, when a connection becomes available, it makes a call to the originating shop terminal based on the originating identification information without receiving a call request from the application server, so that instructions from the application server are not required and it is possible to connect the shop terminal and operator terminal more quickly and efficiently than the third invention.

[0021] In the call center system of the fifth invention, the operator terminal receives from the application server a notification that the originating shop terminal is waiting for connection along with the originating caller identification information, so there is no need to separately request originating caller identification information regarding the shop terminal from the application server, making it possible to connect the shop terminal and operator terminal more quickly and efficiently than in the fourth invention.

[0022] The sixth invention, the call center operation program, is an invention in which the call center system, the third invention, is viewed as a program invention, and so its effects are the same as those of the third invention.

[0023] The seventh invention, the call center operation program, is an invention in which the call center system, the fourth invention, is viewed as a program invention, and so its effects are the same as those of the fourth invention.

[0024] The eighth invention, the call center operation program, is an invention in which the call center system, the fifth invention, is viewed as a program invention, and so its effects are the same as those of the fifth invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1]1 is a conceptual diagram of a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of a database server in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of an application server. [Diagram 3] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a process for connecting a shop terminal and an operator terminal in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a whiteboard area is displayed on a screen of an operator terminal in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a material display area is displayed on a screen of an operator terminal in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which the display of a material display area is shared between the screen of an operator terminal and the screen of a shop terminal in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a process until a shop terminal and an operator terminal are connected when a wait for connection between the shop terminal and the operator terminal occurs in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] 1A is a conceptual diagram showing the screen display of a shop terminal when a call is made from a shop terminal to an operator terminal in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a conceptual diagram showing the screen display of the shop terminal when there is a wait for connection to the operator terminal. [Figure 9] 1A is a conceptual diagram showing the screen display of an operator terminal when a call is made from a shop terminal to an operator terminal in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a conceptual diagram showing a connection waiting information pop-up included in the screen display of the operator terminal. [Figure 10]FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a process for connecting a shop terminal to an operator terminal when a wait for connection between the shop terminal and the operator terminal occurs in a first modified example of a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a process until a shop terminal and an operator terminal are connected when a wait for connection between the shop terminal and the operator terminal occurs in a second modified example of a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] A call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of a database server and an application server of the call center system. In FIG. 1, a call center system 1 is configured to connect a plurality of stores A and B and a call center 9 via a wide area communication network 8, and also to connect these with a part of a system cloud 2. The multiple stores A, B may be, for example, a mobile phone carrier store, a mass retailer of home appliances or furniture, or a department store, and are each equipped with shop terminals 17a, 17b that customers of the stores A, B use to search for product information, etc. The number of shop terminals 17a, 17b installed in each of the stores A, B can be increased or decreased as appropriate depending on the store area and the number of store staff. For example, when customers visit stores A and B of a mobile phone carrier, if all the store staff in charge of customer service are serving other customers, they may feel uncomfortable if they are forced to wait their turn inside the store, and there is a risk that they will switch to another mobile phone carrier, so shop terminals 17a and 17b are installed and operators waiting at call center 9 are utilized. These shop terminals 17a, 17b are composed of touch panel type tablet terminals or the like, and not only can customers check product information and answers to general questions, but they can also receive explanations about detailed product information and administrative procedures from operators stationed at call center 9 in place of the store staff who handle counter operations, and can actually carry out the procedures and submit documents required for contracts, etc.

[0027] The call center 9 is equipped with operator terminals 12 used by operators and supervisor terminals 11 used by supervisors who supervise the operators. Shop terminals 17a, 17b in stores A, B can be directly connected peer-to-peer to the operator terminals 12 and supervisor terminals 11 via the wide area communication network 8. It will be explained below that the operator terminal 12 accesses, or connects to, various devices including servers, and the supervisor terminal 11 can also access anything that the operator terminal 12 can access. The system cloud 2 also includes an electronic certification authority server 7 that performs electronic authentication for the client certificates installed in the shop terminals 17a and 17b, and a signaling server 6 that controls incoming and outgoing calls between the shop terminals 17a and 17b and the operator terminal 12. These shop terminals 17a and 17b can access the electronic certification authority server 7 and the signaling server 6 via a wide area communication network 8. Also, an application server 5 is provided which receives a destination inquiry signal from the signaling server 6 which has received an outgoing call inquiry signal from the shop terminals 17a, 17b via the local connection line 16, and selects and assigns the operator terminal 12 to be the destination of the call. In order for the shop terminals 17a, 17b to receive from the signaling server 6 the identification information of the destination for connecting to the assigned operator terminal 12, the application server 5 transmits the identification information of the destination of the call related to the assigned operator terminal 12 to the signaling server 6. The destination information means the identification information of the operator terminal 12 which receives the call in response to the call originated from the shop terminals 17a, 17b. The identification information of the shop terminals 17a, 17b or the operator terminal 12 means, specifically, information such as a number or symbol capable of identifying the terminal, such as a telephone number unique to each terminal, but may also mean a combination of information such as the telephone number and network information such as an IP address so as to enable connection to the wide area communication network 8, i.e., connection to the Internet.

[0028] Furthermore, the system cloud 2 is equipped with a database server 4 that stores corporate information about the stores A and B themselves, detailed information about the products handled by the stores, information about contracts for selling or leasing products to customers, detailed specification information about products and services, personal information about the store's customers, information about the contents of contracts, etc. Details of the stored data will be explained later using FIG. 2. When an operator at the call center 9 accesses the database server 4 or application server 5 in the system cloud 2 from the operator terminal 12, the access goes through a signal line 14a and a VPN router 10 on the call center 9 side, and then through a VPN server 3 and a signal line 14b on the system cloud 2 side. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is constructed between the VPN router 10 and the VPN server 3 as a highly secure closed communication network 13. The signal lines 14a and 14b, the local connection line 16, and the connections between other devices and servers may be wired or wireless. In Fig. 1, since the connections between devices and servers are made via the wide area communication network 8 as well as the highly secure closed area communication network 13, in order to clarify which line and which route are used to transmit voice, text, video and information (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as information, etc.), for the sake of convenience, signal lines 14c, 15a-15c are shown as signal lines on the wide area communication network 8. In other words, all of these signal lines 14c, 15a-15c are included in the wide area communication network 8. In the following embodiment, a detailed explanation will be given, including which signal line is used to transmit information, etc.

[0029] Next, the contents of the database server 4 and the application server 5 provided in the system cloud 2 of the call center system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2(a), a database server 4 stores client management data 4a, store management data 4b, staff management data 4c, group management data 4d, performance management data 4e, and business material data 4f. The client management data 4a is data relating to the companies that operate the stores A and B and are clients of the call center 9. Specifically, the data is data relating to the companies themselves, such as the company name and business details. The store management data 4b is data related to store management, specifically, data related to the store name, store manager, store location, telephone number, number of terminals, and the like. The staff management data 4c is data on personnel (staff) at the call center 9 who are assigned to each client's store. Specifically, the data is on the name of the client's store where the call center 9 is based, the job type of staff such as an operator, a supervisor who manages the operators, or a supporter who supports the operators, the login ID of each staff member, the name of the staff member, the languages ​​that can be spoken, etc. The group management data 4d is data related to the management of the group to which the staff of the call center 9 belong, specifically, data related to the name of the client store where the group is based, the names of the staff, and the priority of incoming calls from the shop terminals 17a, 17b. The performance management data 4e is data on the performance of services provided to customers who visit the client's store by the staff of the call center 9. Specifically, it is data on the call history between the staff and the customer (call date and time, store name, customer name, call duration), call recording, video recording, etc. The business material data 4f is data related to materials for carrying out store operations. Specifically, it is data related to materials such as leaflets (images) and videos that staff use to explain detailed specifications of products and services to customers in the store, procedural forms and disclaimer explanations required for contracts, and information and explanation materials related to the store and company. These data can be accessed from the operator terminal 12 and the supervisor terminal 11 via signal line 14a, the highly secure closed communication network 13, and signal line 14b, and can be entered, modified, or deleted as necessary to smoothly operate the call center system 1 and contribute to services for store customers.

[0030] Next, the devices stored in the application server 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 2(b). Note that although these are names of devices, they are actually files in the application server 5 as programs, and executable information processing functions are expressed as hardware devices. The operator terminal allocation device 5a is a device that allocates an operator terminal 12 based on a predetermined allocation rule in response to a call destination inquiry made by the shop terminals 17a and 17b to the signaling server 6 as to which operator terminal 12 a call will be received. The allocation rule means a rule including a priority order as to which operator terminal 12 a call should be connected when a call is made from the shop terminals 17a and 17b by a customer of the shop, and this allocation rule can be set in advance by both the client company that operates the shop and the company that operates the call center 9. It is also possible to select and connect only a specific operator terminal 12, or to display a menu related to the service content and the like in advance when a call is made from the shop terminals 17a and 17b, and to allocate an operator terminal 12 based on the selection. The operator terminal calling device 5b is a device that calls the operator terminal 12 assigned by the operator terminal assignment device 5a. The shop terminal information transmitting device 5c is a device that transmits the identification information of the originating shop terminal 17a, 17b received from the signaling server 6 to the operator terminal 12 in response to a request for originating identification information from an operator terminal 12 called by the operator terminal calling device 5b, or even without a request for originating identification information.

[0031] The operator terminal 12 then displays identification information about the originating shop terminal 17a, 17b on the screen of the operator terminal 12, and, as will be explained later, for the shop terminals 17a, 17b waiting for connection, the operator terminal 12 establishes a peer-to-peer connection with the originating shop terminal 17a, 17b. The operator terminal information transmitting device 5d is a device that transmits identification information relating to the destination operator terminal 12 assigned by the operator terminal assignment device 5a to the signaling server 6. Then, the signaling server 6 transmits the identification information relating to the destination operator terminal 12 to the shop terminals 17a and 17b, and the shop terminals 17a and 17b execute a peer-to-peer connection with the destination operator terminal 12. The signaling server 6 has information on the correspondence between the unique telephone numbers of the shop terminals 17a, 17b and the operator terminal 12 and the IP addresses that change dynamically in association with the telephone numbers, and when a call is made from the shop terminals 17a, 17b to the operator terminal 12, the signaling server 6 first provides caller identification information between the shop terminals 17a, 17b and the application server 5 to the application server 5 so that it can identify which of the shop terminals 17a, 17b the call came from. When the allocation and calling of the operator terminal 12 is completed by the operator terminal allocation device 5a and the operator terminal calling device 5b, the signaling server 6 provides destination identification information on the allocated operator terminal 12 between the application server 5 and the shop terminals 17a, 17b so that it can identify which operator terminal 12 has been allocated as the destination.

[0032] Returning to Fig. 2(b), the ticket management device 5e is a device that issues numbered tickets to the shop terminals 17a, 17b in the order in which the wait occurred when all operator terminals 12 are serving the shop terminals 17a, 17b and there are no vacancies, so that customers can wait until a vacancy occurs at the shop terminals 17a, 17b. The operator terminals 12 at the call center 9 can be increased according to the number of operators, but there may be cases where the number of responses required exceeds the number of operators in charge that day. In such cases, it is possible to issue numbered tickets on the shop terminals 17a, 17b and ask customers of the store to temporarily wait their turn, and the device 5e manages the issuance of such tickets. The screen sharing device 5f is a device for sharing a screen between the operator terminal 12 and the shop terminals 17a and 17b. The operator terminal 12 can access the database server 4 via the highly secure closed area communication network 13 and display the business document data 4f on the operator terminal 12 to give an explanation. At that time, the screen sharing device 5f is a device for making it easier for the operator to explain to the customer and carry out the procedure by displaying the documents displayed on the screen of the operator terminal 12 on the shop terminals 17a and 17b as well. Since the contents displayed on the screen of the operator terminal 12 are simply displayed on the screens of the shop terminals 17a and 17b and shared, the shop terminals 17a and 17b can grasp the contents of the documents displayed via the screen of the operator terminal 12 without accessing the database server 4. Not only still images but also moving images can be shared as documents. The chat device 5g is a device that enables chatting between the operator terminal 12 and the shop terminals 17a, 17b. Text data such as words and sentences can be input from each terminal and can be displayed on each other. This device is effective when confirmation is required by handwritten characters.

[0033] Next, the flow of a video call between the shop terminals 17a, 17b and the operator terminal 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the process up to when the shop terminals 17a, 17b and the operator terminal 12 are connected in the call center system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This Fig. 3 also shows the execution process by a computer of the call center operation program of the present invention, and explaining the flow of data and signal processing in the call center system 1 with reference to this figure is equivalent to explaining an embodiment of the call center operation program. In Fig. 3, in step S1, shop terminals 17a, 17b are started up by an operation of a customer visiting shops A, B, and the shop terminals 17a, 17b access the electronic certification authority server 7 using the client certificate installed in the shop terminals 17a, 17b to request electronic authentication. In this step S1, the shop terminal 17a accesses the electronic certification authority server 7 via signal lines 15a, 15b and signal line 15c on the wide area communication network 8 in Fig. 1. In step S2, the electronic certification authority server 7 performs an authentication procedure based on the request from the shop terminals 17a, 17b, and in step S3, a notification that the authentication procedure has been completed is sent to the shop terminals 17a, 17b. After completing the authentication procedure, the shop terminals 17a, 17b perform a login procedure to the signaling server 6 via the signal lines 15a, 15b and 15c in step S4, and the signaling server 6 confirms the login of the shop terminals 17a, 17b in step S5. The operator terminal 12 also performs a login procedure to the signaling server 6 via the signal line 14a and the signal lines 14c and 15c on the wide area communication network 8 in step S6, and the signaling server 6 similarly confirms the login of step S12 in step S7. At this point, login to the call center system 1 of the shop terminals 17a, 17b and the operator terminal 12 is completed, and the operator terminal 12 enters a state of waiting for a call to be made from the shop terminals 17a, 17b. The part above the dashed line in Figure 3 is the login operation stage, and the part below is the waiting stage. In addition, since Figure 1 shows Store A and Store B and their respective shop terminals are represented by the symbols 17a and 17b, in this specification the shop terminals of Store A and Store B are shown in parallel as shop terminals 17a, 17b; however, since each is an independent shop terminal and it is difficult to imagine that each would be connected to, for example, an operator terminal 12 at the same time, from here on the description of shop terminal 17b will be omitted and only the shop terminal 17a of Store A will be used as an example.

[0034] In step S8, a customer at store A, due to a shortage of staff to serve customers in the store, etc., sends a call, i.e., a call inquiry signal, to the operator terminal 12 from the shop terminal 17a. The call from the shop terminal 17a is transmitted to the signaling server 6 via the signal lines 15a and 15c, and in step S9, the call request becomes a transmission request for a call destination inquiry signal to the signaling server 6, so the signaling server 6 sends this to the application server 5 via the local connection line 16. In step S10a, the application server 5 receives the call destination inquiry signal and determines the allocation of the operator terminal 12 based on a predetermined allocation rule, and calls the allocated operator terminal 12 via the signal lines 14b and 14a and the highly secure closed communication network 13. In step S11, the signaling server 6 receives identification information regarding the destination assignment from the application server 5 via the local connection line 16, and based on this information, transmits it to the shop terminal 17a via the signal lines 15c, 15a as identification information regarding the destination operator terminal 12. In step S12, the operator terminal 12 requests identification information about the originating shop terminal 17a from the application server 5 via signal lines 14a, 14b and the highly secure closed communication network 13, and in step S13, the application server 5 responds to the request by returning the identification information about the originating shop terminal 17a to the operator terminal 12 via signal lines 14b, 14a and the highly secure closed communication network 13, and in step S14, the operator terminal 12 obtains the identification information about the originating shop terminal 17a and displays the contents on the screen of the operator terminal 12.

[0035] In step S15, the shop terminal 17a, having obtained the identification information regarding the operator terminal 12 assigned as the destination, directly makes a call to the assigned operator terminal 12 via the signal lines 15a, 14c and signal line 14a on the wide area communication network 8 to establish a peer-to-peer connection, and in step S16 the operator terminal 12 receives the call from the shop terminal 17a, connects, and a video call is established. In the call center system 1 according to this embodiment, the database server 4 and application server 5 which store information provided by the stores A and B are connected to the operator terminal 12 via a highly secure closed area communication network 13, but are not connected to the shop terminals 17a and 17b, so that highly secure communication can be performed without the possibility of secret leakage. Also, the shop terminals 17a and 17b are connected to the operator terminal 12 via the wide area communication network 8, so that connection can be easily made, but the shop terminals 17a and 17b are equipped with client certificates and are provided with an electronic certification authority server 7 which authenticates the client certificates, so that the security of the connection between the shop terminals 17a and 17b and the operator terminal 12 can also be guaranteed.

[0036] Next, a video call between the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a whiteboard area 22 is displayed on a screen 20a of the operator terminal 12 in a call center system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 4, screen 20a includes an area indicated by a thick dashed line and a system information display section 21. The area indicated by the thick dashed line is an area that can be shared with the screen of shop terminal 17a connected via wide area communication network 8. In the state of Fig. 4, what is shared with shop terminal 17a is shop terminal monitor screen 23, operator terminal monitor screen 24 and talk script display screen 25, which are always shared. On the other hand, whiteboard area 22 has not yet been shared. This shared area includes a whiteboard area 22, and a marker icon 29a for handwriting characters and figures on the whiteboard area 22, a coloring palette icon 29b for coloring, and a color selection icon 29d are displayed on a tool icon display section 29 located within the system information display section 21. An operator operating the operator terminal 12 selects the marker icon 29a to draw characters or figures in the whiteboard area 22, and if he or she wishes to color the drawn characters or figures, selects the coloring palette icon 29b, and then uses the color selection icon 29d to select the color he or she wishes to use to color the characters or figures. In addition, in the thick dashed line area, the behavior of customers in the store is distributed in real time via shop terminal 17a and displayed on shop terminal monitor screen 23, and the behavior of the operator using operator terminal 12 is also transmitted to shop terminal 17a, and the behavior of the operator that is transmitted is also displayed on operator terminal monitor screen 24.

[0037] Furthermore, the talk script display screen 25 displays in chronological order the contents of the chat exchanged between the operator and the customer by the chat device 5g. Furthermore, a document screen selection icon 30 and a whiteboard screen selection icon 31 are arranged at the top of the screen 20a of the operator terminal 12, and by selecting these, the document screen or the whiteboard screen can be selected. In the state shown in Fig. 4, the whiteboard area 22 is displayed by selecting the whiteboard screen selection icon 31. When selecting the document screen selection icon 30, by selecting the file icon 29c on the system information display section 21, the database server 4 can be accessed, and appropriate documents can be selected from the business document data 4f stored in the database server 4 and displayed on the screen 20a.

[0038] In addition, for example, when an operator alone is unable to handle a video call with a foreign customer, it is possible to select the supporter call icon 32 to call a supporter who speaks other languages, such as English. A screen sharing icon 33 is located at the top of the shop terminal monitor screen 23, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. An explanation will be added about the system information display section 21. The date, time and day of the week of the video call are displayed at the top, and below that is a logged-in user display section 26, which displays the name of the operator logged in to this operator terminal 12. Also below that is a number-of-people-waiting-to-connect display section 27, which displays the number of customers waiting to talk to the operator. Furthermore, below that is a client display section 28, which displays the name of the client company or store where the shop terminal 17a is installed, and the terminal name. These displays are executed by the operator terminal 12 accessing the database server 4 via the highly secure closed area communication network 13 described with reference to FIG. 1, and reading out the client management data 4a and store management data 4b.

[0039] Next, the call center system 1 according to this embodiment will be further described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a material display area is displayed on the screen of the operator terminal 12 in the call center system 1 according to this embodiment, and Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which the display of the material display area is shared between the screen of the operator terminal 12 and the screen of the shop terminal 17a. In these figures, the same reference numerals are used for components that have already been described, and their description will be omitted. 5, the screen 20b shows a material display area 34 in place of the whiteboard area 22 shown in FIG. 4. This is because the material screen selection icon 30 has been selected by the operator operating the operator terminal 12. In the material display area 34, the operator selects the file icon 29c, and the operator terminal 12 accesses the database server 4, and selects and displays business material data 4f relating to a quote for a mobile phone application. Access from the operator terminal 12 to the database server 4 is executed via the highly secure closed communication network 13. In the system information display section 21, a material content selection icon 29e is displayed in place of the color selection icon 29d shown in Fig. 4. This material content selection icon 29e displays material information that can be selected in addition to the material currently displayed on the screen 20b. The "fee plan" in the material content selection icon 29e is displayed in the material display area 34 of the screen 20b.

[0040] When the screen sharing icon 33 located in the upper left of the screen 20b in Fig. 5 is selected, the contents of the material display area 34 on the screen 20b of the operator terminal 12 being operated by the operator are displayed on the screen of the shop terminal 17a, making it possible to share the display contents of the material display area 34. The display of the operator terminal 12 in this state will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In Fig. 6, a screen sharing cancel icon 35 and a screen sharing in progress icon 36 are arranged within a thick dashed line in the upper left corner of the screen 20c. By displaying the screen sharing in progress icon 36, it is possible to make the operator operating the operator terminal 12 understand that the screen is being shared with the shop terminal 17a. Screen sharing is performed so that the operator can explain the contents of the business material data 4f stored in the database server 4 while displaying it on the shop terminal 17a, and the customer operating the shop terminal 17a can understand the specific contents of the mobile phone rate plan that he or she is currently about to sign a contract for by looking at, for example, the "quote" in the material display area 34 shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Once the customer understands, the operator can cancel the sharing by selecting the screen sharing cancel icon 35. When sharing the screens of the operator terminal 12 and the shop terminal 17a, although the operator terminal 12 accesses the database server 4, the shop terminal 17a does not access the database server 4, and the screen contents of the operator terminal 12 are simply displayed as is on the screen of the shop terminal 17a, so there is no need to worry about the business document data 4f or other information stored in the database server 4 being leaked to the outside. The operator terminal 12 can securely access information such as business material data 4f stored in the database server 4 through the highly secure closed communication network 13, display that information on the screen 20c of the operator terminal 12, and share the contents displayed on the screen 20c of the operator terminal 12 by displaying them on the shop terminal screen 17a through the wide area communication network 8, so that even if the shop terminal 17a cannot access the database server 4, the contents of the stored information such as business material data 4f can be viewed through the screen 20c of the operator terminal 12 and the screen of the shop terminal 17a. In other words, there is little risk of the database server 4 being accessed from outside and the stored information being accessed, and it is possible to manage the database server 4 with a high level of security.

[0041] Next, with reference to Figs. 7 to 9, a case will be described in which, in the call center system 1, a call is made from the shop terminal 17a, there are no available operator terminals 12, there is a connection wait, and a numbered ticket is issued. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing the process until the shop terminal 17a is connected to the operator terminal 12 when a wait for connection between the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12 occurs in a call center system 1 relating to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8(a) is a conceptual diagram showing the screen display of the shop terminal 17a when a call is made from the shop terminal 17a to the operator terminal 12 in the call center system 1, and FIG. 8(b) is a conceptual diagram showing the screen display of the shop terminal 17a when a wait for connection with the operator terminal 12 occurs. 9(a) is a conceptual diagram showing the screen display of the operator terminal 12 when a call is made from the shop terminal 17a to the operator terminal 12 in the call center system 1 and a connection wait occurs at the operator terminal 12, and (b) is a conceptual diagram relating to a connection wait information pop-up included in the screen display of the operator terminal 12. Note that Fig. 7 and Figs. 10 and 11, which will be referred to later, also show the execution steps of the call center operation program of the present invention, and explaining the flow of data and signal processing in the call center system 1 or its modified examples with reference to these figures is equivalent to explaining an embodiment of the call center operation program or its modified examples.

[0042] In FIG. 7, the steps already described with reference to FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. When the shop terminal 17a makes a call in step S8, the screen of the shop terminal 17a displays the display shown in FIG. 8(a). The icon "Cancel" is displayed to stop the call if the call is being made and the question or service request is resolved before the call is received from the operator terminal 12. When the signaling server 6 inquires of the application server 5 about the destination of the call in step S9 in response to the call from the shop terminal 17a, if there is no available operator terminal 12, the application server 5 issues a numbered ticket in step S10b. The numbered tickets are issued in the order of the shop terminals 17a that are found to be unavailable, and although the allocation rules of the application server 5 are followed, the waiting is basically resolved by allocating an available operator terminal 12 in the order in which the waiting occurred.

[0043] The signaling server 6 receives the notification regarding the issuance of the numbered ticket via the local connection line 16 shown in Fig. 1, and in step S11b, sends a connection waiting notification to the shop terminal 17a via the signal lines 15c and 15a, and the shop terminal 17a confirms the issuance of the numbered ticket on the screen of the shop terminal 17a. The screen notifying the issuance of the numbered ticket is as shown in Fig. 8(b). The screen shows that three groups are currently waiting for the online window through the operator terminal 12, and a notice is attached to the operator to wait for a call from the operator terminal 12. Here, too, a "cancel" icon is displayed to stop the call. In this state, although not shown in Fig. 7, a numbered ticket is issued by the application server 5 in step S10b, and information regarding the connection wait in step S11b is notified to the operator terminal 12 via the signal lines 14b and 14a and the highly secure closed communication network 13, and the number of people waiting for connection is displayed as three on the number-of-people display section 27 of the screens 20a-20c of the operator terminal 12 described above in Figs. 4-6. After confirming that the numbered ticket has been issued, the shop terminal 17a disconnects the call in step S12b to avoid congestion in the wide area communication network 8. Even in this case, the numbered ticket notifying the customer that they are waiting for their turn, as shown in FIG. 8(b), is still displayed on the screen of the shop terminal 17a. In addition, since the signaling server 6 constantly monitors the connection status between the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12, if there is a change in the waiting order, the signaling server 6 detects the change and can display the number of people waiting on the numbered ticket displayed on the screen of the shop terminal 17a at any time, even if the shop terminal 17a has disconnected the call. Then, when an availability occurs in the operator terminal 12 in step S13b, in step S14b, it is detected by the signaling server 6 which monitors the connection of the operator terminal 12 via the signal line 14a and the signal lines 14c and 15c on the wide area communication network 8. The signaling server 6 notifies the application server 5 via the local connection line 16 that an availability has occurred in the operator terminal 12.

[0044] Then, in step S15b, the application server 5, which has been notified that an operator terminal 12 has become available, sends a call request to the available operator terminal 12 via the signal lines 14b, 14a and the highly secure closed communication network 13 in the order in which the numbered tickets were issued, to the call sources waiting for connection, based on predetermined allocation rules. In step S16b, the operator terminal 12 that has become free requests the identification information of the caller from the application server 5 via the reverse route, and in step S17b, the application server 5 returns identification information about the caller's shop terminal 17a to the operator terminal 12, in principle in the order in which the numbered tickets were issued. In step S18b, the free operator terminal 12 acquires identification information relating to the originating shop terminal 17a and displays the details on the screen of the operator terminal 12. The state in which the identification information relating to the originating shop terminal 17a waiting for connection is popped up on the screen 20d of the operator terminal 12 is as shown in Fig. 9(a).

[0045] In Fig. 9(a), the components previously described using screens 20a-c are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. A connection waiting information pop-up 37 is displayed on the lower left side of screen 20d, and Fig. 9(b) shows an enlarged view of this display. Both a call icon 38 and a cancel icon 39 are arranged on the connection waiting information pop-up 37. In addition, since the store name and the connection waiting time of the customer are displayed, it is possible to promote a more detailed understanding of the situation for the operator operating the operator terminal 12 than when the number of people waiting is simply displayed. 9(a) and (b), only one connection waiting information pop-up 37 is displayed, but when multiple connection waiting occurs, a display like the connection waiting information pop-up 37 may be displayed for all customers waiting for connection in the order of issuance of the numbered ticket. In addition, whether there is one or multiple connection waiting information pop-ups, the signaling server 6, which constantly monitors the connection between the operator terminal 12 and the shop terminal 17a, detects the connection waiting information pop-up 37 in the order in which the connection waiting is resolved, and the signaling server 6 notifies the application server 5 of the connection resolution, and the application server 5 resolves the numbered ticket issuance status for the operator terminal 12, and the connection waiting information pop-up 37 is removed. In other words, the latest connection waiting information pop-up 37 is always displayed on the operator terminal 12.

[0046] When the operator operating the now-free operator terminal 12 selects the call icon 38, the operator terminal 12 in step S19b makes a call for a peer-to-peer connection directly to the originating shop terminal 17a via the signal lines 14a, 14c and signal line 15a on the wide area communication network 8 based on the call origin identification information, and in step S20b the shop terminal 17a receives the call from the operator terminal 12, is connected, and a video call is established. If the operator wishes to cancel the call after selecting the call icon 38, the operator selects the cancel icon 39. In this way, in the call center system 1 according to the present embodiment, by issuing a numbered ticket when there is no free operator terminal 12, it is possible to reduce anxiety and stress for a customer operating a shop terminal 17a. Also, a connection waiting information pop-up 37 is displayed on the operator terminal 12 according to the order of issuing the numbered tickets, and an operator terminal 12 that has become free can make a call for peer-to-peer connection to the shop terminal 17a. Therefore, the shop terminal 17a only needs to disconnect the first call and wait for a call from the operator terminal 12 and an incoming call, which can reduce the mental burden on the customer. Also, as soon as the operator operating the operator terminal 12 has finished serving another customer and is ready to serve the next customer, the operator makes a call, which makes it possible to provide efficient and rational service to customers without wasting time. Furthermore, when there are multiple connection waits, a connection wait information pop-up 37 is displayed on all operator terminals 12, so that a peer-to-peer connection can be quickly initiated with the shop terminal 17a in the order in which an available operator terminal 12 becomes available. This makes it possible to eliminate lost time particularly in cases where there are multiple stores and numerous shop terminals 17a, and enables efficient customer service, which can be expected to improve customer satisfaction. In this embodiment, the invention has been described as a system, but the process of processing data and signals using the system can be regarded as a program invention for executing on a computer, and the actions and effects thereof are the same as those of the system invention already described. The same also applies to the modified examples of the embodiment described below.

[0047] Next, a first modified example of the call center system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a process until the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12 are connected when a connection wait occurs between the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12 in the first modified example of the call center system 1. 10, the same steps as those described in FIG. 3 and FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the first modified example, in step S11b, the signaling server 6 notifies the shop terminal 17a of the call originating from the shop terminal 17a that the call originating from the shop terminal 17a is waiting for connection via the signal lines 15c and 15a on the wide area communication network 8, and at the same time notifies the operator terminal 12 of the occurrence of the connection waiting via the signal lines 15c and 14c and 14a on the wide area communication network 8, and in step S13c, the operator terminal 12 requests the application server 5 for identification information of the call originating from the shop terminal 17a that the call originating from the shop terminal 17a is waiting for connection via the signal lines 15c and 14c and 14a on the wide area communication network 8. In step S13c, the application server 5 receives the request, and in step S14c, returns the identification information of the call originating from the shop terminal 17a to the operator terminal 12 via the signal lines 14a and 14b and the highly secure closed communication network 13. In step S15c, the operator terminal 12 obtains the identification information of the shop terminal 17a which is the call originator, and displays the contents on the screen of the operator terminal 12. This display is the connection waiting information pop-up 37 shown in Fig. 9(a) and (b). At this stage, the operator terminal 12 is not yet available. When an available terminal becomes available in step S16c, the available operator terminal 12 already has the identification information of the call originator, so that in step S17c, the available operator terminal 12 makes a call for a peer-to-peer connection to the shop terminal 17a which is the call originator, via the signal lines 14a, 14c and the signal line 15a on the wide area communication network 8. In this first modified example, the operator who operates the available operator terminal 12 is aware that the operator terminal 12 is available, and can make a call for a peer-to-peer connection by simply selecting the call icon 38 of the connection waiting information pop-up 37 which is already displayed on the screen. In step S18c, the shop terminal 17a receives the call from the operator terminal 12, and the call is connected, establishing a video call.

[0048] In such a first variant of the call center system 1, even if the signaling server 6 does not detect an available connection at the operator terminal 12, the operator who has an available connection can make a call for a peer-to-peer connection to a customer who is waiting for a connection. This makes it possible to provide more efficient and rational customer service, in addition to the effects achieved by the call center system 1 of the embodiment.

[0049] Finally, a second modified example of the call center system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a process until the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12 are connected when a connection wait occurs between the shop terminal 17a and the operator terminal 12 in the second modified example of the call center system 1. 3, 7, and 10 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the second modified example, in step S10b, the application server 5 issues a numbered ticket to the shop terminal 17a, and at the same time, in step S13d, the application server 5 transmits identification information of the caller waiting for connection to the operator terminal 12 via the signal lines 14b, 14a and the highly secure closed communication network 13. In step S14d, the operator terminal 12 obtains the identification information of the shop terminal 17a that is the call originator, and displays the contents on the screen of the operator terminal 12. This display is the connection waiting information pop-up 37 shown in Figs. 9(a) and (b). At this stage, as in the first modified example, there is no vacant operator terminal 12 yet. When a vacant terminal becomes available in step S15d, the vacant operator terminal 12 already has the identification information of the call originator, and therefore, in step S16d, the operator terminal 12 makes a call for peer-to-peer connection to the shop terminal 17a that is the call originator, based on the identification information. In this second modified example, the application server 5 transmits the identification information of the call originator to the operator terminal 12 at the same time as issuing the numbered ticket, without the operator terminal 12 requesting it, which makes the process more efficient and rational than the first modified example. Furthermore, as in the first modified example, the operator who operates the operator terminal 12 that has become available is aware of the availability of the operator terminal 12, and can make a call for a peer-to-peer connection simply by selecting the call icon 38 in the connection waiting information pop-up 37 that is already displayed on the screen. In step S17d, the shop terminal 17a receives the call from the operator terminal 12, and the call is connected, establishing a video call.

[0050] In such a second variant of the call center system 1, the identification information of the caller can be obtained without the operator terminal 12 requesting it, and furthermore, even if the signaling server 6 does not detect an available connection at the operator terminal 12, the operator who has found an available connection can make a call for a peer-to-peer connection to the shop terminal 17a of a customer who is waiting for a connection. Therefore, in addition to the effects achieved by the call center system 1 according to the embodiment and the first variant, it is possible to provide customer service more efficiently and rationally. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] As described above, the inventions described in claims 1 to 8 can be used in call center systems and call center operation programs that can provide safe and efficient service to customers visiting a store on behalf of the store's customer service staff. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1...Call center system 2...System cloud 3...VPN server 4...Database server 4a...Client management data 4b...Store management data 4c...Staff management data 4d...Group management data 4e...Results management data 4f...Business document data 5...Application server 5a...Operator terminal allocation device 5b...Operator terminal calling device 5c...Shop terminal information transmission device 5d...Operator terminal information transmission device 5e...Numbered ticket management device 5f...Screen sharing device 5g...Chat device 6...Signaling server 7...Electronic certification authority server 8...Wide area communication network (Internet) 9...Call center 10...VPN router 11...Supervisor terminal 12...Operator terminal 13...Highly secure closed communication network (VPN) 14a-14c...Signal line 15a-15c...Signal line 16...Local connection line 17a,17b...Shop terminal 20a-20d...Screen 21...System information display section 22...Whiteboard area 23...Shop terminal monitor screen 24...Operator terminal monitor screen 25...Talk script display screen 26...Logged-in user display area 27...Number of people waiting to connect display area 28...Client display area 29...Tool icon display area 29a...Marker icon 29b...Coloring palette icon 29c...File icon 29d...Color selection icon 29e...Document content selection icon 30...Document screen selection icon 31...Whiteboard screen selection icon 32...Supporter call icon 33...Screen sharing icon 34...Document display area 35...Screen sharing cancellation icon 36...Screen sharing in progress icon 37...Connection waiting information popup 38...Call icon 39...Cancel icon A,B...Store

Claims

1. The present invention relates to a system for controlling call origination and reception between the shop terminal and the operator terminal, the system including: a shop terminal used by customers who use the shop; an operator terminal used by an operator in a call center; a wide area communication network connecting the shop terminal and the operator terminal; an electronic certificate authority server for authenticating a client certificate installed in the shop terminal; a signaling server for controlling call origination and reception between the shop terminal and the operator terminal; an application server for receiving a call origination inquiry signal from the signaling server which has received a call origination inquiry signal from the shop terminal, selecting and assigning the operator terminal which is the destination of the call, and transmitting the call origination identification information to the signaling server in order to receive from the signaling server call origination identification information for the shop terminal to connect to the selected operator terminal; a database server for storing information provided by the shop; and a system for controlling the database server, the application server, and the operator terminal. and a closed communication network, which is more secure than the wide area communication network, to which operator terminals are connected, and which is more secure than the wide area communication network; and when the application server receives the destination inquiry signal from the signaling server and there are no available operator terminals, the application server issues a numbered ticket to the shop terminal, notifies the operator terminal that there is a connection waiting at the shop terminal that is the originating call, and makes a call request to the available operator terminal to make a call to the shop terminal that is the originating call selected based on the order of issuance of the numbered tickets, and the available operator terminal makes a call to the shop terminal that is the selected originating call based on the call request and the caller identification information received from the application server, and the shop terminal that is the selected originating call is called and is connected to the available operator terminal.

2. The call center system described in claim 1, characterized in that the shop terminal and the operator terminal are equipped with screens and are capable of sending and receiving voice, text, and images via the wide area communication network, the operator terminal accesses the database server via the highly secure closed area communication network and displays the information held by the store on the operator terminal screen, and the shop terminal is not connected to the highly secure closed area communication network and the contents of the information held by the store displayed on the operator terminal screen are shared between the shop terminal screen and the information held by the store can be viewed.

3. 3. The call center system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that in response to a notification from the application server that the shop terminal that is the originator is waiting for a connection, the operator terminal requests the application server for the call origin identification information regarding the shop terminal that is waiting for a connection, the application server transmits the call origin identification information regarding the shop terminal that is the originator and waiting for a connection to the operator terminal, the application server receives the call origin identification information, and the operator terminal that has become free makes a call to the shop terminal that is the originator based on the call origin identification information by operation of the operator without receiving the call request from the application server, and the selected shop terminal that is the originator receives the call and is connected to the operator terminal that has become free.

4. The call center system according to claim 3, characterized in that the application server, without waiting for a request for the call origin identification information from the operator terminal, sends to the operator terminal a notification of the occurrence of a waiting period for connection of the shop terminal that is the origin of the call to the operator terminal, including the call origin identification information, and the operator terminal that has become available makes a call to the shop terminal that is the origin of the call based on the call origin identification information by operation of the operator, without receiving the call request from the application server, and the shop terminal of the selected origin of the call receives the call and is connected to the operator terminal.

5. A program executed by a computer for operating a call center having: an electronic certificate authority server that connects, via a wide area communication network, shop terminals used by customers who use the store and operator terminals used by operators in the call center, and authenticates client certificates installed in the shop terminals; a signaling server that controls call origination and reception between the shop terminals and the operator terminals; an application server that receives a call destination inquiry signal from the signaling server that has received a call origination inquiry signal from the shop terminal, selects and assigns the operator terminal to be the call destination, and transmits the call destination identification information to the signaling server so that the shop terminal can receive the call destination identification information from the signaling server for connecting to the selected operator terminal; a database server that stores information provided by the store; and a closed area communication network that connects the database server, the application server, and the operator terminals, and is more secure than the wide area communication network, a call ticket issuing step of the application server issuing a numbered ticket to the shop terminal when the operator terminal is not available upon receiving the destination inquiry signal from the signaling server; a connection waiting notification step of the application server notifying the operator terminal that the source shop terminal is waiting for a connection; a call request step of the application server making a call request to the freed operator terminal so that the freed operator terminal makes a call to the source shop terminal selected based on the order of issuance of the numbered tickets; a call origination information request step of the freed operator terminal requesting call origination information from the application server; a call origination information sending step of the application server sending the call origination information relating to the source shop terminal waiting for a connection to the freed operator terminal; a call origination information sending step of the freed operator terminal receiving the call origination information and making a call to the source shop terminal selected by an operation by the operator; and a connection step of connecting the selected source shop terminal to the freed operator terminal upon receiving the call.

6. 6. A call center operation program as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that it does not include the call origination request step, and instead includes, after the connection waiting notification step, the call origination identification information request step, the call origination identification information sending step, the call origination step, and the connection step.

7. 7. A call center operation program as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that in the connection waiting notification step, the call origin identification information is included in a notification of the occurrence of a connection wait at the shop terminal from which the call was made and sent to the operator terminal that has become available, and the program further comprises the call origin step and the connection step, without comprising the call origin identification information request step and the call origin identification information sending step.

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