Store visit reservation system, reservation slot control method, and store visit management system

Abstract

To provide a visit reservation system, a reservation limit control method, and a visit management system which provide an efficient service to both a customer and a store.SOLUTION: The visit reservation system for performing reservation processing of a customer, includes: a storage unit that stores a first time preset as a time required for each type of a voucher and reservation status information in which a reservation status in a reservation slot is registered; an information acquisition unit that acquires information on the type of a voucher of the customer and the number of the vouchers from a web voucher system; a calculation unit that calculates a second time which is the total time required for the customer's transaction, from the first time corresponding to the type of the voucher and the number of the vouchers acquired by the information acquisition unit; a search unit that searches for a reception reservation slot that customers can reserve based on the second time by referring to the reservation status information; a display control unit that displays the reception reservation slot searched for by the search unit on a customer's terminal; and a registration unit that registers the selected reservation slots selected by the customer from the reception reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a store visit reservation system, a reservation slot control method, and a store visit management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are reservation systems that allow customers to make reservations for visits to financial institutions from their terminals.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a reservation system in which a customer inputs their attributes, purpose of visit, and desired store, and a reservation calendar is displayed to the customer based on the input information. The reservation calendar includes information on whether or not a reservation can be made for each reservation slot, with dates, days of the week, and time slots representing one reservation slot. Customers can make a reservation by selecting the slot they want to reserve from the displayed reservation calendar. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-157605 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the above-mentioned patent document accepts reservations without taking into account the time required to serve customers upon their arrival. If a customer brings multiple receipts or if the transaction is difficult to handle, serving the customer may take longer than the reservation time slot. Therefore, if the response time is long, other customers may have to wait longer, which may reduce the customer's satisfaction with the store. Conversely, if a customer brings few receipts or if the transaction is simple, serving the customer may be completed in less time than the reservation time slot. Therefore, if the response time is short, there may be excess time, and fewer customers may be served than the actual number of customers available. As such, a large difference between the time estimated in the reservation time slot and the actual time required to serve customers can cause inconvenience to customers and the store.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a store visit reservation system, a reservation slot control method, and a store visit management system that reduce the difference between the time assumed in a reservation slot and the time actually required to respond to a customer, thereby providing efficient service for customers and stores. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a store visit reservation system that is connected to a customer's terminal and a web form system that creates a form indicating the details of the transaction that the customer plans to carry out at the store, and that processes customer reservations using reservation slots that are divided into time periods for accepting store visits.The store visit reservation system includes: a memory unit that stores a first time that is preset as the required time for each type of form and reservation status information that registers the reservation status for the reservation slot; an information acquisition unit that acquires information on the customer's type of form and the number of forms from the web form system; a calculation unit that calculates a second time that is the total required time for the customer's transaction from the first time corresponding to the type of form acquired by the information acquisition unit and the number of forms; a search unit that references the reservation status information to search for reception reservation slots that the customer can reserve from the second time; a display control unit that displays the reception reservation slots searched by the search unit on the customer's terminal; and a registration unit that registers a selected reservation slot selected by the customer from the reception reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information.

[0008] The first time corresponding to the type of slip may be set to multiple values corresponding to the age of the customer, the information acquisition unit may further acquire information on the age of the customer, and the calculation unit may calculate the second time using the first time corresponding to the age of the customer and the type of slip acquired by the information acquisition unit.

[0009] The first time corresponding to the type of slip may be set to a different value depending on whether the customer is an individual or a corporation, and the information acquisition unit may further acquire attribute information indicating whether the customer is an individual or a corporation, and the calculation unit may calculate the second time using the first time corresponding to the customer attribute and type of slip acquired by the information acquisition unit.

[0010] The first time is a value calculated from the time required for a transaction of the corresponding type of slip during a customer's previous visits to the store, and is set for each customer. The information acquisition unit may further acquire identification information associated with the first time set for the customer, and the calculation unit may calculate the second time using the identification information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the first time corresponding to the type of slip.

[0011] The memory unit may further store work schedule information for the store clerks, skill information that stores the customer service skills of the store clerks for each store clerk, and a time correction value that is a value set for each skill, and the calculation unit may extract the store clerk who will be dealing with customers from the work schedule information, identify the skills of the store clerk who will be dealing with customers from the skill information, identify a time correction value corresponding to the identified skill, and calculate a second time from the identified time correction value, the first time, and the number of slips, and the search unit may search for reception reservation slots in the reservation slots in which the store clerk who will be dealing with customers is scheduled to work from the second time.

[0012] The store may further include a staff allocation unit that determines which staff member will serve customers who have made reservations to visit the store, wherein the memory unit further stores work schedule information for the staff and skill information that stores the customer service skills of the staff member for each staff member, and the registration unit further registers the customer's second time in the reservation status information, and the staff allocation unit identifies the second times of multiple customers who have made reservations for a specific reservation slot from the reservation status information, extracts multiple staff members who will serve customers in the specific reservation slot from the work schedule information, identifies the skills of the multiple staff members from the skill information, and determines that a customer among the multiple customers who has a long second time will be served by a staff member with the highest skill among the multiple staff members.

[0013] The store may further include a staff allocation unit that determines which staff member will serve customers who have made reservations to visit the store, wherein the memory unit further stores work schedule information for the staff, and the registration unit further registers the customer's second time in the reservation status information. The staff allocation unit identifies the second times of multiple customers who have made reservations for specific reservation slots from the reservation status information, extracts multiple staff members from the work schedule information to serve customers in the specific reservation slots, and determines that for two consecutive reservation slots, the first staff member who will serve the customer with the longest second time in the specific reservation slot will be different from the second staff member who will serve the customer with the longest second time in the other reservation slot.

[0014] In addition, in order to solve the problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling reservation slots in a store reservation system that is connected to a customer terminal and a web ticket system that creates a ticket indicating the details of the transaction that the customer plans to carry out at the store, and that processes customer reservations using reservation slots that are divided into time slots for accepting store visits.The store reservation system provides a reservation slot control method that causes a control unit to execute processes including the following steps: storing in a memory unit a first time that is preset as the required time for each type of ticket and reservation status information that registers the reservation status for the reservation slot; acquiring information on the customer's type of ticket and the number of tickets from the web ticket system; calculating a second time that is the total required time for the customer's transaction from the first time corresponding to the acquired type of ticket and the number of tickets; searching for reception reservation slots that the customer can reserve from the second time by referring to the reservation status information; displaying the searched reception reservation slots on the customer's terminal; and registering a selected reservation slot selected by the customer from the reception reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information.

[0015] In order to solve the problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a store visit management system connected to a customer's terminal, comprising a web form system for creating a form showing the details of a transaction that a customer plans to carry out at a store, and a store visit reservation system for processing customer reservations using reservation slots that are divided into time slots for accepting store visits, the web form system having an input receiving unit that acquires information related to the creation of a form from the customer's terminal, and a form creation unit that creates a form from the information acquired by the input receiving unit and provides information including the type of form and the number of forms for the customer to the store visit reservation system, and the store visit reservation system has a first time period that is preset as the required time for each type of form. a storage unit that stores a time period and reservation status information in which the reservation status for the reservation slots is registered; an information acquisition unit that acquires information on the type of customer slip and the number of slips from a web slip system; a calculation unit that calculates a second time, which is the total time required for the customer's transaction, from the first time corresponding to the type of slip acquired by the information acquisition unit and the number of slips; a search unit that references the reservation status information and searches for reception reservation slots that the customer can reserve from the second time period; a display control unit that displays the reception reservation slots searched by the search unit on the customer's terminal; and a registration unit that registers a selected reservation slot selected by the customer from the reception reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] Reservations are made taking into account the time required to respond to customers, allowing for efficient service for both customers and stores. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of a reservation system according to first to fifth embodiments. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a customer terminal 1 according to the first to fifth embodiments. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a web slip system 2 according to first to fifth embodiments. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a store reservation system 3 according to first to fourth embodiments. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of unit corresponding time information 3801 according to the first and third to fifth embodiments. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of reservation status information 3802 according to the first to fourth embodiments. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen 131 displayed on a customer terminal 1 according to the first to fifth embodiments. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of operation processing according to the first to fifth embodiments. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process of a calculation unit 340 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of age-specific unit corresponding time information 3811 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process of a calculation unit 341 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of department-specific unit corresponding time information 3812 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process of a calculation unit 341 according to a modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of past store visit information 3821 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of customer-specific unit response time information 3822 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 16] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process of a calculation unit 342 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of work schedule information 3831 for store staff according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of skill information 3832 of store staff according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of skill-specific time correction value information 3833 for store clerks according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of skill-specific time correction value information 3834 for store clerks according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process of a calculation unit 343 according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a store reservation system 3 according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of work schedule information 3841 for store staff according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of skill information 3842 of store staff according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 25] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operational process of a store clerk allocation unit 390 according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of reservation status information 3843 according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 27] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of reservation status information 3844 according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 28] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operational process of a store clerk allocation unit 390 according to the fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0019] <1. First embodiment> <1.1 Overview> Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a reservation system according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, a store visit reservation system 3 according to this embodiment is communicably connected to a customer terminal 1 and a web slip system 2 via the Internet 4. The web slip system 2 and store visit reservation system 3 are installed in a data center or cloud environment of a financial institution.

[0020] Customer terminal 1 is a communication terminal used by customers who wish to visit a store, and is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet. Customers receive services from the web slip system 2 and the store reservation system 3 through a browser running on the customer terminal 1, and perform operations to create web slips and make store reservations.

[0021] The Web Voucher System 2 provides the customer terminal 1 with an application for creating Web vouchers. The functions of the Web Voucher System 2 are realized by a Web application. The Web Voucher System 2 displays a Web voucher creation screen on the customer terminal 1 and creates a Web voucher that reflects the input results from the customer terminal 1. A Web voucher is a voucher created online that a customer submits when conducting a transaction at a financial institution. The customer selects the type of voucher according to the Web voucher creation screen displayed on the customer terminal 1 and enters the necessary information (account number, amount, name, etc.) from the customer terminal 1. The Web Voucher System 2 then creates a Web voucher that reflects the customer's input results. The type of voucher here refers to the type of transaction conducted at the financial institution, such as deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or money transfer. A two-dimensional code is printed on the printed matter of the Web voucher. At the financial institution's branch, the two-dimensional code on the printed matter that the customer brings with them when visiting is read by a terminal that processes the transaction, and the Web voucher information is obtained. The two-dimensional code contains all or part of the customer's web slip information, or a search code that can obtain this web slip information. Here, web slip information includes, for example, the type of slip, the number of slips, the customer's name, account number, amount, etc. The web slip system 2 also communicates with the store visit reservation system 3, and sends the web slip information required when the store visit reservation system 3 makes a store visit reservation to the store visit reservation system 3. The web slip system 2 may not send all of the web slip information to the store visit reservation system 3, but may send only part of the web slip information. The web slip system 2 sends, for example, information on the type of slip and the number of slips to the store visit reservation system 3. The type of slip and the number of slips may be information on how many of each type of slip there are, for example, information that there were two deposits.

[0022] The store reservation system 3 is a system that provides the customer terminal 1 with an application for making store reservations. The functions of the store reservation system 3 are realized by a web application. The store reservation system 3 calculates the time required to respond to the customer based on the web form information obtained from the web form system 2, and displays the time slots available for reservations on the customer terminal 1.

[0023] <1.2 Configuration> 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the customer terminal 1 in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the customer terminal 1 has a communication unit 11, an input unit 12, an output unit 13, a web browser unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a printing unit 16.

[0024] The communication unit 11 communicates with the web slip system 2 and the store reservation system 3 via the Internet 4. The communication unit 11 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, an optical communication line, or a mobile phone line.

[0025] The input unit 12 receives operations such as customer input of information and selection of reservation slots when creating a web slip or making a reservation to visit the store. The input unit 12 includes input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and touchpad.

[0026] The output unit 13 displays screens received from the web slip system 2 and the store reservation system 3. The output unit 13 includes output devices such as a monitor or display.

[0027] The web browser unit 14 runs web applications provided by the web slip system 2 and the store reservation system 3.

[0028] The storage unit 15 stores data such as web slips created by the web slip system 2. The storage unit 15 is, for example, a non-volatile information storage medium such as a hard disk drive or flash memory.

[0029] The printing unit 16 prints the web slip on a printer connected to the customer terminal 1. In the following embodiments, the customer terminal 1 is assumed to be a PC, but if the customer terminal 1 is a mobile terminal, it does not need to have the printing unit 16.

[0030] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the web form system 2 in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the web form system 2 has a communication unit 21 and a control unit 22. The control unit 22 further has a display control unit 23, an input reception unit 24, and a form creation unit 25.

[0031] The communication unit 21 communicates with the customer terminal 1 and the store reservation system 3 via the Internet 4. The communication unit 21 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, an optical communication line, or a mobile phone line.

[0032] The control unit 22 has a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and functions as an arithmetic processing unit and control device, controlling the overall operation of the web slip system 2 in accordance with various programs. The control unit 22 comprehensively controls the various processes executed by the display control unit 23, input reception unit 24, and slip creation unit 25. The control unit 22 may also execute other processes.

[0033] The display control unit 23 causes the customer terminal 1 to display a web screen related to the creation of a web slip.

[0034] The input acceptance unit 24 accepts information input from the customer terminal 1. Specifically, when information entered by a customer operating the customer terminal 1 is transmitted from the customer terminal 1 and received by the communication unit 21 of the web slip system 2, the input acceptance unit 24 accepts it as input.

[0035] The slip creation unit 25 creates a web slip based on the information entered from the customer terminal 1.

[0036] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the store visit reservation system 3 in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, the store visit reservation system 3 includes a communication unit 310, a control unit 320, and a storage unit 380. The control unit 320 further includes an information acquisition unit 330, a calculation unit 340, a search unit 350, a display control unit 360, and a registration unit 370.

[0037] The communication unit 310 communicates with the customer terminal 1 and the web slip system 2 via the Internet 4. The communication unit 310 is an interface for connecting to a network such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, an optical communication line, or a mobile phone line.

[0038] The control unit 320 has a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a control unit, and controls the overall operation of the store reservation system 3 in accordance with various programs. The control unit 320 comprehensively controls various processes executed by the information acquisition unit 330, calculation unit 340, search unit 350, display control unit 360, and registration unit 370. Note that the control unit 320 may also execute other processes.

[0039] The information acquisition unit 330 acquires web form information from the web form system 2.

[0040] The calculation unit 340 calculates a total response time (second time), which is the time required to respond to customers, from the web slip information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330 and the unit response time (first time) set for each slip type. The unit response time is the time required to respond to customers per slip. In this embodiment, the unit response time is set for each slip type. The total response time is the time required to respond to customers for all of the customer's slips. For example, if a customer's web slip contains two deposits, the total response time is the time required to respond to both deposits. The total response time is calculated from the web slip information and the unit response time. For example, if the calculation unit 340 acquires web slip information for two deposits from the information acquisition unit 330 and the unit response time for the deposit slip type is set to 5 minutes, the calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time to be 5 × 2 = 10 minutes. The calculation unit 340 outputs the calculation result to the search unit 350. Furthermore, for example, when the calculation unit 340 acquires information on a web slip containing one deposit and two withdrawals from the information acquisition unit 330, and the unit response time for a deposit is set to 5 minutes and the unit response time for a withdrawal is set to 8 minutes, the calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time as 5 + 8 × 2 = 21 minutes.

[0041] The search unit 350 searches for reservation slots (reception reservation slots) available for customers based on the total response time calculated by the calculation unit 340. In this embodiment, reservation slots are set within the business hours divided into time periods, and the search unit 350 searches for reservation slots available for customers. For example, reservation slots are set within the business hours divided into 30-minute intervals from 9:00 to 15:00, and the search unit 350 refers to the reservation status information 3802 to search for reservation slots available for customers. The search unit 350 searches all reservation slots for reservation slots available for customers who wish to make a store visit reservation. A reservation slot available for reservation is a reservation slot for which the remaining time, which is the duration of the reservation slot (30 minutes) minus the total response time of customers who have reserved that reservation slot, is equal to or greater than the total response time of customers who wish to make a store visit reservation. If the total response time calculated by the calculation unit 340 is 10 minutes, the search unit 350 searches for reservation slots for which the remaining time is equal to or greater than 10 minutes.

[0042] The display control unit 360 causes a web screen for making a reservation to be displayed on the customer terminal 1. For example, based on the search result obtained by the search unit 350, the display control unit 360 causes the customer terminal 1 to display reservation slots available for the customer.

[0043] The registration unit 370 registers the reservation slot selected by the customer (selected reservation slot) as the customer's reservation slot in the reservation status information 3802. For example, if the customer selects a reservation slot from 9:00 on the 7th from the reservation slots displayed on the reservation screen, the registration unit 370 registers the customer's reservation by registering the date, reservation slot, customer name, and total response time in the reservation status information 3802.

[0044] The storage unit 380 stores various types of information, etc. For example, the storage unit 380 stores unit corresponding time information 3801 and reservation status information 3802. The storage unit 380 is, for example, a non-volatile information storage medium such as a hard disk drive or flash memory.

[0045] FIG. 5 shows an example of unit response time information 3801. In unit response time information 3801, unit response times are set for each type of slip. In the example of FIG. 5, the unit response times corresponding to the slip types are set as 5 minutes for deposits, 8 minutes for withdrawals, 10 minutes for transfers, and 10 minutes for funds transfers. The calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time from the customer's web slip information and the unit response time corresponding to the slip type included in the web slip information. Specifically, when the calculation unit 340 acquires web slip information for two deposits, it identifies the unit response time corresponding to the deposits as 5 minutes from unit response time information 3801. Then, the calculation unit 340 multiplies the identified unit response time of 5 minutes by the number of slips, 2, to calculate the total response time as 10 minutes.

[0046] FIG. 6 shows an example of reservation status information 3802 indicating the reservation status of a store. The reservation status information 3802 records reservation information for each customer, such as the date, reservation slot (30 minutes), customer identification information such as the customer's name, and total response time. In FIG. 6, for simplicity, customer names are written in alphabetical order. The search unit 350 refers to the reservation status information 3802 and searches for reservation slots available for the customer based on the total response time calculated by the calculation unit 340. For example, the search unit 350 searches for reservation slots available for reservation if the remaining time, calculated by subtracting the total response time of the customers who have reserved the reservation slot from the duration of the reservation slot (30 minutes), is equal to or greater than the total response time of the customer who wishes to make a reservation to visit the store. In the example of FIG. 6, customer B has made a reservation for the reservation slot from 9:00 to 9:30 on March 7, 2022. Since customer B's total response time is 10 minutes, the remaining time for this reservation slot is 20 minutes. Additionally, the 11:00-11:30 slot has reservations from Customer E and Customer F, and the total response time for both is 25 minutes, so the remaining time for this slot is 5 minutes. If the total response time for the customers who want to make a store reservation is 10 minutes, the 9:00-9:30 slot is available for reservation because the remaining time is more than 10 minutes, but the 11:00-11:30 slot is unavailable for reservation because the remaining time is less than 10 minutes.

[0047] The above describes an example of the configuration of the customer terminal 1, the web slip system 2, and the store reservation system 3 according to this embodiment. Note that the configurations in this embodiment are not limited to the examples shown in FIGS.

[0048] Here, the reservation screen displayed on the customer terminal 1 will be described.

[0049] 7 is an example of a reservation screen, specifically, a reservation screen 131 that displays reservation slots available for a customer based on the search results of the search unit 350. On the reservation screen 131, reservation slots available for reservation are indicated by a circle, and reservation slots that cannot be reserved are indicated by an X. A customer can select the reservation slot they wish to reserve from among the reservation slots indicated by a circle.

[0050] <1.3 Operation processing> Next, the operational processing of the store reservation system 3 in this embodiment and a series of related processes will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operational processing of the customer terminal 1, the web slip system 2, and the store reservation system 3 in this embodiment.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 8, first, the customer terminal 1 starts up the web browser unit 14 in accordance with the customer's operation and connects to the web slip system 2 (step S101).

[0052] The display control unit 23 of the web voucher system 2 displays a web voucher creation screen on the customer terminal 1. The display control unit 23 displays, for example, a form for selecting the type of voucher and a form for entering the customer's name, amount, account number, etc. on the customer terminal 1 (step S102).

[0053] The customer terminal 1 accepts input of information required for the customer to create a web voucher (such as the type of voucher, the customer's name, and account number) via the input unit 12, and transmits the input information to the web voucher system 2 via the communication unit 11 (step S103).

[0054] Steps S102 and S103 can be repeated as appropriate. First, the Web invoice system 2 displays a form for selecting the type of invoice on the customer terminal 1. The customer terminal 1 accepts an operation by the customer to select the desired type of invoice from the displayed form. At this time, the customer may select multiple types of invoice. The Web invoice system 2 then displays an input form on the customer terminal 1 according to the type of invoice selected by the customer. For example, if the type of invoice is a deposit or withdrawal, the Web invoice system 2 displays an input form for the branch name, account number, amount, etc., and if the type of invoice is a transfer or money transfer, the Web invoice system 2 displays an input form for the branch name, account number, amount, and account number for the transfer or transfer destination, etc. If the customer selects multiple types of invoice, the Web invoice system 2 displays multiple input forms.

[0055] The slip creation unit 25 of the web slip system 2 creates a web slip based on the information entered by the customer (step S104).

[0056] Furthermore, the display control unit 23 of the web slip system 2 causes the customer terminal 1 to display a screen for connecting to the store reservation system 3 (step S105). For example, the display control unit 23 generates a link including a URL for connecting to the store reservation system 3 and causes the link to be displayed on the customer terminal 1. This link may include a slip number for identifying the web slip created by the customer. The slip number is entered in a predetermined format, for example, as a URL parameter.

[0057] The customer terminal 1 connects to the store reservation system 3 in accordance with the customer's operation. For example, when the customer selects a link displayed on a screen connecting to the store reservation system 3, the customer terminal 1 connects to the store reservation system 3 (step S106).

[0058] The store visit reservation system 3 requests information about the web form created through communication between the connected customer terminal 1 and the web form system 2 from the web form system 2 (step S107). The store visit reservation system 3 requests information about the web form from the web form system 2, for example, by specifying the form number included as a parameter in the link used when the customer terminal 1 connected to the store visit reservation system 3.

[0059] The WEB slip system 2 sends the WEB slip information requested by the store visit reservation system 3 to the store visit reservation system 3 (step S108). For example, the WEB slip system 2 identifies the WEB slip using the slip number specified by the store visit reservation system 3 in the slip creation unit 25, and sends the WEB slip information to the store visit reservation system 3 via the communication unit 21.

[0060] The information acquisition unit 330 of the store reservation system 3 acquires the web form information from the web form system 2 (step S109).

[0061] Next, the calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time from the information on the web slip and the unit response time set for each slip type, and outputs the calculation result to the search unit 350 (step S110). The method for calculating the total response time by the calculation unit 340 will be described in detail later.

[0062] The search unit 350 searches for reservation slots available for the customer based on the total response time acquired from the calculation unit 340 (step S111).

[0063] The display control unit 360 displays the reservation slots available for reservation by the customer on the customer terminal 1 based on the search result of the search unit 350 (step S112).

[0064] The customer terminal 1 accepts the customer's operation of selecting the desired reservation slot from the available reservation slots displayed on the output unit 13 via the input unit 12, and transmits the input information to the WEB slip system 2 via the communication unit 11 (step S113).

[0065] The registration unit 370 of the store reservation system 3 registers the reservation slot selected by the customer as the customer's reservation slot in the reservation status information 3802 (step S114).

[0066] Here, we will explain how the calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time. Figure 9 is a flowchart showing how the calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time. First, the calculation unit 340 acquires information on the type and number of slips from the web slip information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330 (step S201). Next, the calculation unit 340 identifies a unit response time corresponding to the slip type from unit response time information 3801 stored in the storage unit 380 (step S202). Then, the calculation unit 340 calculates the total response time from the identified unit response time and the number of slips (step S203).

[0067] An example of the operation process of the store reservation system 3 according to this embodiment has been described above. Note that the process shown in Fig. 8 is just an example, and this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0068] In the explanation of the operation and processing of the store visit reservation system 3, an example was shown in which the store visit reservation system 3 requests web form information from the web form system 2 when it accepts a connection from the customer terminal 1. However, this example is not limiting, and the web form system 2 may send the customer's web form information to the store visit reservation system 3 even without a request from the store visit reservation system 3. For example, when the customer terminal 1 notifies the web form system 2 that it has connected to the store visit reservation system 3, the web form system 2 may send the web form information to the store visit reservation system 3 based on that notification.

[0069] According to the embodiment described above, when a customer makes a reservation to visit a store, the reservation is made taking into account the time required to respond to the customer. This reduces the difference between the time estimated for the reservation slot and the actual time required to respond to the customer, allowing for efficient service to be provided to both the customer and the store. Furthermore, since the information on the web slip is automatically sent from the web slip system 2 to the store reservation system 3, the customer does not need to perform any cumbersome operations. Furthermore, by connecting to the store reservation system 3 immediately after creating the web slip, customers can be prevented from forgetting their store reservation.

[0070] 2. Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the unit response time is set for each type of slip, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be set for each customer attribute.

[0071] <2.1 Configuration> The configuration of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the store reservation system 3 includes a calculation unit 341 and a storage unit 381 instead of the calculation unit 340 and the storage unit 380. The configuration of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the storage unit 381 stores age-specific unit corresponding time information 3811 shown in the example of FIG. 10 instead of unit corresponding time information 3801.

[0072] FIG. 10 is an example of age-specific unit response time information 3811, in which unit response times are set by slip type and age, which is a customer attribute. For example, when the slip type is deposit, the unit response time is set to 5 minutes if the customer's age is 74 or younger, and 7 minutes if the customer's age is 75 or older. Similarly, for other slip types, different unit response times are set depending on whether the customer is 74 or younger or 75 or older. For older customers, it is conceivable that the response time when they visit the store will be longer, as it may take longer for the store clerk to explain things to them. For this reason, the unit response time is set longer for customers 75 or older than for customers 74 or younger.

[0073] <2.2 Operation processing> The operation processing in the second embodiment is similar to the operation processing described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. 8, but differs from the first embodiment in the method of calculating the total response time performed in step S110 in FIG.

[0074] In step S109 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the information acquisition unit 330 of the store reservation system 3 acquires information on the web slip, including the customer's age.

[0075] Next, in step S110, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using the unit response time shown in the age-specific unit response time information 3811 in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing how the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time. First, the calculation unit 341 acquires information on the type and number of slips and the customer's age from the web slip information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330 (step S301). Next, the calculation unit 341 identifies the unit response time corresponding to the slip type and customer age from the age-specific unit response time information 3811 stored in the storage unit 381 (step S302). Specifically, if the customer's age is 74 or younger, the calculation unit 341 identifies the unit response time corresponding to the slip type from the unit response time listed in the "74 or younger" column in FIG. 10. If the customer's age is 75 or older, the calculation unit 341 identifies the unit response time listed in the "75 or older" column in FIG. 10. Then, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time from the identified unit response time and the number of slips (step S303). For example, if the calculation unit 341 receives information on a web form where the customer is 70 years old, the form type is deposit, and there are two forms, it will determine the unit response time as 5 minutes and calculate the total response time as 5 x 2 = 10 minutes.Also, if the calculation unit 341 receives information on a web form where the customer is 75 years old, the form type is deposit, and there are two forms, it will determine the unit response time as 7 minutes and calculate the total response time as 7 x 2 = 14 minutes.

[0076] <2.3 Modifications> In the second embodiment described above, an example was explained in which the unit response time was set by age, which is a customer attribute, but the unit response time can also be set by affiliation, which is a customer attribute. Affiliation is information on whether the customer is an individual or a corporation. In this modification, the storage unit 381 stores affiliation-based unit response time information 3812 shown in the example of FIG. 12 instead of age-based unit response time information 3811.

[0077] FIG. 12 is an example of unit response time information by department 3812, in which unit response times are set by slip type and customer affiliation (individual, corporation). For example, when the slip type is deposit, the unit response time is set to 5 minutes if the customer is an individual, and 3 minutes if the customer is a corporation. Similarly, for other slip types, different unit response times are set depending on whether the customer is an individual or a corporation. Corporate customers visit the store frequently and are accustomed to using the store, so it is conceivable that the response time from store staff will be shorter. For this reason, the unit response time is set shorter for corporate customers than for individual customers.

[0078] Here, the operational process in this modified example will be described. In step S109 of the flowchart shown in Figure 8, the information acquisition unit 330 of the store reservation system 3 acquires information on the web slip, including the customer's affiliation.

[0079] Next, in step S110, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using the unit response time shown in the department-specific unit response time information 3812 in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing how the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time. First, the calculation unit 341 acquires the type and number of slips and the customer's affiliation information from the web slip information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330 (step S401). Next, the calculation unit 341 identifies the unit response time corresponding to the slip type and customer's affiliation from the department-specific unit response time information 3812 stored in the storage unit 381 (step S402). Specifically, if the customer's affiliation is an individual, the calculation unit 341 identifies the unit response time corresponding to the slip type from the unit response time listed in the individual column in FIG. 12. If the customer's affiliation is a corporation, the calculation unit 341 identifies the unit response time corresponding to the slip type from the unit response time listed in the corporation column in FIG. 12. Then, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time from the identified unit response time and the number of slips (step S403). For example, if the calculation unit 341 receives information on a web invoice where the customer belongs to an individual, the invoice type is deposit, and there are two invoices, it will determine the unit response time as 5 minutes and calculate the total response time as 5 x 2 = 10 minutes.Also, if the calculation unit 341 receives information on a web invoice where the customer belongs to a corporation, the invoice type is deposit, and there are two invoices, it will determine the unit response time as 3 minutes and calculate the total response time as 3 x 2 = 6 minutes.

[0080] In the second embodiment and its modified examples, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using either age or affiliation information as a customer attribute. However, both may be used, or the storage unit 381 may store both age-specific unit response time information 3811 shown in the example of FIG. 10 and affiliation-specific unit response time information 3812 shown in the example of FIG. 12. In this case, the information acquisition unit 330 of the store reservation system 3 acquires web form information including the customer's age and affiliation. The calculation unit 341 acquires information on the type and number of forms, and the customer's age and affiliation from the web form information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330. The calculation unit 341 then calculates the total response time using the age-specific unit response time information 3811 and the affiliation-specific unit response time information 3812. For example, if the customer's age is 74 or younger, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using the unit response time in the affiliation-specific unit response time information 3812 based on the customer's affiliation. Furthermore, if the customer's age is 75 or older, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using the unit response time in the age-specific unit response time information 3811. It is conceivable that the response time will be longer if the customer is elderly. Therefore, if the customer's age is 75 or older, the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using the unit response time in the age-specific unit response time information 3811 regardless of the affiliation.

[0081] In the second embodiment described above, different unit response times are set depending on the attributes (age, affiliation) of the customer, and the calculation unit 341 calculates the total response time using the age-specific unit response time information 3811 and affiliation-specific unit response time information 3812. By setting different unit response times depending on the attributes of the customer in this way, it is possible to reduce the difference between the calculated total response time and the actual response time.

[0082] In the example of age-specific unit corresponding time information 3811 shown in Fig. 10, customer ages are divided into 74 years old or younger and 75 years old or older, but the present invention is not limited to this example and any appropriate age may be set. Furthermore, unit corresponding times may be set as appropriate in both Fig. 10 and Fig. 12. In the examples of Fig. 10 and Fig. 12, age-specific unit corresponding time information 3811 and affiliation-specific unit corresponding time information 3812 are shown separately, but age-specific unit corresponding time information 3811 and affiliation-specific unit corresponding time information 3812 may be stored in the storage unit 381 as the same data sheet.

[0083] If a customer's personal information data can be obtained from a bank system or the like, the store visit reservation system 3 can obtain information such as account number included in the web form information and, by linking this information to the account number, obtain personal information data such as the customer's age and affiliation from the bank system or the like. Furthermore, when creating a web form, the web form system 2 may display a form on the customer terminal 1 for inputting the customer's age and affiliation. The web form system 2 may then send the web form information, including the obtained customer's age and affiliation information, to the store visit reservation system 3. The store visit reservation system 3 can obtain the customer's age and affiliation information from the web form information obtained from the web form system 2.

[0084] 3. Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the unit response time was set according to the age and affiliation of the customer. In the third embodiment, the unit response time is set based on the time required for the target customer to complete a transaction when the target customer visited the store in the past.

[0085] <3.1 Configuration> The configuration of the third embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the store visit reservation system 3 has a calculation unit 342 and a storage unit 382 instead of the calculation unit 340 and the storage unit 380. The storage unit 382 further stores past store visit information 3821 shown in the example of Fig. 14 and customer-specific unit response time information 3822 shown in the example of Fig. 15.

[0086] Figure 14 is an example of past visit information 3821, showing the type and number of slips and the time required to handle them when a certain customer A visited the store in the past. For example, when a customer A visited the store on January 2, 2021, there were two deposits, which took 12 minutes to handle. Also, when a customer visited the store on February 8, 2021, there was one withdrawal and two transfers, which took 25 minutes, and when a customer visited the store on March 7, 2021, there were three withdrawals and one transfer, which took 35 minutes.

[0087] FIG. 15 shows an example of customer-specific unit response time information 3822 for customer A, which was set based on customer A's past visit information 3821. The customer-specific unit response time information 3822 is stored for each customer. The customer-specific unit response time information 3822 includes customer identification information, such as an account number, and information about unit response times set corresponding to the type of slip. In the example of customer-specific unit response time information 3822 for customer A in FIG. 15, the unit response times corresponding to the type of slip are set as 6 minutes for deposits, 9 minutes for withdrawals, and 8 minutes for transfers. These unit response times are set based on the customer's past visit information 3821. In the example of FIG. 14, when customer A visited the store on January 2, 2021, it took 12 minutes to make two deposits, so the response time per deposit is calculated to be 6 minutes. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 15, the unit response time corresponding to deposits is set to 6 minutes. In the example of Figure 14, during visits on February 8, 2021 and March 7, 2021, it took 25 minutes for one withdrawal and two transfers, and 35 minutes for three withdrawals and one transfer, respectively. Using simultaneous equations based on both sets of data, it is calculated that one withdrawal takes 9 minutes and a transfer takes 8 minutes. Therefore, in the example of Figure 15, the unit response time for a withdrawal is set to 9 minutes, and the unit response time for a transfer is set to 8 minutes. If there is a lot of data in past visit information 3821, the unit response time is calculated from simultaneous equations based on the two most recent visit dates. Furthermore, because customer A has not conducted any transfer transactions in the past, the unit response time for transfers is set to no data. Customer-specific unit response time information 3822 is linked to customer identification information, such as an account number, and the customer-specific unit response time information 3822 for the target customer is extracted from the customer's identification information.

[0088] <3.2 Operation processing> The operation processing in the third embodiment is the same as the operation described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. 8, but the method of calculating the total response time in step S110 in FIG. 8 is different from that in the first embodiment.

[0089] In step S109, the information acquisition unit 330 of the store reservation system 3 acquires information about the web slip, including customer identification information such as an account number. Next, in step S110, the calculation unit 342 calculates the total handling time using customer-specific unit handling time information 3822 linked to the customer identification information. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing how the calculation unit 342 calculates the total handling time. First, the calculation unit 342 acquires the type and number of slips and customer identification information from the web slip information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330 (step S501). Next, the calculation unit 342 identifies the unit handling time corresponding to the slip type from the customer-specific unit handling time information 3822 stored in the storage unit 382 (step S502). Specifically, the calculation unit 342 identifies the unit handling time by referring to the customer-specific unit handling time information 3822 linked to the customer identification information acquired from the information acquisition unit 330. Then, the calculation unit 342 calculates the total handling time from the identified unit handling time and the number of slips (step S503). For example, if the calculation unit 342 receives information on a web slip showing two deposits from customer A, it identifies the unit response time as 6 minutes and calculates the total response time as 6 x 2 = 12 minutes. In the example of Figure 15, no data on unit response times corresponding to transfers is stored. Therefore, when the web slip information includes transfers, the calculation unit 342 calculates the total response time using the unit response times shown in Figure 5.

[0090] Furthermore, customer visit information and customer-specific unit response time information 3822 can only be acquired after the customer has visited the store at least once. Therefore, if customer-specific unit response time information 3822 linked to the customer's identification information does not exist, the calculation unit 342 calculates the total response time using unit response time information 3801 shown in FIG. 5.

[0091] Here, the customer-specific unit response time information 3822 may be updated as appropriate. For example, the branch visit reservation system 3 may receive information on the response time when a customer visits the branch from a bank system or the like as needed. For example, the branch visit reservation system 3 receives information on the customer's response time from the bank's system each time the customer visits the branch, and stores the information in past visit information 3821 stored in the storage unit 382 of the branch visit reservation system 3. As the customer visits the branch repeatedly, the amount of data in past visit information 3821 stored in the storage unit 382 increases, so the branch visit reservation system 3 updates the customer-specific unit response time information 3822 as appropriate. The update may be performed every time information on the customer's response time is received, or at a predetermined frequency. The customer-specific unit response time information 3822 can be updated by the calculation unit 342. The calculation unit 342 calculates a unit response time corresponding to the type of slip using the past visit information 3821, and updates the customer-specific unit response time information 3822. The data used to calculate the unit response time corresponding to the slip type may be the data with the most recent customer visit date. For example, if there is data on the visit date for one slip type, the calculation unit 342 calculates the unit response time using the data with the most recent visit date. Also, if the unit response time cannot be obtained without solving simultaneous equations, the calculation unit 342 calculates the unit response time using data with the most recent visit date for which the simultaneous equations can be solved.

[0092] In the third embodiment described above, a unit response time corresponding to the type of slip is set for each customer based on the customer's past store visit information 3821. Since the unit response time is set using data from the actual store visit, the calculation unit 342 can calculate the total response time reflecting the customer's characteristics.

[0093] 4. Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the total response time is calculated taking into consideration the ability of the store staff who respond to customers in the store.

[0094] <4.1 Configuration> The configuration of the fourth embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the store visit reservation system 3 has a calculation unit 343, a search unit 353, and a memory unit 383 instead of the calculation unit 340, the search unit 350, and the memory unit 380. The memory unit 383 further stores employee work schedule information 3831 (work schedule information) shown in the example of Fig. 17, employee skill information 3832 (skill information) shown in the example of Fig. 18, employee skill-specific time correction value information 3833 and employee skill-specific time correction value information 3834 shown in the examples of Figs. 19 and 20.

[0095] Fig. 17 is an example of staff work schedule information 3831, which stores which staff member will be in charge of customer service for each reservation slot. For example, the example in Fig. 17 indicates that staff member A will be in charge of customer service from 9:00 to 12:00 on March 7th, and staff member C will be in charge of customer service from 12:00 to 15:00.

[0096] Fig. 18 is an example of clerk skill information 3832, which stores customer service skills for each clerk. In the example of Fig. 18, customer service skills are divided into three levels: "low," "average," and "high," with "low" skill being assigned a level of 1, "average" a level of 2, and "high" a level of 3, and the skills are stored for each clerk. In the example of Fig. 18, clerk a's skill is 1, clerk b's skill is 1, and clerk c's skill is 2.

[0097] 19 is an example of clerk skill-specific time correction value information 3833, in which a time correction value corresponding to the clerk's skill is set. The time correction value is a value corresponding to the clerk's skill in dealing with customers, and is a value used when calculating the total handling time in the fourth embodiment. In the example of FIG. 19, if the clerk's skill is 1, the time correction value is set to 1.2; if the clerk's skill is 2, the time correction value is set to 1; and if the clerk's skill is 3, the time correction value is set to 0.8.

[0098] Fig. 20 is an example of clerk skill-specific time correction value information 3834, in which a time correction value corresponding to the average skill of the clerk is set. In the example of Fig. 20, if the average skill of the clerk is 1 or more and less than 1.5, the time correction value is set to 1.2, if the average skill of the clerk is 1.5 or more and less than 2.5, the time correction value is set to 1, and if the average skill of the clerk is 2.5 or more and less than 3, the time correction value is set to 0.8.

[0099] <4.2 Operation processing> The operation in the fourth embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment using Figure 8, but the method of calculating the total response time performed in step S110 of Figure 8 and the method of searching for available reservation slots performed in S111 are different from those in the first embodiment.

[0100] First, in step S109, the information acquisition unit 330 of the store reservation system 3 acquires information on the web slip.

[0101] Next, in step S110, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time using the unit response time shown in FIG. 5 and the clerk skill-specific time correction value information 3833 shown in FIG. 19. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a method for calculating the total response time by the calculation unit 343. First, the calculation unit 343 acquires the type and number of slips from the web slip information acquired by the information acquisition unit 330 (step S601). Next, the calculation unit 343 extracts the clerk who will be handling the customer from the clerk work schedule information 3831 stored in the memory unit 383 (step S602). Here, the calculation unit 343 extracts the clerk who will be handling the customer from all the reservation slots for which the search for reservation slots is performed. For example, when searching for reservation slots from Monday, March 7th to Friday, March 11th, the calculation unit 343 extracts, from the clerk work schedule in FIG. 17, clerk a, clerk b, and clerk c who will be serving customers from Monday, March 7th to Friday, March 11th. Then, the calculation unit 343 identifies the skills of the clerks extracted in step S602 from the clerk skill information 3832 (step S603). For example, the calculation unit 343 identifies the skills of each clerk as 1 for clerk a, 1 for clerk b, and 2 for clerk c. Next, the calculation unit 343 calculates a tentative total response time from the type and number of slips and unit response time information 3801 (step S604). For example, when the calculation unit 343 acquires information about a web slip with two deposits, it identifies the unit response time as 5 minutes and calculates the provisional total response time as 5 × 2 = 10 minutes. Then, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time for each employee based on the provisional total response time and a time correction value corresponding to the employee's skill (step S605). Here, the total response time is calculated by multiplying the provisional total response time by the time correction value. For example, employee A has skill level 1, so the time correction value is 1.2. Therefore, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time corresponding to employee A as 10 × 1.2 = 12 minutes. Similarly, for employee B, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time corresponding to employee B as 12 minutes. Since employee C has skill level 2, the time correction value is 1. Therefore, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time corresponding to employee C as 10 × 1 = 10 minutes.

[0102] Next, in step S111 of Fig. 8, the search unit 353 searches for available reservation slots using the total response time calculated for each store clerk. Specifically, the search unit 353 searches for each reservation slot using the total response time calculated for the store clerk who will be handling the customer. For example, for the reservation slot from 9:00 to 12:00 on Monday, March 7, the search unit 353 searches using 12 minutes, which is the total response time for store clerk A, and for the reservation slot from 12:00 to 15:00, which is the total response time for store clerk C, 10 minutes.

[0103] Furthermore, the calculation unit 343 may calculate the total response time without using the clerk skill-specific time correction value information 3833. In this case, a numerical value is set for each clerk skill, and the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time using the numerical value. For example, a numerical value is set corresponding to the clerk skill, such as 1.5 for "low" clerk skill, 1 for "average" clerk skill, and 0.5 for "high" clerk skill. When calculating the total response time, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time by multiplying the hypothetical total response time by a numerical value corresponding to the clerk skill.

[0104] Although the above description assumes that one salesperson handles customer service for each reservation slot, cases where two or more salespersons are involved are also possible. When two or more salespersons are involved, the calculation unit 343 calculates the average value of the salesperson's skills and calculates the total response time using a time correction value corresponding to the average value. In step S602 of FIG. 21, for example, the calculation unit 343 extracts salesperson a, salesperson b, and salesperson c, who are responsible for customer service, from salesperson work schedule information 3831. Then, in step S603, the calculation unit 343 identifies the skills of salesperson a as 1, salesperson b as 1, and salesperson c as 2 from salesperson skill information 3832 of FIG. 18. Here, suppose there is a slot in which all three salespersons, salesperson a, salesperson b, and salesperson c, handle customer service. In this case, the calculation unit 343 calculates the average value of the skills of the three salespersons as follows: (1 + 1 + 2) ÷ 3 = 1.3. Next, the calculation unit 343 refers to the clerk skill-specific time correction value information 3834 shown in the example of FIG. 20 to identify a time correction value corresponding to the average skill value of the clerk. In FIG. 20, if the average skill value of the clerk is 1.3, the time correction value is 1.2. The calculation unit 343 then calculates the total response time from the provisional total response time and the identified time correction value. The total response time is calculated by multiplying the provisional total response time by the identified time correction value. For example, if the provisional total response time is 10 minutes, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time as 10 × 1.2 = 12 minutes. Therefore, for a reservation slot in which three clerks, clerk a, clerk b, and clerk c, will respond to a customer, the search unit 353 searches for a reservation slot that can be reserved with a total response time of 12 minutes.

[0105] In the above example, the skills of store clerks are divided into three levels: "low," "average," and "high," but the number of levels is not limited to 3. Furthermore, the time correction value shown in the example of FIG. 18 is not limited to this example and may be set as appropriate.

[0106] In the fourth embodiment described above, the calculation unit 343 calculates the total response time based on the skills of the store clerk. The response time of a customer may vary depending on the attributes of the customer, but it may also vary depending on the skill of the store clerk. For example, it is conceivable that a novice store clerk (with "low" store clerk skills) will take a long response time, while a veteran store clerk (with "high" store clerk skills) will take a short response time. Therefore, by calculating the total response time taking the store clerk skills into consideration, it is possible to reduce the difference between the total response time and the actual response time.

[0107] <5. Fifth Embodiment> Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, when there are multiple store clerks who are handling customers, the store clerks are assigned using the total handling time calculated in the first to fourth embodiments.

[0108] <5.1 Configuration> FIG. 22 shows the configuration of a store visit reservation system 3 in the fifth embodiment. The store visit reservation system 3 in the fifth embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in that it includes a store staff allocation unit 390 and a storage unit 384. The other configurations are the same as those of the first to fourth embodiments. In the example of FIG. 22, the store visit reservation system 3 includes a calculation unit 340, but the calculation unit 340 may be any of the calculation units 340, 341, 342, and 343 described in Examples 1 to 4. In addition, in the example of FIG. 22, the store visit reservation system 3 includes a search unit 350, but the search unit 350 may be any of the search units 350 and 353 described in Examples 1 to 4.

[0109] Depending on which of the first to fourth embodiments the store reservation is made in, storage unit 384 stores the same information as storage unit 380, storage unit 381, storage unit 382, and storage unit 383, which are the storage units of the first to fourth embodiments. However, storage unit 384 stores at least store clerk work schedule information 3841, store clerk skill information 3842, and reservation status information 3843.

[0110] The staff allocation unit 390 determines which staff member will serve the customer who has made a reservation in the reservation slot. For example, if customer L and customer M have made a reservation in a certain reservation slot, and the staff members who will serve the customer in that slot are staff member a and staff member c, the staff allocation unit 390 determines which staff member will serve which customer.

[0111] 23 is an example of the store clerk work schedule information 3841 in the fifth embodiment. The store clerk work schedule information 3841 stores the store clerk who will handle customer service for each reservation slot.

[0112] Fig. 24 is an example of clerk skill information 3842 in the fifth embodiment, which stores the customer service skills of each clerk. For example, clerk skill information 3842 classifies skills into three levels: "low," "average," and "high," and stores the skills of each clerk with "low" skill being assigned a level 1, "average" being assigned a level 2, and "high" being assigned a level 3. In the example of Fig. 24, clerk skill information 3842 stores the skills of clerks a to e.

[0113] <5.2 Operation processing> The operation in the fifth embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in that a store clerk is assigned after step S114 shown in Fig. 8. Steps S101 to S114, which are the operations for making a store reservation, can be performed in the operations of the first to fourth embodiments. The method for assigning a store clerk will be described below with reference to Fig. 25.

[0114] One method of assigning staff is to assign staff based on the total time spent on customer reservations and the skills of the staff. Specifically, the staff assignment unit 390 first extracts staff who are scheduled to serve customers in a specific reservation slot from staff work schedule information 3841 stored in the storage unit 384 (step S701). A specific reservation slot is a reservation slot to which a staff member is assigned. For example, when assigning staff to a reservation slot from 9:00 on March 14, the staff assignment unit 390 extracts staff a and staff c who are scheduled to work in the specific reservation slot from 9:00 on March 14 from the staff work schedule information 3841 shown in FIG. 23. Next, the staff assignment unit 390 identifies the skills of the extracted staff from staff skill information 3842 (step S702). For example, the clerk allocation unit 390 identifies the skill level of clerk a as 1 and the skill level of clerk c as 2 from the clerk skill information 3842 shown in FIG. 24. Next, the clerk allocation unit 390 identifies customers who have reservations for a specific reservation slot and the total response time for each customer from the reservation status information 3843 (step S703). FIG. 26 is an example of reservation status information 3843. In the example of FIG. 26, customer L and customer M have reservations for the reservation slot from 9:00 on March 14th. For example, the clerk allocation unit 390 identifies the total response time for customer L as 20 minutes and the total response time for customer M as 10 minutes from the reservation status information 3843 shown in FIG. 26. In FIG. 26, the data in the column labeled "clerk" indicates the clerk who will respond to the customer. However, this data is stored after the clerk is assigned, and therefore the data in the column labeled "clerk" is not stored at the time of step S703. The clerk allocation unit 390 then determines which clerk will handle the customer based on the identified clerk's skills and total handling time (step S704). Here, the clerk allocation unit 390 allocates clerks so that customers with long total handling times are handled by clerks with higher skills. For example, for a reservation slot from 9:00 on March 14, clerk c is more skilled than clerk a, and customer L's total handling time is longer than customer M's. Therefore, the clerk allocation unit 390 determines that clerk c will handle customer L and clerk a will handle customer M. The determined allocation is stored in the reservation status information 3843 (step S705). In the example of FIG. 26, the data of the determined allocation is stored in the column labeled "clerk."

[0115] Another example of clerk allocation is to allocate clerks based on the total response time for a reservation to reduce bias in the total response time for each clerk. In other words, it is ensured that one clerk does not serve only customers with long or short total response times. Specifically, the clerk allocation unit 390 first extracts clerks scheduled to serve customers in a specific reservation slot from the clerk work schedule information 3841 stored in the storage unit 384 (step S801). For example, when allocating clerks to a reservation slot from 9:30 on March 14, the clerk allocation unit 390 extracts clerks A and C scheduled to serve customers in the specific reservation slot from 9:30 on March 14 from the clerk work schedule information 3841 shown in FIG. 23. Next, the clerk allocation unit 390 identifies customers who have reservations in the specific reservation slot and the total response time for each customer from the reservation status information 3844 (step S802). FIG. 27 is an example of reservation status information 3844. In the example of FIG. 27, customer N and customer O have made reservations for the reservation slots from 9:30 on March 14th. For example, the staff allocation unit 390 determines from the reservation status information 3844 shown in FIG. 27 that the total response time for customer N is 25 minutes and the total response time for customer O is 5 minutes. In FIG. 27, the data in the column labeled "staff" indicates the staff member who will assist the customer, but this data is stored after staff allocation, so the data in the column labeled "staff member" is not stored at the time of step S802. Thereafter, the staff allocation unit 390 determines the staff member who will assist the customer based on the identified staff member and the total response time (step S803). Here, the clerk allocation unit 390 determines the clerks to be assigned to two consecutive reservation slots so that the clerk (first clerk) who will serve the customer with the longest second time in one reservation slot is different from the clerk (second clerk) who will serve the customer with the longest second time in the other reservation slot. For example, in the reservation slot from 9:00 on March 14, the total time spent by clerk c on customer L is longer than the total time spent by clerk a on customer M. Therefore, the clerk allocation unit 390 determines that in the reservation slot from 9:30 onwards, clerk a will be assigned to serve the customer with the longest total response time. In other words, the clerk allocation unit 390 determines that clerk a will be assigned to serve customer N, who has the longest total response time, and that clerk c will be assigned to serve customer O, who has the shortest total response time. The determined allocation is stored in the reservation status information 3844 (step S804).27, the determined allocation data is stored in the column labeled “Staff.” Also, since there is no previous reservation slot for the first reservation slot of the day, the staff allocation unit 390 may randomly allocate a staff member.

[0116] In the fifth embodiment described above, efficient personnel allocation can be achieved by allocating staff using the total response time calculated by the calculation units 340 to 343. Customers who take a long total response time may be difficult to handle, so assigning highly skilled staff to handle them makes it possible to handle them smoothly. Furthermore, reducing the imbalance in the total response time for each staff member can be expected to reduce the workload on staff members.

[0117] <Supplementary information> Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0118] In this embodiment, the reservation slots are set in 30-minute intervals and an example of searching for available reservation slots for a customer is shown. For example, if the number of customer slips is large and the total response time is calculated to be 30 minutes or more, a search may be made to see if there are two consecutive available reservation slots.

[0119] In this embodiment, the Web slip system 2 and the store reservation system 3 are described as separate systems, but the functions of the Web slip system 2 and the store reservation system 3 may be performed by the same system as a store visit management system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1. Customer terminal 2. Web invoice system 3. Store reservation system 4. Internet

Claims

1. A store visit reservation system that is connected to a customer terminal and a web invoice system that creates invoices showing the details of transactions that the customer plans to carry out at the store, and that processes reservations for the customer using reservation slots that are divided into time slots for accepting visits to the store, a storage unit that stores a first time period that is preset as a required time for each type of slip and reservation status information that registers the reservation status for the reservation slot; an information acquisition unit that acquires information on the type and number of slips of the customer from a web slip system; a calculation unit that calculates a second time period, which is the total time required for the transaction of the customer, from the first time period corresponding to the type of slip acquired by the information acquisition unit and the number of slips; a search unit that refers to the reservation status information and searches for an available reservation slot for the customer from the second time; a display control unit that displays the reservation slots searched for by the search unit on the customer's terminal; a registration unit that registers a selected reservation slot selected by the customer from the accepted reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information; A store reservation system equipped with the following.

2. The first time period corresponding to the type of slip is set to a plurality of values corresponding to the age of the customer, The information acquisition unit further acquires information about the age of the customer, The calculation unit calculates the second time using the first time corresponding to the age of the customer and the type of slip acquired by the information acquisition unit. The store reservation system according to claim 1.

3. the first time period corresponding to the type of slip is set to a different value depending on whether the customer is an individual or a corporation; the information acquisition unit further acquires attribute information indicating whether the customer is an individual or a corporation; The calculation unit calculates the second time using the first time corresponding to the attribute of the customer and the type of the slip acquired by the information acquisition unit. The store reservation system according to claim 1.

4. The first time is a value calculated from the time required for a transaction of the corresponding slip type when the customer visited the store in the past, and is set for each customer; the information acquisition unit further acquires identification information associated with the first time period set for the customer; The calculation unit calculates the second time using the first time corresponding to the identification information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the type of slip. The store reservation system according to claim 1.

5. The storage unit further stores work schedule information of the store clerks, skill information that stores the store clerks' customer service skills for each store clerk, and a time correction value that is a value set for each of the skills; the calculation unit extracts a store clerk who will handle a customer service from the work schedule information, identifies the skill of the store clerk who will handle a customer service from the skill information, identifies the time correction value corresponding to the identified skill, and calculates the second time from the identified time correction value, the first time, and the number of slips; The search unit searches for the reception reservation slot in the reservation slots in which the store clerk who will be serving the customer is scheduled to work from the second time. The store reservation system according to claim 1.

6. The store further includes a staff allocation unit that determines a staff member who will attend to a customer who has made a reservation to visit the store, The storage unit further stores work schedule information of the store clerks and skill information that stores the store clerks' customer service skills for each store clerk, the registration unit further registers the second time of the customer in the reservation status information; The staff allocation unit identifies the second times of a plurality of customers who have reserved a specific reservation slot from the reservation status information, extracts a plurality of staff members who will serve the customers in the specific reservation slot from the work schedule information, identifies the skills of the plurality of staff members from the skill information, and determines that a customer who has a long second time among the plurality of customers will be served by a staff member with a high skill among the plurality of staff members. The store reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. The store further includes a staff allocation unit that determines a staff member who will attend to a customer who has made a reservation to visit the store, The storage unit further stores work schedule information of store clerks, the registration unit further registers the second time of the customer in the reservation status information; The staff allocation unit identifies the second times of multiple customers who have reserved specific reservation slots from the reservation status information, extracts multiple staff members who will serve customers in the specific reservation slots from the work schedule information, and determines the second times so that, for two consecutive reservation slots, a first staff member who will serve the customer with the longest second time in the specific reservation slot is different from a second staff member who will serve the customer with the longest second time in the other reservation slot. The store reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. A method for controlling reservation slots in a store reservation system that processes reservations for customers using reservation slots that are divided into time slots for accepting customers to visit a store, the system being connected to a customer terminal and a web invoice system that creates invoices showing details of transactions that the customer plans to carry out at a store, and comprising: The store reservation system includes: a step of storing in a storage unit a first time period that is preset as a required time for each type of slip and reservation status information that registers the reservation status for the reservation slot; acquiring information on the type and number of slips of the customer from a web slip system; calculating a second time period, which is the total time required for the transaction of the customer, from the first time period corresponding to the acquired type of slip and the number of slips; a step of searching for an available reservation slot for the customer from the second time by referring to the reservation status information; a step of displaying the searched reservation slots on the terminal of the customer; a step of registering a selected reservation slot selected by the customer from the accepted reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information; A reservation slot control method that causes a control unit to execute a process including the steps of:

9. A store visit management system comprising a web invoice system that creates invoices showing details of transactions that a customer plans to carry out at a store, and a store visit reservation system that processes reservations for the customer using reservation slots that are divided into time slots for accepting visits to the store, and that is connected to a customer terminal, The web slip system is an input receiving unit that acquires information related to the creation of a slip from the customer's terminal; a slip creation unit that creates slips from the information acquired by the input reception unit and provides information including the type of slip and the number of slips for the customer to the store reservation system; The store reservation system includes: a storage unit that stores a first time period that is preset as a required time for each type of slip and reservation status information that registers the reservation status for the reservation slot; an information acquisition unit that acquires information on the type of slip and the number of slips of the customer from the web slip system; a calculation unit that calculates a second time period, which is the total time required for the transaction of the customer, from the first time period corresponding to the type of slip acquired by the information acquisition unit and the number of slips; a search unit that refers to the reservation status information and searches for an available reservation slot for the customer from the second time; a display control unit that displays the reservation slots searched for by the search unit on the customer's terminal; a registration unit that registers a selected reservation slot selected by the customer from the accepted reservation slots displayed on the customer's terminal in the reservation status information; A store visit management system equipped with the above.

Images