Processing apparatus, processing method, and processing program

Abstract

To provide a processing device, a processing method, and a processing program that can improve convenience compared to conventional ones.SOLUTION: In a call center system, a server 12 includes a first processing unit that receives a terminal registration request having information related to the registration status of an operator terminal 10 from the operator terminal 10, a second processing unit that checks the registration status of the operator terminal 10 by referring to the terminal registration request at a predetermined timing, and a data processing unit 32 as a third processing unit that transmits second information having a text message to a customer terminal 4 when the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator terminal 10 is that the operator terminal 10 is unusable due to a failure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device, a processing method, and a processing program, and is suitable for application to, for example, a system that exchanges text messages between a customer and an operator.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in a call center, in response to the reception of a text message from a customer, there is a system in which an operator operates an operator terminal for text message transmission and reception to handle it (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such an operator terminal in a call center is constituted by a PC (personal computer).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In such a call center, during the handling of a text message, the PC may enter a failure state due to a software bug, a hardware failure, or the like. In such a case, it has been common for the operator to re-log on after the PC has recovered or to re-log on to another PC and continue handling the text message. However, in such a case, there has been a problem that text messages cannot be sent to the customer until the operator's re-log on is completed.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and intends to propose a processing device, a processing method, and a processing program that can improve convenience as compared with the prior art.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problem, the processing apparatus of the present invention includes a first processing unit that receives first information having information relating to the registration status of the operator device from the operator device, If the time from when the first processing unit receives the first information from the operator device to when it references the first information is longer than a predetermined terminal registration monitoring time, the registration status of the operator device is determined to be in a state where the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. The second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device indicates that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. If the operator device is responding to a text message from the customer device The system is further equipped with a third processing unit that transmits second information containing a text message to the customer's device.

[0007] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a processing method for a processing device connected to a customer device used by a user, wherein the processing device includes a first processing step of receiving first information from the operator device that has information relating to the registration status of the operator device, If the time from the moment the first information is received from the operator device in the first processing step to the predetermined timing for referencing the first information is longer than the predetermined terminal registration monitoring time, the registration status of the operator device is determined to be in a state where the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. The second processing step determines that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. If the operator device is responding to a text message from the customer device The system now includes a third processing step of sending a second piece of information containing a text message to the customer's device.

[0008] Furthermore, in the processing program of the present invention, a processing unit connected to a customer device used by a user includes a first processing unit that receives first information from the operator device having information relating to the registration status of the operator device, If the time from when the first processing unit receives the first information from the operator device to when it references the first information is longer than a predetermined terminal registration monitoring time, the registration status of the operator device is determined to be in a state where the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. The second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device indicates that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. If the operator device is responding to a text message from the customer device It was configured to function as a third processing unit that transmits second information containing a text message to the customer's device.

[0009] This means that, in the event of a failure in the operator's device, the present invention can send a text message to the customer's device before the operator logs back in and sends the text message. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a processing apparatus, a processing method, and a processing program that can improve convenience compared to conventional methods. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of a call center system. [Figure 2] This is a sequence chart showing the customer service processing procedure. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a PC. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The embodiments for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0013] [1. Call Center System Configuration] As shown in Figure 1, the call center system 1 consists of a call center 2 for a company or other organization, and customer terminals 4 (customer terminals 4a and 4b) operated by customers.

[0014] Call center 2 is equipped with operator terminals 10 and a server 12, which are interconnected via a communication network 14.

[0015] The operator terminal 10 is comprised of a PC 20 and is used by the operator OP to handle text messages. The PC 20 is comprised of a general-purpose personal computer. This PC 20 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), storage units such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and a hard disk, and a network interface. The CPU reads a predetermined program from the ROM, etc., and executes it while using RAM as a work area, thereby performing various processes such as recording and displaying the results of text message exchanges and customer information.

[0016] PC20 also has a data processing unit 22 and a communication means 24. The data processing unit 22 generates a terminal registration request indicating that PC20 is alive and not experiencing any failures. The communication means 24 periodically sends the terminal registration request generated by the data processing unit 22 to the server 12, for example, every 10 seconds. This terminal registration request includes at least information indicating that PC20 is alive, information indicating whether PC20 is currently exchanging text messages with customer terminal 4, and information indicating customer terminal 4 to which the text message is being sent if PC20 is exchanging text messages with customer terminal 4 (for example, the IP address of customer terminal 4). Furthermore, even if PC20 is not currently exchanging text messages with customer terminal 4, as long as PC20 is logged on to server 12, it will periodically send a terminal registration request to server 12. Incidentally, although the call center 2 is equipped with multiple operator terminals 10, for the sake of explanation, only one operator terminal 10 is shown in Figure 1.

[0017] Server 12 is composed of a typical personal computer. Server 12 has a CPU (not shown), storage units such as ROM, RAM, and hard disk, and a network interface. The CPU reads predetermined programs from ROM and other storage units, and performs various processes by executing them while using RAM as a work area. Server 12 is also connected to customer terminal 4 via a public network 6, and receives incoming text messages from customer terminal 4 via the network 6.

[0018] This server 12 has a communication means 30, a data processing unit 32, a data file 34, and a timer 36. The communication means 30 receives a terminal registration request transmitted from the communication means 24 of the PC 20 and sends it to the data processing unit 32. The data processing unit 32 receives the terminal registration request from the PC 20 via the communication means 30 and registers the terminal registration request in the data file 34. At this time, the data processing unit 32 acquires the current time from a clock unit (not shown) and registers the terminal registration request in association with the terminal registration time, which is the time when the terminal registration request is registered in the data file 34. The timer 36 measures time.

[0019] The data file 34 stores the terminal registration request acquired from the data processing unit 32 in association with the terminal registration time. The data file 34 also stores a terminal registration monitoring time set, for example, to 60 seconds. The terminal registration monitoring time is used as a threshold value when determining whether the PC 20 is alive.

[0020] In such a configuration, the server 12 manages the terminal registration state indicating the survival state of the PC 20 in the data file 34 by registering the terminal registration request received from the PC 20 in the data file 34 by the data processing unit 32. The server 12 also refers to the data file 34 periodically, for example, every 10 seconds, with the timer 36 activated by the data processing unit 32 as a trigger, to check the terminal registration state.

[0021] Specifically, when the timer 36 reaches a predetermined time of 10 seconds, the server 12 periodically refers to the data file 34 as a trigger to determine whether the elapsed time from the previous terminal registration time of PC20 (the time when the previous terminal registration request sent from PC20 was registered in the data file 34) to the current time exceeds the terminal registration monitoring time. If the elapsed time from the previous terminal registration time of PC20 to the current time does not exceed the terminal registration monitoring time, the server 12 determines that PC20 is not in a fault state and is able to periodically send terminal registration requests, and determines that it is not a terminal registration monitoring timeout. On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the previous terminal registration time of PC20 to the current time exceeds the terminal registration monitoring time, the server 12 determines that PC20 is in a fault state and is unable to send terminal registration requests for a certain period of time or longer, and determines that it is a terminal registration monitoring timeout. When the terminal registration monitoring timeout occurs and the PC 20 is communicating with the customer terminal 4 via text message, the server 12 refers to the data file 34, retrieves a pre-registered text message for when the terminal monitoring timeout occurs, which is the failure text message, and sends the retrieved failure text message to the customer terminal 4 via the network 6. This failure text message for when the terminal monitoring timeout occurs may contain a message such as "Please wait a moment as a problem has occurred."

[0022] Customer terminal 4 is a voice communication device, such as a landline or mobile phone terminal, that has general telephone and text message sending / receiving functions and is used by customers. It is connected to the network 6 and is a communication device for using the call center services provided by the call center 2. Incidentally, although there are multiple customer terminals 4, for the sake of explanation, only two customer terminals, 4a and 4b, are shown in Figure 1. Hereafter, customer terminals 4a and 4b will be referred to collectively as customer terminal 4.

[0023] [2. Customer support processing] Next, the customer support processing procedure RT1 performed by the server 12 will be explained using the flowchart shown in Figure 2. The data processing unit 32 starts the customer support processing procedure RT1 shown in Figure 2 by reading and executing the customer support processing program, and then moves to step SP1. In step SP1, the data processing unit 32 starts a periodic check of the terminal registration status triggered by the timer 36, and then moves to step SP2.

[0024] In step SP2, the data processing unit 32 checks the data file 34 to determine whether PC20 is already in the terminal registration state. If a positive result is obtained, it means that the terminal registration request sent from PC20 has already been stored in the data file 34 and PC20 is already in the terminal registration state. In this case, the data processing unit 32 proceeds to step SP3. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP2, it means that PC20 has not yet received a terminal registration request from PC20 and the terminal registration request has not yet been stored in the data file 34, and therefore PC20 is not yet in the terminal registration state. In this case, the data processing unit 32 proceeds to step SP7 and terminates the customer support processing procedure RT1.

[0025] In step SP3, the data processing unit 32 obtains the previous terminal registration time of PC20 from the data file 34 and proceeds to step SP4. In step SP4, the data processing unit 32 compares the previous terminal registration time of PC20 obtained in step SP3 with the current time and determines whether the elapsed time from the previous terminal registration time to the current time exceeds the terminal registration monitoring time. If a positive result is obtained, this indicates that PC20 is in a terminal registration monitoring timeout state and is not alive, and the data processing unit 32 then proceeds to step SP5. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP4, this indicates that PC20 is not in a terminal registration monitoring timeout state and is alive, so there is no need to send a failure text message to customer terminal 4, and the data processing unit 32 then proceeds to step SP7 and terminates the customer support processing procedure RT1.

[0026] In step SP5, the data processing unit 32 determines whether PC20 is handling text messages by referring to the data file 34. If a positive result is obtained, this indicates that PC20 is handling text messages and therefore it is necessary to send a failure text message to customer terminal 4, at which point the data processing unit 32 proceeds to step SP6. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP5, this indicates that PC20 is not handling text messages and therefore it is not necessary to send a failure text message to customer terminal 4, at which point the data processing unit 32 terminates the customer support processing procedure RT1.

[0027] In step SP6, the data processing unit 32 obtains a text message indicating the occurrence of a failure by referring to the data file 34, sends the text message to the customer terminal 4, proceeds to step SP7, and terminates the customer support processing procedure RT1.

[0028] The above describes the confirmation of the terminal registration status of one operator terminal 10 (i.e., PC20). However, the server 12 executes the customer support processing procedure RT1 for each of the PC20s it manages. Once the customer support processing procedure RT1 is completed for all PC20s, the server 12 resets the timer 36. Then, when the timer 36 reaches the predetermined time again, the server 12 executes the customer support processing procedure RT1 for each of the PC20s it manages, and repeats this process until the customer support processing procedure RT1 is completed for all PC20s.

[0029] [3. Server Functional Configuration] Here, the basic functions related to customer support processing in server 12 are represented by a functional block diagram as shown in Figure 3. The first processing unit 40 corresponds to the data processing unit 32 (Figure 1) and receives a terminal registration request from the operator terminal 10 as first information, which contains information related to the registration status of the operator terminal 10 as an operator device. The second processing unit 42 corresponds to the data processing unit 32 (Figure 1) and checks the registration status of the operator terminal 10 by referring to the terminal registration request at a predetermined timing, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous confirmation of the terminal registration status (i.e., confirmation of the registration status of the operator terminal 10). The third processing unit 44 corresponds to the data processing unit 32 (Figure 1) and, if the second processing unit 42 determines that the operator terminal 10 is unusable due to a failure, it sends second information containing a failure text message to the customer terminal 4 as a customer device.

[0030] [4. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, server 12 periodically receives terminal registration requests from PC 20 and stores them in data file 34. When timer 36 reaches a predetermined time since the last check of PC 20's terminal registration status, server 12 checks the terminal registration status of PC 20 by referring to data file 34. If it determines that PC 20 is unusable due to a failure, that is, that it is unable to send text messages from PC 20 to customer terminal 4, it sends a failure text message to customer terminal 4.

[0031] Therefore, even if the operator OP's PC 20 becomes unusable due to any failure while handling text messages, the server 12 can detect the terminal registration monitoring timeout and send a failure notification text message to the customer terminal 4 without requiring any action from the operator. This allows the server 12 to notify the customer operating the customer terminal 4 that a failure has occurred without causing them anxiety due to the lack of response from the operator OP.

[0032] With the above configuration, the server 12 includes a first processing unit 40 that receives a terminal registration request from the operator terminal 10 containing information relating to the registration status of the operator terminal 10, a second processing unit 42 that checks the registration status of the operator terminal 10 by referring to the terminal registration request at a predetermined timing, and a third processing unit 44 that, if the second processing unit 42 determines that the operator terminal 10 is unusable due to a failure, sends second information containing a failure text message to the customer terminal 4.

[0033] This allows server 12 to send a failure notification text message to customer terminal 4 before operator OP logs back in and sends a text message when a failure occurs on PC 20.

[0034] [5. Other Embodiments] In the embodiment described above, the case in which PC20 sends a terminal registration request as first information to server 12 was described. The present invention is not limited to this, and PC20 may send first information to server 12 that includes various other information besides the terminal registration request, as long as it includes at least the terminal registration request.

[0035] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case in which the server 12 sends a failure notification text message as second information to the customer terminal 4 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and the server 12 may also send second information to the customer terminal 4 that includes various other information besides the failure notification text message, as long as it includes at least the failure notification text message.

[0036] Furthermore, the above-described embodiment mentions the case where the server 12 has the data file 34 internally. The present invention is not limited to this, and the server 12 may have the data file 34 externally.

[0037] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the server 12 obtains the current time from a clock unit (not shown) and stores the terminal registration request in the data file 34 in association with the terminal registration time. The present invention is not limited to this, however, the PC 20 may include information indicating the time when it sent the terminal registration request to the server 12 in the terminal registration request and send it to the server 12, and the server 12 may use the time indicated by the time information included in the received terminal registration request as the terminal registration time and store the terminal registration request in the data file 34 in association with the terminal registration time.

[0038] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the server 12 checks the terminal registration status of PC 20 and, if it determines that PC 20 is unusable due to a failure, sends a failure notification text message to customer terminal 4. The present invention is not limited to this, however, the server 12 may also check the terminal registration status of PC 20 and, if it determines that it is unable to send a text message from PC 20 to customer terminal 4 due to a network failure 6, send a failure notification text message to customer terminal 4.

[0039] Furthermore, the above-described embodiment described the case in which the present invention is applied to a call center system 1, which is a specific example of a processing system. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a processing system with a configuration different from that of the call center system 1. Furthermore, the above-described embodiment described the case in which the present invention is applied to a server 12, which is a specific example of a processing device. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a processing device with a configuration different from that of the server 12.

[0040] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and other embodiments. That is, the scope of the present invention extends to embodiments that arbitrarily combine some or all of the embodiments described above and other embodiments. In addition, the scope of the present invention also extends when a part of the configuration described in any embodiment among the embodiments described above and other embodiments is extracted and substituted or adapted for a part of the configuration of any embodiment among the embodiments described above and other embodiments, or when the extracted part of the configuration is added to any embodiment.

[0041] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, we have described a case in which the server 12 as a processing unit is configured by a first processing unit 40 as a first processing unit and a second processing unit 42 as a second processing unit. The present invention is not limited to this, and the processing unit may be configured by a first processing unit and a second processing unit having various other configurations. [Industrial applicability]

[0042] This invention can be widely used in customer service systems such as call center systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1...Call center system, 2...Call center, 4...Customer terminal, 6...Network, 10...Operator terminal, 12...Server, 14...Communication network, OP...Operator, 20...PC, 22...Data processing unit, 24...Communication means, 30...Communication means, 32...Data processing unit, 34...Data file, 36...Timer, 40...First processing unit, 42...Second processing unit, 44...Third processing unit.

Claims

1. A first processing unit receives first information from the operator device that has information relating to the registration status of the operator device, If the time from the moment the first processing unit receives the first information from the operator device to a predetermined timing for referring to the first information is longer than a predetermined terminal registration monitoring time, the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. If the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction, and the operator device is responding to a text message from a customer device, the third processing unit transmits second information containing a text message to the customer device. A processing apparatus characterized by comprising:

2. The third processing unit is, Based on the information contained in the first information, it is determined that the operator device is responding to the text message from the customer device. The apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The third processing unit is, The second information, which includes the text message indicating that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction, is transmitted to the customer device. The apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The first processing unit is, The first information is periodically received from the operator device and stored in a predetermined storage unit in the processing unit. The second processing unit is, The first information stored in the storage unit is referenced at a predetermined timing to confirm the registration status of the operator device. The apparatus according to claim 1.

5. A first processing unit that receives first information from an operator device having information relating to the registration status of an operator device, A second processing unit that checks the registration status of the operator device by referring to the first information at a predetermined timing, If the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that it is unable to send a text message from the operator device to the customer device due to a malfunction, the third processing unit sends second information containing a text message to the customer device. A processing apparatus characterized by comprising:

6. A processing method for a processing unit connected to a customer device used by a user, The aforementioned processing apparatus is A first processing step of receiving first information from the operator device that has information relating to the registration status of the operator device, If the time from the timing of receiving the first information from the operator device in the first processing step to a predetermined timing of referring to the first information is longer than a predetermined terminal registration monitoring time, a second processing step determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. If the registration status of the operator device is determined in the second processing step to be such that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction, and the operator device is responding to a text message to the customer device, the third processing step involves transmitting second information containing a text message to the customer device. A processing method characterized by having the following:

7. A processing method for a processing device connected to a customer device used by a user, The aforementioned processing apparatus is A first processing step of receiving first information from the operator device that has information relating to the registration status of the operator device, A second processing step involves checking the registration status of the operator device by referring to the first information at a predetermined timing, If the second processing step determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that it is unable to send a text message from the operator device to the customer device due to a malfunction, the third processing step transmits second information containing a text message to the customer device. A processing method characterized by having the following:

8. A processing unit connected to customer equipment used by the user, A first processing unit receives first information from the operator device that has information relating to the registration status of the operator device, If the time from the moment the first processing unit receives the first information from the operator device to a predetermined timing for referring to the first information is longer than a predetermined terminal registration monitoring time, the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction. If the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that the operator device is unusable due to a malfunction, and the operator device is responding to a text message to the customer device, the third processing unit transmits second information containing a text message to the customer device. A processing program to make it work.

9. A processing unit connected to a customer device used by a user, A first processing unit receives first information from the operator device that has information relating to the registration status of the operator device, A second processing unit that checks the registration status of the operator device by referring to the first information at a predetermined timing, If the second processing unit determines that the registration status of the operator device is such that it is unable to send a text message from the operator device to the customer device due to a malfunction, the third processing unit sends second information containing a text message to the customer device. A processing program to make it work.

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