Caller Queue Position Preservation via Placeholder Assignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated Call Distribution Systems (ACD) often lead to caller frustration due to long on-hold times, causing callers to disconnect and resulting in negative attitudes towards businesses, as they are typically forced to rejoin the queue if they reconnect, potentially losing their original position.
Innovation Solution
An ACD system that assigns a placeholder to a caller's position in the on-hold queue, allowing them to reconnect and rejoin at their original position without losing their place, using caller identifiers and scheduling options for callback times to manage queue positions effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a caller disconnects from the automated call distribution system while on-hold, then the system resources are freed up, but the caller loses their original queue position and must rejoin the queue, resulting in increased wait time and caller frustration
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a placeholder in the queue position before the caller disconnects. This preliminary action preserves the caller's original position in the queue, allowing them to resume waiting at their original position rather than losing it entirely. The placeholder acts as a reservation that maintains the caller's place in line even during disconnection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy (placeholder) of the caller's queue position rather than removing the original position entirely. This placeholder serves as a representation of the caller's original place in the queue, enabling the caller to reconnect and resume at their original position without actually maintaining an active connection throughout the disconnection period.
2Ease of operation
If the system allows callers to reconnect and retain their original queue position, then caller satisfaction improves, but the system requires additional mechanisms to track and manage placeholders and caller identifiers
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a placeholder as an intermediary entity that mediates between the caller and the queue position. The placeholder serves as a placeholder object that the system can track and manage independently of the actual caller connection state. This intermediary simplifies the reconnection process by providing a clear target for the caller to resume from, while giving the system a manageable object to track in the queue.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts the queue position information from the active caller connection and stores it in a placeholder that exists independently in the queue. This separation allows the system to manage queue positions without being tied to active caller connections, reducing the coupling between connection management and queue management functions.
3Reliability
If the system creates placeholders for all disconnected callers, then no caller loses their queue position, but the queue may contain multiple placeholders per caller increasing queue management overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different qualities to different queue entries by allowing multiple placeholders to coexist in the queue with distinct characteristics. Each placeholder is associated with a specific caller identifier and original position, enabling the system to differentiate between active callers and disconnected callers with preserved positions. This local differentiation allows efficient identification and processing of placeholders during queue management operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for an automated call distribution system to re-associate a caller with a queue position previously established in an on-hold queue. The method includes receiving a first incoming call from a caller and assigning the caller to a position in an on-hold queue when the caller is placed on-hold by the automated call distribution system. A placeholder for the caller may then be assigned in the on-hold queue when the caller disconnects with the automated call distribution system. The placeholder corresponds to the position of the caller in the on-hold queue and is associated with a caller identifier. The method further includes receiving a second incoming call from the caller and associating the second incoming call with the caller identifier. It is then determined that the caller is associated with the placeholder. The caller is placed back into the on-hold queue at the position of the placeholder.