Abstract: The present invention provides a more accurate estimate as to time for completion of a call by using estimated time durations of separate phases of the call and by determining what phase a call is currently on. An important feature of the present invention is the use of automated speech processing techniques to estimate where the customer and agent are in their conversation and to gauge the rate of progress of the call.

Abstract: Methods and systems that support the receipt of location data and/or touch data from a mobile communication device are provided. More particularly, a mobile customer service server is provided that can receive location data from or regarding a mobile communication device, and associate that location data with recognition data. The recognition data can in turn be delivered to other server side components, and used to select content to be returned to the mobile communication device. The mobile customer service server can also receive touch data input to the mobile communication device, and can provide recognition data related to the touch input to other server side component. Server side components provided with location or touch data by the mobile customer service server do not themselves need to natively support location recognition or touch recognition capabilities.

Abstract: Systems and methods that employ contact escalation periods as criterion for managing routing procedures of a contact center. A prediction component can predict when a customer is likely to escalate a contact that is forwarded to a contact center, and hence facilitate resource matching based on such prediction. Accordingly, proactive and anticipatory contact interaction is enabled, wherein routing of contacts occur in-part based on predicted likelihood of escalations.

Abstract: A server executing a social media identity and discovery application and method are provided that scan social networking sites for communications. The target content is found with content indicators when communications are put on a social networking site. The content is recorded and evaluated. If the identified content is contextually significant, the alias and the user account data and/or user data from public records are correlated based on keywords and/or events, and a notification of the correlation is sent to an agency, agent, or a contact center system. The agent or agency may verify that the identity of a poster has been accurately correlated with a customer record in the database or with user data from public records. The agent, the agency, or the system has the opportunity to respond to the communication, despite the anonymity of the poster on the social networking site.

Abstract: A text communication, such as an email or blog posting from a user, is monitored to identify an issue. A score(s) of the text communication is determined by analyzing words/phrases in the text communication. A score can be based on various factors such as annoyance, language precision, help-ability, a communication length, and the like. A range for the score(s) is determined. When a response to the text communication is generated, a score(s) of the response to the text communication is determined. If one or more of the score(s) of the response is outside the range for the score(s), the response is rejected. Words/phrases are identified in the response to the text communication that can be changed in order to get the score(s) of the response within the range of the score(s) of the text communication. This information is displayed to an agent so an appropriate response can be formulated.

Abstract: A communication from a person in a first language is received at a contact center. A social network that the person frequents is searched to determine if the person can converse in a second language. The determination that the person can converse in the second language can be done through text analysis, voice analysis, picture analysis, video analysis, or different combinations of these. Based on the person being able to converse in the second language, the communication is routed differently within the contact center. In a second embodiment, the system and method searches the first social network to determine an issue in a first language. A second social network is searched to determine if the person can converse in a second language. Based on the person being able to converse in the second language, the issue is responded to based on the second language.

Abstract: A server executing a social media identity and discovery application and method are provided that scan social networking sites for communications. The target content is found with content indicators when communications are put on a social networking site. The content is recorded and evaluated. If the identified content is contextually significant, the alias and the private user data are correlated based on events, and a notification of the correlation is sent to an agent or a contact center system. The agent may verify that the identity of a poster has been accurately correlated with a customer record in the database. The agent or the system has the opportunity to respond to the communication, despite the anonymity of the poster on the social networking site.

Abstract: An interface allows a simple control to be shared by one or more conference participants. One exemplary embodiment maps complex techniques associated with conference control into a simple control. The control may be a single slider to adjust both the amount of control and the level of aggressiveness to get the best quality in a dynamic and changing environment. Another exemplary type of control would be to use two sliders—one to select and/or aggregate conference control mechanisms, and the other to adjust the aggressiveness of the selected conference control mechanism or aggregated mechanisms. Another exemplary type of control could be a simple rotary dial to emulate the two-dimensionality of two or more sliders. These controls could have the techniques associated with each position dynamically chosen and/or updated, for example, throughout a conference.

Abstract: The system utilizes (gets) training data that comprises a plurality of training documents. Each of the plurality of training documents comprises a training token(s). The plurality of training documents are clustered into a plurality of clusters based on at least one training token in the plurality of training documents. Each cluster contains at least one training document. A Boolean query(s) is generated for a cluster based on an occurrence of the at least one training token in a training document in the plurality of training documents. The system gets production data that comprises a plurality of production documents. Each of the plurality of production documents comprises a production token(s). The Boolean query(s) is then executed on the production data.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to estimate the amount of service time left in a contact with a contact center. A system records metadata factors associated with contacts and the service time for the contacts. This information is incorporated into one or more service time probability distributions. A service time probability distribution is a function describing how much time a contact, having certain, defined characteristics, took historically. The distribution can subsequently be used to estimate service time for future contacts that have the same or similar characteristics.

Abstract: Methods and systems that support the receipt of location data and/or touch data from a mobile communication device are provided. More particularly, a mobile customer service server is provided that can receive location data from or regarding a mobile communication device, and associate that location data with recognition data. The recognition data can in turn be delivered to other server side components, and used to select content to be returned to the mobile communication device. The mobile customer service server can also receive touch data input to the mobile communication device, and can provide recognition data related to the touch input to other server side component. Server side components provided with location or touch data by the mobile customer service server do not themselves need to natively support location recognition or touch recognition capabilities.

Abstract: A trend is identified by examining multiple communications in a contact center. For example, a trend can be a specific issue or problem related to a product. A communication related to the trend is identified. Based on identification of the trend, a process for routing the communications in the contact center is altered. In one embodiment, different menus/items in an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system are changed based on the identified trend. In other embodiments, communications related to the trend are identified and moved to different queues or held in queues until there is a valid response. The identified communications can be responded to automatically, by specific agents, by group mailings, and the like. In addition, prior communications that relate to the trend are identified. This allows additional responses to be sent or processes to be altered in order to provide the customer with a better quality of service.

Abstract: Systems and methods that employ contact escalation periods as criterion for managing routing procedures of a contact center. A prediction component can predict when a customer is likely to escalate a contact that is forwarded to a contact center, and hence facilitate resource matching based on such prediction. Accordingly, proactive and anticipatory contact interaction is enabled, wherein routing of contacts occur in-part based on predicted likelihood of escalations.

Abstract: A text communication, such as an email or blog posting from a user, is monitored to identify an issue. A score(s) of the text communication is determined by analyzing words/phrases in the text communication. A score can be based on various factors such as annoyance, language precision, help-ability, a communication length, and the like. A range for the score(s) is determined. When a response to the text communication is generated, a score(s) of the response to the text communication is determined. If one or more of the score(s) of the response is outside the range for the score(s), the response is rejected. Words/phrases are identified in the response to the text communication that can be changed in order to get the score(s) of the response within the range of the score(s) of the text communication. This information is displayed to an agent so an appropriate response can be formulated.

Abstract: Methods and systems provided herein provide an enterprise with the ability to conduct quickly and consistently respond to social media work items and other work items. In particular, a collaboration tool is provided to agents which allows the agents to view historical responses of other agents that have been determined, by an automated agent, to be relevant to a newly received work item. The relevant historical responses can be used to service newly received work items as either a suggestion for responding or as a response template. Responses to work items are then archived with data which describes the nature of the response and the work item for which it was created.

Abstract: Methods and systems provided herein provide an enterprise with the ability to conduct automated customer feedback surveys. In particular, customer interactions on social media channels are intelligently monitored, aggregated, filtered, and analyzed to determine a customer's response to a particular product or service. Since customers are more likely to be truthful regarding their reaction to a product or service on a neutral forum, such as a social media channel, more accurate customer feedback can be obtained in a less intrusive manner than has previously been available.

Abstract: An interface allows a simple control to be shared by one or more conference participants. One exemplary embodiment maps complex techniques associated with conference control into a simple control. The control may be a single slider to adjust both the amount of control and the level of aggressiveness to get the best quality in a dynamic and changing environment. Another exemplary type of control would be to use two sliders—one to select and/or aggregate conference control mechanisms, and the other to adjust the aggressiveness of the selected conference control mechanism or aggregated mechanisms. Another exemplary type of control could be a simple rotary dial to emulate the two-dimensionality of two or more sliders. These controls could have the techniques associated with each position dynamically chosen and/or updated, for example, throughout a conference.

Abstract: A system and method manage the exchange of information, especially geo-location information, between a customer and an enterprise. A customer can include any person that may enter into a relationship with the enterprise. An enterprise can be any business or organization that may provide goods, services, or be involved in a relationship with a person. The customer and enterprise are involved in a transaction. Thus, the relationship with the person and the enterprise may be temporal in that it will only last for a period of time or only be involved in certain periods of time or may be temporary. The customer is able to provide customer settings. Further, during the transaction, one or more transaction settings may be established by the enterprise and the customer. As such, when the exchange of information occurs, an enterprise server or other system may be able to limit the types of information provided per the customer settings and the transaction settings.

Abstract: A communication from a person in a first language is received at a contact center. A social network that the person frequents is searched to determine if the person can converse in a second language. The determination that the person can converse in the second language can be done through text analysis, voice analysis, picture analysis, video analysis, or different combinations of these. Based on the person being able to converse in the second language, the communication is routed differently within the contact center. In a second embodiment, the system and method searches the first social network to determine an issue in a first language. A second social network is searched to determine if the person can converse in a second language. Based on the person being able to converse in the second language, the issue is responded to based on the second language.

Abstract: Methods and the systems allow a contact center to determine the presence, in near real time, of a user on a social media network. The contact center can receive an identity for a user and associate the user identity with one or more other identities, such as, a screen name, an email, or some other identity that may be used on social media networks. The contact center may then review posts to several social media networks, by several people, to determine one of the posts includes an identity of the user. If one of the posts does include the identity of the user, then the contact center may quickly introduce a human agent to the user on that social media network. As such, by “stalking” the social media user, the contact center is able to engage the customer in near real time or real time communications over the social media network.