Methods and systems for providing customer relations information

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing information to a mortgage recipient or other customer of a financial institution. A system identifies potential customer inquiries and provides a list of scripts responsive to the potential customer inquiries. If none of the scripts address the customer's inquiry, the customer specifies the inquiry and an additional list of scripts is generated. The scripts include scripted text, account information, and financial transaction information. In one variation, the customer accesses a website maintained by the financial institution and views a script responsive to the inquiry. In another variation, the customer telephones a customer service agent who selects a script responsive to the inquiry, and reads the script to the customer. In yet another variation, the script is provided to the customer via an Interactive Voice Response system.

1 . A method for providing information to a customer of a financial institution, the method comprising: 
 providing a list of one or more customer inquiries;    providing a list of one or more scripts, each script responsive to at least one customer inquiry;    selecting a script from the list of scripts;    generating the selected script; and    providing information from the generated script to the customer.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing a list of one or more customer inquiries comprises: 
 identifying one or more potential customer inquiries.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing a list of one or more customer inquiries comprises: 
 receiving a customer inquiry from a customer.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing a list of one or more scripts comprises: 
 generating each script in the list of scripts.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the selected script comprises: 
 providing a scripted text.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the selected script comprises: 
 incorporating information from the customer's account into a scripted text.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the selected script comprises: 
 incorporating financial transaction information into a scripted text.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the financial transaction information comprises one selected from a group consisting of a rate, a fee, and an offer.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing information from the script to the customer comprises: 
 reading the script to the customer.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing information from the script to the customer comprises: 
 electronically transmitting the script to the customer.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the list of one or more customer inquiries includes one or more potential customer inquiries that are electronically identified.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the list of one or more customer inquiries includes one or more customer inquiries that are specified by the customer.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated script comprises a scripted text.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated script comprises information from the customer's account and scripted text.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated script comprises financial transaction information and scripted text.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the financial transaction information comprises one selected from a group consisting of a rate, a fee, and an offer.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information transmitted to the customer includes information concerning a financial transaction between the customer and the financial institution.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the financial transaction is a mortgage.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the customer is the recipient of a mortgage.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inquiry relates to a mortgage.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated script includes information concerning a mortgage.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing information from the generated script to the customer includes: 
 the customer accessing a web site.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing information from the generated script to the customer includes: 
 a customer service agent providing the information to the customer via a telephone.    
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing information from the generated script to the customer includes: 
 providing the information to the customer via an automated interactive system.    
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the automated interactive system is an Interactive Voice Response system.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 editing account information.    
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein editing account information includes: 
 receiving an edited script.    
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein editing account information includes: 
 updating account information in a database.    
     
     
         29 . A system for providing information to a customer of a financial institution, comprising: 
 means for providing a list of one or more customer inquiries;    means for providing a list of one or more scripts, each script responsive to at least one customer inquiry;    means for selecting a script from the list of scripts;    means for generating the selected script; and    means for providing information from the generated script to the customer.    
     
     
         30 . A system for providing information to a customer of a financial institution, comprising: 
 a processor;    a user interface; and    a repository accessible by the processor;    wherein a list of one or more customer inquiries is provided in the processor;    wherein a list of one or more scripts is provided in the processor, each script responsive to one customer inquiry;    wherein the list of scripts is displayed by the user interface;    wherein the user interface allows a user to select one script from the list of scripts;    wherein the selected script is generated by the processor; and    where information from the generated script is provided to the user via the user interface.    
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the processor is housed on a terminal.  
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the terminal is selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, a minicomputer, a main frame computer, a microcomputer, a hand held device, and a telephonic device.  
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the processor is housed on a server.  
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the server is selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, a minicomputer, a microcomputer, and a main frame computer.  
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the server is coupled to a network.  
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the input is received via the network.  
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the network is the Internet.  
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the server is coupled to the network via a coupling.  
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the coupling is selected from a group consisting of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and a fiberoptic connection.  
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the repository is housed on a server.  
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 40 , wherein the server is coupled to a network.  
     
     
         42 . A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to providing information to a user, the control logic comprising: 
 first computer readable program code means for providing a list of one or more customer inquiries;    second computer readable program code means for providing a list of one or more scripts, each script responsive to at least one customer inquiry;    third computer readable program code means for receiving an indication that a script has been selected from the list of scripts; and    fourth computer readable program code means for generating the selected script; and    fifth computer readable program code means for displaying the selected script to the user.    
     
     
         43 . A method for providing information to a customer of a financial institution via a customer service agent, the method comprising: 
 receiving identifying customer information from a customer service agent;    providing a list of one or more customer inquiries;    providing to the customer service agent a list of one or more scripts, each script responsive to at least one customer inquiry;    receiving a customer service agent's selection of a script from the list of scripts;    generating the selected script;    providing information from the generated script to the customer service agent; and    transmitting the information from the customer service agent to the customer.    
     
     
         44 . A method for providing information to a customer of a financial institution via a network, the method comprising: 
 receiving identifying customer information from the customer via the network;    providing a list of one or more customer inquiries;    providing a list of one or more scripts to a customer via the network, each script responsive to at least one customer inquiry;    receiving a customer's selection of a script from the list of scripts via the network;    generating the selected script; and    providing information from the generated script to the customer via the network.    
     
     
         45 . A method for providing information to a customer of a financial institution via an automated interactive system, the method comprising: 
 receiving identifying customer information from the customer via the automated interactive system;    providing a list of one or more customer inquiries;    providing a list of one or more scripts to a customer via the automated interactive system, each script responsive to at least one customer inquiry;    receiving a customer's selection of a script from the list of scripts via the automated interactive system;    generating the selected script; and    providing information from the generated script to the customer via the automated interactive system.