Session Oriented Enhancements For Text-Based Communications In a Contact Center

Abstract

Various processes are defined associated with customer-initiated text messages to a contact center to delineate various sessions between the customer and an agent. The sessions are defined in part using various timers, including a customer response timer that is stopped upon receipt of a customer text and started typically started when the agent response is sent. The session is initiated upon the initial customer text and the expiry of the customer response timer defines the end of a particular session with the customer. Various data structures are created or updated upon the beginning of a session, including tables which may define which sessions a customer previously had and the messages associated with each session. The agent may be able to review prior sessions for a given customer and can review the specific messages of a prior session.

1 . A communications handler in a contact center configured to:
 receive an incoming text from a particular mobile telephone number;   determine whether the particular mobile telephone number corresponds to at least one session with any agent of a plurality of agents of the contact center; and   in response to a determination that the particular mobile telephone number does not correspond to any session with any agent of the plurality of agents:
 modify a first data structure to indicate the particular mobile telephone number is associated with a current session and a particular agent of the plurality of agents, 
 initiate, in response to a notification indicative of transmission of a response text associated with the particular agent, a customer response timer, and 
 modify, in response to expiration of the customer response timer, the first data structure to indicate the particular mobile telephone number is not associated with the current session. 
   
     
     
         2 . The communications handler of  claim 1 , further configured to:
 determine whether the particular agent is associated with an available state; and   in response to a determination that the particular agent is associated with the available state, select the particular agent.   
     
     
         3 . The communications handler of  claim 2 , further configured to:
 route the incoming text to a workstation associated with the particular agent; and   modify a second data structure to indicate the particular agent is associated with an allocated state.   
     
     
         4 . The communications handler of  claim 1 , further configured to modify, in response to expiration of the customer timer, a second data structure to indicate the particular agent is not associated with the current session. 
     
     
         5 . The communications handler of  claim 1 , further configured to index the incoming text in a third data structure comprising a session messages table for the current session. 
     
     
         6 . The communications handler of  claim 1 , further configured to determine the notification indicative of transmission of the response text is not configured to pause the customer response timer. 
     
     
         7 . The communications handler of  claim 1 , further configured to transmit the response text in response to agent input indicative of selection of a particular stored response message from a library of stored response messages, wherein the response text comprises the particular stored response message. 
     
     
         8 . The communications handler of  claim 1 , further configured to:
 receive a second incoming text from the particular mobile telephone number;   determine whether the second incoming text is associated with the current session; and   stop, in response to a determination that the second incoming text is associated with the current session, the customer response timer.   
     
     
         9 . The communications handler of  claim 8 , further configured to route, in response to the determination that the second incoming text is associated with the current session, the second incoming text to the particular agent. 
     
     
         10 . A non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that when executed by a computer processor cause the computer processor to:
 receive an incoming text from a particular mobile telephone number;   determine whether the particular mobile telephone number corresponds to at least one session with any agent of a plurality of agents of the contact center; and   in response to a determination that the particular mobile telephone number does not correspond to any session with any agent of the plurality of agents:
 modify a first data structure to indicate the particular mobile telephone number is associated with a current session and a particular agent of the plurality of agents, 
 initiate, in response to a notification indicative of transmission of a response text associated with the particular agent, a customer response timer, and 
 modify, in response to expiration of the customer response timer, the first data structure to indicate the particular mobile telephone number is not associated with the current session. 
   
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to:
 determine whether the particular agent is associated with an available state; and   in response to a determination that the particular agent is associated with the available state, select the particular agent.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to:
 route the incoming text to a workstation associated with the particular agent; and   modify a second data structure to indicate the particular agent is associated with an allocated state.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to index the incoming SMS text in a third data structure comprising a session messages table associated with the current session. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to transmit the response text in response to agent input indicative of selection of a particular stored response message from a library of stored response messages, wherein the response text comprises the particular stored response message. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to:
 receive a second text from the particular mobile telephone number;   determine whether the second incoming text is associated with the current session; and   stop, in response to a determination that the second incoming text is associated with the current session, the customer response timer.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to route, in response to the determination that the second incoming text is associated with the current session, the second incoming text to the particular agent. 
     
     
         17 . A method for processing an incoming text comprising:
 receiving an incoming text from a particular mobile telephone number;   determining whether the particular mobile telephone number corresponds to at least one session with any agent of a plurality of agents of the contact center; and   in response to a determination that the particular mobile telephone number does not correspond to any session with any agent of the plurality of agents:
 modifying a first data structure to indicate the particular mobile telephone number is associated with a current session and a particular agent of the plurality of agents, 
 initiating, in response to a notification indicative of transmission of a response text associated with the particular agent, a customer response timer, and 
 modifying, in response to expiration of the customer response timer, the first data structure to indicate the particular mobile telephone number is not associated with the current session. 
   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 determining whether the particular agent is associated with an available state; and   in response to a determination that the particular agent is associated with the available state, selecting the particular agent.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 routing the incoming text to a workstation associated with the particular agent; and   modifying a second data structure to indicate the particular agent is associated with an allocated state.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising modifying, in response to expiration of the customer timer, a second data structure to indicate the particular agent is not associated with the current session.