1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for processing incoming telephone calls, and particularly to a system and method for providing operator assistance by automatically accessing a number of customer directories.
2. Background and Objects of the Invention
There is a general market requirement for companies and other business entities to provide operator assistance to facilitate the handling of incoming telephone calls. A number of companies, such as companies in the European market, provide operator assistance to their incoming callers both during normal business hours and non-business hours in which the company is closed or otherwise not conducting business. Providing operator assistance seven days a week, 24 hours a day is, for many companies, cost prohibitive.
In existing operator service provider systems, a distinct directory is maintained for each customer (company), with the directories stored in one or more electronic databases. An operator receiving an incoming call for a subscriber of the customer, such as an employee of a customer company, must manually switch to the appropriate customer directory or, in the event all customer directories are maintained in a single database, manually execute a directory search to identify the desired customer group.
Such existing systems, however, present a number of shortcomings. First, operator-initiated directory switching/searching is too slow. In addition, errors are frequently encountered in operator-initiated directory switching/searching due to operator confusion or mistake. Erroneous switching/searching results in the incoming caller being transferred to the incorrect subscriber or even the incorrect customer/company. Further, existing operator service systems require that customer directories be exclusively maintained by the service provider in order to allow for special customer directory functions. As a result, there is a need for a more efficient and error-free operator service.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a telephone call processing system and method for providing an operator service.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an efficient and reliable system and service for managing incoming telephone calls directed to a number of different customers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide substantially error-free searching for subscriber information within the appropriate customer directory.