Software program and method for reducing misdirected calls to a select destination
View Patent ↗A method and software application reduce the occurrence of misdirected calls to one or more select destinations The software application resides on a user's phone and “listens” to phone numbers dialed by a user to determine if the user has dialed a phone number for one of such select destinations. In response to the user dialing one of such phone numbers, the software application on the phone effectively “intercepts” the call and enables the phone to provide the user with a list of destination options prior to placing the call to the dialed phone number. In one embodiment, the list is provided in audio form by playing a voice prompt with the list, as well as in visual form by displaying the list in the user interface of the user's phone. The list helps disambiguate the intent of the user in dialing the phone number by asking the user to either (i) confirm he wants the destination associated with the phone number or (ii) select another option. In one embodiment, if the user does not select a choice after a period of time, the call is placed to the destination associated with the originally dialed phone number.
1. A method for reducing occurrences of misdirected calls to a phone number for a select destination:
listening for phone numbers dialed by a user on a phone;
for each phone number dialed by the user, determining on the phone whether the dialed phone number is the phone number for the select destination;
in response to determining that the dialed phone number is the phone number for the select destination, providing the user with a list of destination options, where the list includes the select destination and at least one alternate destination;
in response to the user choosing the select destination from the list, placing a call to the select destination; and
in response to the user choosing an alternate destination from the list, placing a call to the alternate destination chosen by the user instead of the select destination.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
in response to the user not inputting any choices from the list, placing the call to the select destination after a period of time.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the list is provided in audio form by playing a voice prompt and in visual form by displaying the list on a user interface on the phone.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the list of destination options is ordered according to the probability in which each destination option will be selected by a user.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the select destination is a voice store for a wireless communication carrier, and an alternate destination in the list is customer care for the wireless communication carrier.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the select destination is an IVR system and wherein an alternate destination is another IVR system.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the select destination is an entry point to an IVR system and an alternate destination is a different entry point to the IVR system.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the listening and determining steps further comprise:
buffering keystrokes entered by a user on the phone;
in response to one of the keystrokes being a command to send a call, looking at a sequence of keystrokes entered by the user prior to the user entering the command to send a call; and
determining whether such sequence is the phone number for the select destination.
9. A method for reducing occurrences of misdirected calls to a phone number for a select destination:
determining whether a sequence of keystrokes entered by a user into a phone is the user dialing the phone number for the select destination;
in response to determining that the user dialed the phone number for the select destination, providing the user with a list of destination options, where the list includes the select destination and at least one alternate destination;
in response to the user choosing the select destination from the list, placing a call to the select destination; and
in response to the user choosing an alternate destination, placing a call to the alternate destination chosen by the user instead of to the select destination.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
in response to the user not inputting any choices from the list, placing the call to the select destination after a period of time.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the list is provided in audio form by playing a voice prompt and in visual form by displaying the list on a user interface on the phone.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the list of destination options is ordered according to the probability in which each destination option will be selected by a user.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the select destination is a voice store for a wireless communication carrier, and an alternate destination in the list is customer care for the wireless communication carrier.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the select destination is an IVR system and wherein an alternate destination is another IVR system.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the select destination is an entry point to an IVR system and an alternate destination is a different entry point to the IVR system.
16. A software program embodied on a computer-readable medium and comprising code that, when executed by a processor on a phone, enables the phone to perform the following method:
determining whether a sequence of keystrokes entered by a user into the phone is the user dialing the phone number for the select destination;
in response to determining that the user dialed the phone number for the select destination, providing the user with a list of destination options, where the list includes the select destination and at least one alternate destination;
in response to the user choosing the select destination from the list, placing a call to the select destination; and
in response to the user choosing an alternate destination, placing a call to the alternate destination chosen by the user instead of the select destination.
17. The software program of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises:
in response to the user not inputting any choices from the list, placing the call to the select destination after a period of time.
18. The software program of claim 16 , wherein the list is provided in audio form by playing a voice prompt and in visual form by displaying the list on a user interface on the phone.
19. The software program of claim 16 , wherein the list of destination options is ordered according to the probability in which each destination option will be selected by a user.
20. The software program of claim 16 , wherein the select destination is a voice store for a wireless communication carrier, and an alternate destination in the list is customer care for the wireless communication carrier.
21. The software program of claim 16 , wherein the select destination is an IVR system and wherein an alternate destination is another NR system.
22. The method of claim 16 , wherein the select destination is an entry point to an NR system and an alternate destination is a different entry point to the IVR system.
23. The method of claim 1 , wherein listening for phone numbers dialed by a user on a phone includes listening for voice-activated dial commands.
24. The method of claim 9 further comprising determining whether a voice-activated dial command entered by a user equates to the user dialing the phone number for the select destination.
25. The software program of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises determining whether a voice-activated dial command entered by a user equates to the user dialing the phone number for the select destination.