Granted Patent B2

US 8,259,925 · App. 12/080,540 · Granted Sep 4, 2012

Abstract

Claims (55)

1. A method for communicating an estimated wait time to a potential customer, the method comprising:

collecting data from a plurality of customer devices, the customer devices comprising a first customer device;

a server determining actual wait time information based on the collected data for a specified enterprise;

storing the actual wait time information in a non-transitory computer readable medium;

the server determining current wait time information based on the collected data for the specified enterprise;

storing the current wait time information in the non-transitory computer readable medium according to a classification type;

determining at least one of:

(a) estimated wait time information based on the stored actual wait time information obtained from the customer devices, and

(b) anticipated wait time information based on the stored current wait time information obtained from the customer devices and the stored actual wait time information obtained from the customer devices;

transmitting at least one of the estimated wait time information and the anticipated wait time information to the first customer device or a communication device of the potential customer such that the at least one of the estimated wait time information and the anticipated wait time information is displayable at the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the anticipated wait time information is also determined based upon a classification type, the classification type comprising information related to at least one of a party size, a type of service desired, arrival time, and customer input information and wherein the customer devices are communication devices used by at least one of customers and potential customers of the specified enterprise.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing a connection between each of the plurality of customer devices and the server, the server being an SIP server.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the estimated wait time information based on at least one of customer data information, performance information, and service wait time related information.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the updating is performed periodically and wherein the period of updating is determined based on at least one of a receipt of a request signal and a detection of an event.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the anticipated wait time information is transmitted to the first customer device, the anticipated wait time information being comprised of an anticipated wait time for the first customer device, the anticipated wait time for the first customer device being an amount of time that is equal to an estimated wait time of the estimated wait time information minus a current wait time of the first customer device, the current wait time of the first customer device being a portion of the stored current wait time information.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein transmitting the estimated wait time information comprises transmitting estimated wait time information from the server to the communication device of the potential customer using SIP signaling.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer displaying the at least one of the estimated wait time information and the anticipated wait time information by at least one of outputting a text message, outputting a graphics message, outputting a chart, outputting a document, and activating a light.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting a notification signal to at least one of the first customer device and the communication device of the potential customer and causing an output regarding the notification signal at the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer, wherein the output comprises at least one of a vibration of the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer, activation of a light of the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer, a text message displayed at the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer, and an audio sound emitted from a speaker of the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the actual wait time information by measuring a length of time between activation and termination of each of the customer devices.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising activating the first customer device, establishing a connection between the first customer device and the server, and the specified enterprise providing the first customer device to a customer or a potential customer of the specified enterprise.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the specified enterprise terminating the activation of the first customer device.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising transmitting a time that the first customer device was activated and a time that the first customer device was terminated following the terminating of the activation of the first customer device.

14. A system for communicating service information to a potential customer, the system comprising:

a plurality of customer devices, the customer devices comprising a first customer device;

at least one server; and

wherein the at least one server collecting data from the plurality of customer devices;

wherein the at least one server determining actual wait time information based on the collected data for a specified enterprise;

wherein the at least one server determining current wait time information based on the collected data for the specified enterprise;

wherein the at least one server storing the actual wait time information in a non-transitory computer readable medium;

wherein the at least one server storing the current wait time information in the non-transitory computer readable medium;

wherein the at least one server determining at least one of:

(a) estimated wait time information based the stored actual wait time information obtained from the customer devices, and

(b) anticipated wait time information based the stored current wait time information obtained from the customer devices and the stored actual wait time information obtained from the customer devices; and

wherein the at least one server transmitting at least one of the estimated wait time information and the anticipated wait time information to at least one of the first customer device and a communication device of the potential customer.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the plurality of customer devices are provided by the specified enterprise.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the server transmits the estimated wait time information to the first customer device or the communication device of the potential customer via Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”).

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the server collects and stores data for multiple specified enterprises.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the server only transmits the estimated wait time information to the communication device of the potential customer in response to a request sent from the communication device of the potential customer, the estimated wait time information comprising an estimated waiting time.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the actual wait time information is determined by measuring a length of time between activation and termination of each customer device.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein the anticipated wait time information is transmitted to the first customer device, the anticipated wait time information being comprised of an anticipated wait time calculated by subtracting an estimated wait time of the estimated wait time information from a current wait time of the first customer device, the current wait time of the first customer device being a portion of the current wait time information.

21. A computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium being non-transitory, the computer readable storage medium comprising instructions for communicating service information that are processable by a computer device, the instructions defining a method, the method comprising:

collecting data from a plurality of customer devices, the customer devices comprising a first customer device;

determining actual wait time information based on the collected data for a specified enterprise;

storing the actual wait time information in a first non-transitory computer readable medium;

determining current wait time information based on the collected data for the specified enterprise;

storing the current wait time information in the first non-transitory computer readable medium according to a classification type;

determining at least one of:

(a) estimated wait time information based on the stored actual wait time information obtained from the customer devices, and

(b) anticipated wait time information based on the stored current wait time information obtained from the customer devices and the stored actual wait time information obtained from the customer devices; and

transmitting at least one of the estimated wait time information and the anticipated wait time information to the first customer device or a communication device of a potential customer.

22. The computer readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein the anticipated wait time information is transmitted to the first customer device, the anticipated wait time information being comprised of an anticipated wait time calculated by subtracting an estimated wait time of the estimated wait time information from a current wait time of the first customer device, the current wait time of the first customer device being a portion of the current wait time information.

23. The computer readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein the actual wait time information is determined by measuring a length of time between activation and termination of each customer device.

24. The computer readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein only the estimated wait time information is transmitted to the communication device of the potential customer and the estimated wait time information is transmitted in response to a request sent from the communication device of the potential customer, the estimated wait time information comprising an estimated waiting time.

25. The computer readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein the method comprises transferring the estimated wait time information to a second server.

26. The computer readable storage medium of claim 25 instructions as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the second server is an Internet server.

Assignments (11)