Session oriented enhancements for text-based communications in a contact center
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 short message service (“SMS”) text from a remote party, wherein the remote party is identified by a mobile telephone number in the incoming SMS text;
ascertain whether the remote party is associated with any session with any agent of the contact center by accessing a first data structure stored in a memory of the communications handler, wherein the mobile telephone number of the incoming SMS text is used as an index to the first data structure; and
after determining the incoming SMS text is not associated with any session with any agent:
modify the first data structure to reflect the mobile telephone number is associated with a current session, wherein the current session is associated with an agent,
send the incoming SMS text to the agent;
start a customer response timer upon receiving a response text initiated by the agent,
upon expiry of customer response timer, modify the first data structure reflecting the mobile telephone number is no longer associated with the current session, and
update a second data structure in the memory reflecting the agent is in an available state and thereby no longer associated with the current session.
2. The communications handler of claim 1 , further configured to:
retrieve the second data structure from the memory indicating a state of the agent;
analyze the second data structure to determine the agent is in the available state and thereby available to be associated with the current session;
select the agent to be associated with the current session after receiving the incoming SMS text and before sending the SMS text to the agent; and
modify the second data structure after selecting the agent reflecting the agent is in an allocated state and not available to be associated with another simultaneous session.
3. The communications handler of claim 1 , further configured to:
index the incoming SMS text in a third data structure comprising a session messages table associated with the current session.
4. The communications handler of claim 1 , further configured to:
determine the response text initiated by the selected agent is not configured to pause the customer response timer.
5. The communications handler of claim 1 , further configured to:
initiate the response text from the agent in response to the agent selecting a previously stored response message from a library of previously stored response messages, wherein the previously stored response message is configured to not pause the customer response timer after being sent as the response message; and
send the response text to the remote party.
6. The communications handler of claim 1 , further configured to:
receive a second SMS text, wherein the second SMS text uses the mobile telephone number of the remote party;
ascertain the second SMS text is associated with the current session by accessing the first data structure, wherein the mobile telephone number of the second SMS text is used as an index to the first data structure; and
route the second SMS text to the agent based on ascertaining the second SMS text is associated with the current session.
7. The communications handler of claim 6 , further configured to:
stop the customer response timer in response to receiving the second SMS text from the remote party.
8. A non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that when executed by a computer processor cause the computer processor to:
receive an incoming short message service (“SMS”) text from a remote party, wherein the remote party is identified by a mobile telephone number in the incoming SMS text;
ascertain whether the remote party is associated with any session with any agent of the contact center by accessing a first data structure stored in a memory of the communications handler, wherein the mobile telephone number of the incoming SMS text is used as an index to the first data structure; and
after determining the incoming SMS text is not associated with any session with any agent:
modify the first data structure to reflect the mobile telephone number is associated with a current session, wherein the current session is associated with an agent,
send the incoming SMS text to the agent;
start a customer response timer upon receiving a response text initiated by the agent,
upon expiry of customer response timer, modify the first data structure reflecting the mobile telephone number is no longer associated with the current session, and
update a second data structure in the memory reflecting the agent is in an available state and thereby no longer associated with the current session.
9. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
retrieve the second data structure from the memory indicating a state of the agent;
analyze the second data structure to determine the agent is in the available state and thereby available to be associated with the current session;
select the agent to be associated with the current session after receiving the incoming SMS text and before sending the SMS text to the agent; and
modify the second data structure after selecting the agent reflecting the agent is in an allocated state and not available to be associated with another simultaneous session.
10. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
index the incoming SMS text in a third data structure comprising a session messages table associated with the current session.
11. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
determine the response text initiated by the selected agent is not configured to pause the customer response timer.
12. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
initiate the response text from the agent in response to the agent selecting a previously stored response message from a library of previously stored response messages, wherein the previously stored response message is configured to not pause the customer response timer after being sent as the response message; and
send the response text to the remote party.
13. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
receive a second SMS text, wherein the second SMS text uses the mobile telephone number of the remote party;
ascertain the second SMS text is associated with the current session by accessing the first data structure, wherein the mobile telephone number of the second SMS text is used as an index to the first data structure; and
route the second SMS text to the agent based on ascertaining the second SMS text is associated with the current session.
14. The non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of claim 8 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
stop the customer response timer in response to receiving the second SMS text from the remote party.
15. The communications handler of claim 8 , further configured to:
retrieve the second data structure from the memory indicating a state of the agent;
analyze the second data structure to determine the agent is in the available state and thereby available to be associated with the current session;
select the agent to be associated with the current session after receiving the incoming SMS text and before sending the SMS text to the agent; and
modify the second data structure after selecting the agent reflecting the agent is in an allocated state and not available to be associated with another simultaneous session.
16. A method for processing an incoming short message service (“SMS”) text comprising:
receiving an incoming short message service (“SMS”) text from a remote party, wherein the remote party is identified by a mobile telephone number in the incoming SMS text;
ascertaining whether the remote party is associated with any session with any agent of the contact center by accessing a first data structure stored in a memory of the communications handler, wherein the mobile telephone number of the incoming SMS text is used as an index to the first data structure; and
after determining the incoming SMS text is not associated with any session with any agent:
modifying the first data structure to reflect the mobile telephone number is associated with a current session, wherein the current session is associated with an agent,
sending the incoming SMS text to the agent;
starting a customer response timer upon receiving a response text initiated by the agent,
upon expiry of customer response timer, modifying the first data structure reflecting the mobile telephone number is no longer associated with the current session, and
updating a second data structure in the memory reflecting the agent is in an available state and thereby no longer associated with the current session.
17. The method of claim 16 , further configured to:
indexing the incoming SMS text in a third data structure comprising a session messages table associated with the current session.
18. The method of claim 16 , further configured to:
determining the response text initiated by the selected agent is not configured to pause the customer response timer.
19. The method of claim 16 , further configured to:
initiating the response text from the agent in response to the agent selecting a previously stored response message from a library of previously stored response messages, wherein the previously stored response message is configured to not pause the customer response timer after being sent as the response message; and
sending the response text to the remote party.
20. The method of claim 16 , further configured to:
receiving a second SMS text, wherein the second SMS text uses the mobile telephone number of the remote party;
stopping the customer response timer in response to receiving the second SMS text from the remote party;
ascertaining the second SMS text is associated with the current session by accessing the first data structure, wherein the mobile telephone number of the second SMS text is used as an index to the first data structure; and
routing the second SMS text to the agent based on ascertaining the second SMS text is associated with the current session.