System and method for predictive contacts

A method at least partially based upon use of the Internet for distributing customer contacts to a plurality of transaction processing entities of a transaction processing system, such method comprising:

• providing a plurality of data applications for communicating through the Internet where each data application of the plurality of data applications operates under a different Internet format;
• predicting a time for assignment of at least one customer contact to at least one transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing entities in the transaction processing system;
• setting up the customer contact through the Internet using one of the plurality of data applications;
• determining that the customer contact is one of the group consisting of a live customer contact and a contact with an unavailable customer;
• when the customer contact is a live customer contact, finding the at least one transaction processing entity to process the customer contact;
• routing the at least one customer contact to the found at least one transaction processing entity using one of the plurality of data applications;
• and
• when the customer contact is a contact with an unavailable customer, assigning the customer contact to a queue so that transaction processing entities are assigned to the queue on a first-in, first-out basis as a transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing entities become available.

A system at least partially based upon use of the Internet for distributing customer contacts to a plurality of transaction processing entities of a transaction processing system comprising:

• a plurality of data applications for communicating through the Internet where each data application of the plurality of data applications operates under a different Internet format;
• means for predicting a time for assignment of a customer contact to at least one transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing entities in the transaction processing system;
• means for setting up the customer contact through the Internet using one of the plurality of data applications;
• means for determining that the customer contact is one of the group consisting of a live customer contact and a contact with an unavailable customer;
• means for finding the at least one transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing entities to process the customer contact when the customer contact is a live customer contact;
• means for routing the customer contact to the found at least one transaction processing entity using one of the plurality of data applications;
• and
• means for assigning the customer contact to a queue when the customer contact is a contact with an unavailable customer so that transaction processing entities are assigned to the queue on a first-in, first-out basis as a transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing entities become available.

A system based upon use of the Internet for distributing a customer contact to one of a plurality of transaction processing entities of a transaction processing system comprising:

• a plurality of data applications for communicating through the Internet where each data application of the plurality of data applications operates under a different Internet format;
• a MakeMediaCall software function that establishes communication with the at least one customer using the Internet;
• means for determining that the customer contact in the contact queue is one of the group consisting of a live customer contact and a contact with an unavailable customer;
• a predictive customer contact manager to distribute the customer contact to a transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing enties, when the customer contact is a live customer and when the transaction processing entity becomes available to process the customer contact;
• a router that connects the customer contact to the available transaction processing entity using one of the plurality of data applications;
• and
• a queue for contacts with unavailable customers so that transaction processing entities are assigned to the queue on a first-in, first-out basis as a transaction processing entity of the plurality of transaction processing entities become available.