The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to systems and methods for capturing information from telephone callers.
A typical business often has a number of telephone lines for receiving and placing telephone calls. Often, the number of calls originating and terminating at the business exceeds the number of telephone lines available. When this occurs, a caller trying to reach the business, such as a customer or a vendor, receives a busy signal.
The business may subscribe to a conventional off-premises voice mail system offered by a local exchange carrier (LEC). The voice mail system typically enables a caller to leave a message that can be retrieved by the business at a later time. To retrieve the message, the business must typically access their voice mailbox, enter an access code and retrieve the messages in the order in which they were left.
Retrieving messages in this manner is time-consuming and inefficient. Additionally, the business may be unaware of the received messages for a long period of time. Therefore, a need exists to overcome the deficiencies of conventional off-premises voice mail systems.
The business may also request that the local phone company analyze the frequency of busy signals being offered to incoming calls. Even when such an analysis is available, the analysis is typically devoid of specific identifying information, such as who called, which is vital to the business when making an overall determination of whether it is using its existing phone lines efficiently.
Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address this need by permitting a user to automatically receive messages left by callers. The messages may be received via a number of different communication devices, including a computer or a pager. Systems and methods consistent with the present invention also provide both the business and the LEC with relevant information to enable them to determine, individually or together, how efficiently the business is using its telephone line capacity and how to efficiently manage this resource to meet the business""s goals.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a server consistent with the present invention includes a communications interface configured to enable communications with a calling party. The server also includes a processing device configured to receive a telephone call from a calling party for a called party, identify the calling party, determine whether the calling party is a predetermined party, and transmit a notification to the called party when the calling party is the predetermined party.
In another implementation consistent with the present invention a computer-readable medium stores sequences of instructions that are executed by a processor. The instructions cause the processor to store a message of a calling party for a called party. The instructions further cause the processor to identify the calling party, determine whether the calling party is a predetermined party and transmit a notification to the called party when the calling party is the predetermined party.