AT&T Seeks Patent For Limiting Access To U.S. Workers
from the this-is-patent-worthy? dept
theodp writes "To be fair, IBM isn't the only corporation guilty of demanding U.S. patents for outsourcing methods. For example, AT&T Knowledge Ventures has a patent pending for Managing Incoming Telephone Calls at a Call Center, an invention that calls for transferring callers to offshore call centers unless advance payment is received for the privilege of speaking to someone in the United States. 'Such an option may be beneficial to callers who have difficulties with accents or who have personal or political agendas against outsourcing,' explains Ma Bell 2.0. AT&T's patent claims also cover buying down wait time ('The current wait time is 34 minutes. You may reduce your wait time by a minute for each dollar you are willing to pay. Please enter the number of minutes/dollars you want.')."Beyond the ridiculousness of the very concept, I've heard such an idea talked about for years. It's a pretty straightforward and obvious idea -- but it's one that few others were interested in implementing (or patenting) as it would likely piss off users. Apparently AT&T doesn't worry about such things. In the meantime, in March of 2004 (about a year and a half before AT&T filed for its patent), I wrote about how the company E-Loan was offering something quite similar. Rather than an upfront payment, E-Loan offered customers a choice of an onshore or offshore call center person, with the knowledge that an offshore support person would help them get a loan faster and an onshore one would take longer. That seems pretty similar to the idea of paying -- it's just that the cost is in time instead of money. Even if this isn't direct prior art, it certainly suggests that these types of ideas have been floating around for quite some time and hardly should be entirely "owned" by one company.
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Filed Under: business model patents, call centers, offshoring, outsourcing, patents
Companies: at&t
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Is this a toll call ?
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Personally...
The idea of off-shore support is bad enough, but to charge me extra to speak with (and thus keeping them employed) US Citizens, is an outrage. It seems like time to make certain such things are included in contracts.
And the idea that they'll offer some bozo with more money than sense the opportunity to jump ahead of me makes the whole thing even worse.
EtG
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That much is plainly obvious. That's ok, I'd never dream of using their service or support center.
So go ahead AT&T - patent a stupid idea.
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...or it can sit on the patent, wait till someone is dumb enough to try the idea without getting a license, then sue them for their last 99 cents.
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Re:
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AT&T better not test me
I have to admit I have never heard of this before. In fact, if this gets implemented and I am ever given one of the choices above, I just might go to the closest AT&T office near me and bring my hammer like the lady did at the Comcast office
http://www.insidenova.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ISN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&c=MGArti cle&cid=1173353015622
I said it, there AT&T, just try me.
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1. make his job hell because i probably know more than they do about their job.
2. cancel my service as soon as possible.
good luck schmucks.
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I'm outta there
I think AT&T would find the same results from disgruntled customers. After pulling that stunt, it would be hard to get us back, even after stopping the program.
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Re: I'm outta there
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ATT MUST BE STOP
There is no reason that we should pay extra service to receive support!
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Re: ATT MUST BE STOP
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Subject is "Patents"
I'm far more interested in what exactly they are attempting to patent. What is patentable about deciding to add fees to a call?
It's the big picture that is important here. Put together factoids like this one with the guy who patented the brain waves he "discovered", corporate patents on DNA strings and who knows else. I'm not sure what the patent holders intend to do with the patents, but I am not about to allow anyone to charge me fees for something my body produces naturally, with no participation on my part (other than breathing, etc.)
Bogging the conversation down in details pretty much guarantees that no action will be taken for a very long time and no one will ever question the basic premises and assumptions. Have you heard any discussion about preemptive attacks on other countries and what standards should be used in evaluating the intelligence those attacks may be based on?
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and this too
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Re: and this too
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Prior Art
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att can do it and get away with it
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Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
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Sounds like United airlines.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri_united_1019oct19,0,6673281.story
This is what you can expect when you want a completely uncontrolled free market. The companies do pretty much as they please, and if that doesn't suit you, tough luck.
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Nobody screws customers quite as well as the telco
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What if...
That or there's a call center in rural USA full of bored, high school kids that can snicker everytime they get a call knowing some dolt paid money to interrupt his/her online comic reading.
sarcasm
Yeah, that deserves a patent :P
/sarcasm
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What they did in March of 2004 was, as part of their home equity division, allow customers to choose whether or not they would permit their personal information and documents to be processed, post-phone or post-internet application, on the backend by an offshore contractor or in-house by E-LOAN's own staff. Offshore worked 24 hours and offered a faster turnaround, while Pleasanton remained a 9 - 5, weekday-only affair. Regardless of where the loan was processed, the loan consultant and customer contact person was always an in-house, onshore and direct employee of E-LOAN.
Fat lot of good it did them; they've stopped doing all loans, laid off 99 percent of staff and will wind down operations by the end of 1Q 09.
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re: AT&T Seeks Patent For Limiting Access To U.S. Workers
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