Engage Voice | Configuring inbound queue events
As we discussed in Intro to inbound queue events, queue events are a series of sequential events that the customer will experience once they are routed to the queue.
There are two types of queue events: regular queue events, which will occur as long as the queue is open and operating normally, and priority queue events, which will occur when specific conditions exist, such as if the queue is closed or has reached maximum capacity. When you create a regular queue event, you assign it a rank, which determines the relative order of all the queue events you have created.
For the purpose of this article, we’ll discuss how to configure regular queue events. To learn more about priority queue events, visit Managing inbound priority queue events.
Creating a new queue event
To create a new queue event, follow the steps below.
1. Navigate to Routing > Queues via the left-hand navigation bar.
2. Select a queue from the groups page.
3. Click on the Queue Events tab from the queue configuration panel.
4. Under the Queue Event Settings section, configure these settings as needed (see the next section below for more info).
5. Scroll down to the Queue Event Configuration section and select the Add Queue Event button to open the Queue Event Configuration modal window.
6. Select an Event Type from the dropdown menu (see Queue event configuration settings section below for more info on each event type).
7. Set a Rank for the event type.
8. Set the Duration (in seconds) of the event.
9. Configure the remaining settings as needed.
10. Click Ok to close the modal window.
11. Click the Save button at bottom right to save your changes.
Queue event settings
There are many settings you can configure for your queue events. The Queue Event Settings section deals with settings that will apply to both regular queue events and priority queue events. Let’s review those settings below.
- Dequeue Delay: The amount of time you would like the platform to hold the call in queue before sending it to an available agent. This is typically used to play an introductory message that you would like to play in its entirety, configured via the Queue Event Configuration section. Make sure that you set the time in this field to be the duration of that file.
- Sync (Busy) Queue Wait: The amount of time (in minutes) a caller will wait in a queue to be routed to an agent before the system returns a busy signal. To learn more about this setting, visit Using Sync (Busy) Queue Wait.
- Max Queued Calls: The maximum number of calls that can stack up in a queue. You can determine what happens to calls that stack up past this limit via the Max Calls In Queue priority queue event.
Queue event configuration settings
When you choose to create a new queue event or edit an existing one, a Queue Event Configuration modal window will appear with a list of settings you can configure.
The first setting in the modal window is the Event Type setting, and the selection you make in this dropdown menu will populate a list of settings related to that specific event type. There are, however, settings that you will find no matter which event type you select, so let’s review each of those settings below.
For information on settings specific to each event type, see Queue event type settings section below.
- Event Type: Here you can choose how to handle incoming calls based on the following options:
- Route To Agent: This option is the default value for queue events, and is unavailable for priority queue events. This setting routes calls to an available agent once the dequeue delay has been met.
- Inbound Requeue: This option transfers the call to another queue in the account. When this option is selected, a new dropdown appears, giving you a list of all the available queues. Optionally, you can check the Show Queue Across Accounts box above this field to select a queue in another account that you have access to.
- Call Termination: This option ends the call after playing the single play audio configured below. This is typically used to let callers know that the queue they have reached is currently closed.
- Send to App (IVR): If you have configured an IVR app (via IVR > IVR Apps (legacy) in the left nav bar), you can use this option to select an IVR app to which you’d like to send calls.
- Send to IVR Studio: Use this option to send the call to an IVR that has been built in IVR Studio.
- Send to Cloud: Use this option to send the call to a cloud profile configured on the account.
- Send to TRAC#: Send the call directly to any configured track numbers on the account.
- Send to Voicemail: This is similar to the Call Termination event, with the added option for the caller to leave a voicemail after the single play audio has ended. With this option, you can enter an email, or set of email addresses where you’d like the voicemail to be sent.
- Transfer Call: Use this option to transfer the call to a specific number.
- Rank: This refers to the rank of the queue event being configured. The smaller the rank, the sooner this event will occur once the caller enters the queue.
- Duration: The length of time (in seconds) the event will execute before moving on to the next event. If you’re playing audio files during this event that you wish callers to hear in full before moving on, be sure to configure the duration of your event with the duration of the audio file in mind. Remember that the call will terminate once the final event in the queue has ended.
- Single Play Audio: Designate audio file(s) to be played once before any looping audio files. Visit Configuring an audio file to learn more.
- Looping Audio: Designate audio file(s) that will loop for the duration of the queue event.
- Web Service: Set up any preconfigured web services to be called as the caller reaches this event.
- Skilled Agent Routing: Use this setting if you wish to have certain agents receive specific calls, or if you wish to have calls distributed to agents in a certain order.
For example, if you want calls to go to Tier 1 agents first, you could set up that skill on the first queue event. Then if you wanted to open up the option for calls to be dequeued to Tier 2 agents as well as Tier 1 agents after a certain amount of time, you could configure the next queue event to utilize both of those skills.
To enable skill-based routing, simply drag the skills you wish to be used for the event from the Available Skills window to the Skills in Use window.
Helpful hint!
- In order to have skills populate this section, you must first create them via the Skills tab at the queue group level and assign them to any agents you’d like to designate for these skill-based calls.
Queue event type settings
As we discussed earlier, when you’re configuring queue events via the Queue Event Configuration modal window, some of the settings you’ll find in this modal window will vary based on the selection you make in the Event Type dropdown menu. Let’s review those settings specific to each event type below.
Route to Agent
The first option you’ll find in the Event Type dropdown is Route to Agent. When you select this option, the following settings will appear below:
- Enable DTMF: Check this box to enable the system to provide callers with a choice of destinations to route their call to. Once you’ve checked this box, you’ll be able to configure your DTMF options via the Add DTMF plus icon at far right in the column of the queue event you’ve configured with the Route to Agent event type. See the Queue Event DTMF configuration section to learn more.
- Play Hold Time: Check this box if you would like the system to announce the estimated hold time for the caller. The announcement will only play once per event, after any single play audio file has ended.
Inbound Requeue
When you select the Inbound Requeue option from the Event Type dropdown menu, the following setting will appear:
- Requeue To: Click on this dropdown menu to select a queue you’d like to requeue the call to.
Route to Last Agent
This event type places the call into a queue and attempts to route to the last agent who interacted with the caller. When you select the Route to Last Agent option from the Event Type dropdown menu, the following setting will appear:
- Max time since last contact (minutes): If a caller calls again within the set amount of time (in minutes) that you configured, the caller will be routed to the last agent that handled them.
Send to App (IVR)
When you select on the Send to App (IVR) option from the Event Type dropdown, the following setting will appear:
- IVR App: If you’ve configured any IVR apps, you can use this setting to select the IVR app that you’d like to send the call to.
Send to IVR Studio
When you select the Send to IVR Studio option from the Event Type dropdown, the following setting will appear:
- IVR Studio: Click on this dropdown menu to select the IVR you’d like to send the call to.
Send to Cloud
When you select the Send to Cloud option from the Event Type dropdown, the following setting will appear:
- Cloud Profiles: Click on this dropdown menu to select the cloud profile you’d like to send the call to.
Send to TRAC#
When you select the Send to TRAC# option from the Event Type dropdown, the following setting will appear:
- Trac Number: Click on this dropdown menu to select the track number you’d like to send the call to.
Send to Voicemail
When you select the Send to Voicemail option from the Event Type dropdown, the following setting will appear:
- Send Voicemail To: Use this field to enter a comma separated list of email addresses you would like voicemails delivered to.
Transfer Call
When you select the Transfer Call option from the Event Type dropdown, the following settings will appear:
- Transfer Type: Select the type of destination that you’d like to send this call to. Options include the following:
- DID: Any standard unformatted PSTN number (##########). Here, you can choose a destination country for the call. International calling rates apply for transfers outside the standard North American Domestic dial plan, and your account must be configured for international dialing. Contact your CSM to enable international calling for your account.
- SIP: Any valid address that terminates to a SIP device.
- Encrypted SIP: Any valid address that terminates to an encrypted SIP device.
- In-Network: A phone number that terminates within the system. This can be either a pseudo-number that exists only within our system, or a standard number that can be dialed from the PSTN.
- Transfer To: Enter the destination you want to transfer your call to.
- Country: If you selected DID as the Transfer Type, this field will appear below the Transfer To field. Choose the country the number above belongs to from the dropdown menu.
- TT Accept: Check this box if you want to require the party accepting the transferred call to play a tone, or press a button on their phone to accept the call.
Managing your queue events
Once you’ve created a new queue event, it will appear in the Queue Event Configuration table. Events are organized by rank within the table, and the order that they appear in the table will indicate when that event will occur when a caller enters the queue.
The Queue Event Configuration table contains information about each queue event, including the duration of the event and whether or not the event has been DTMF-enabled.
You can make changes to any events by clicking the Edit pencil and paper icon at far right of the event. You can also remove the event entirely by selecting the Delete trash can icon.
Finally, if you would like to provide DTMF options for each of your callers, you can select the Add DTMF plus icon to add a DTMF option for that event. Clicking this option will open a modal window with a list of configuration options for that DTMF. See the next section below to learn more about how to configure your DTMF options.
Creating queue event DTMF options
If you’d like to provide your callers with a set of destinations that they can choose from, you can configure DTMF options for them within a specific queue event. Each DTMF option you create will represent one option the caller can select to route them to the destination associated with the option.
Please note that in order to create DTMF options for a queue event, you must first check the Enable DTMF box in the Queue Event Configuration modal window. DTMFs can also only be configured for the Route to Agent event type.
To create DTMF options for your callers, follow the steps below.
1. Under the Queue Event Configuration section, select the Add DTMF plus icon to open the Queue DTMF Event Configuration modal window.
2. In the DTMF Code field, provide a number that your caller will press to select this DTMF option.
3. Select an Event Type from the dropdown menu.
4. Configure the remaining settings as needed.
5. Click Ok to close the modal window.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 to create your remaining DTMF options.
7. Save your changes via the Save button at bottom right.
Once you’ve added a DTMF option, it will appear in the table below the queue event it’s attached to. To view the option, select the plus icon that appears at far left of the queue event to view a dropdown list of all the DTMF options you’ve created.
Queue Event DTMF configuration settings
Now that we’ve reviewed how to create your DTMF options, let’s review some of the settings you’ll find in the Queue DTMF Event Configuration. Please note that some of these settings will be very similar to the ones you’ll find in Queue Event Configuration modal window when configuring your queue events, so in the list below we’ll only discuss settings specific to configuring your DTMF options.
For more info on those settings, please visit the Queue event configuration settings section.
- DTMF Code: The button on their phone that the caller will press to execute the DTMF event. A queue event configured with DTMF options presents the caller with a set of destinations they can choose from, and routes the caller to the destination associated with the option they select.
- Event Type: This describes how the call will be handled once the caller has entered the DTMF code above. The majority of these events will function the same as the queue events spelled out above, so the following event types are only unique to DTMF configuration.
- Inbound Queue Callback: The caller can choose to receive a callback rather than wait in the queue. The caller will retain their place in line and be called back once an agent becomes available.
- Agent Extension Routing: This option allows callers to reach out to specific agents by entering in the agent’s direct dial extension here.
Helpful hint!
To configure the agent’s direct dial extension, navigate to Users > Agents and find the agent you wish to edit. Under the Phone Settings section, enter the extension number (up to 6 digits) in the Direct Dial Extension field
- Direct Agent Routing: This option routes calls directly to a specific agent.
You’ll notice that once you select an option from the Event Type dropdown in the Queue DTMF Event Configuration modal window, settings specific to each event type will appear below the event type. In the sections below, we’ll review these settings specific to the event types unique to DTMF configuration.
Inbound Queue Callback
When you select the Inbound Queue Callback option from the Event Type setting, the following options will appear:
- Callback From Queue: Select the queue that you’d like to use to provide a callback to the caller. This can be a different queue than the one the caller initially called into.
- Callback Ring Time (sec): Use this option to set the max ring time for a queue callback (in seconds). If the set time is reached and there has been no answer on the call, then the call will be dropped. The minimum amount of time you can input here is 20 seconds and the maximum is 60 seconds.
- Audio Language: The language that the callback instructions and menu options will be presented in for the caller. The current options are English, French, and Spanish.
- Say Caller-ID: When disabled, the system will ask the caller to enter the number to be used for callback. When enabled, the system will state the number the caller dialed in with and ask if that is the preferred callback number.
- Require Caller-ID Confirmation: When enabled, the system will prompt the caller to confirm if the number they used to call in from is the number that they would like to receive the callback from.
Agent Extension Routing
When you select the Agent Extension Routing option from the Event Type setting, the following options will appear:
- Accessible Agents: Use this option to allow the caller to dial the extension of an active agent. Options include the following:
- All Active Agents: This setting allows the caller to dial the extension of any active agent, whether they are assigned to the current queue or not.
- Only Agents Assigned to Queue: This option limits callers to dial only the extensions of agents assigned to the current queue. If they attempt to dial the extension of an agent not assigned to the queue, they will receive an 'extension invalid' message.
Direct Agent Routing
When you select the Direct Agent Routing option from the Event Type setting, the following options will appear:
- Route to Agent: Select the agent to whom calls should be routed.
- Leave Voicemail: Use this option to determine if the caller can leave a voicemail for the agent if they do not answer the call. Options include the following:
- Yes: If the agent doesn’t answer within the designated wait time, the caller will be asked to leave a voicemail.
- No: If the agent doesn’t answer within the designated wait time, the caller is placed back into the queue after hearing the Unavailable Message audio configured in the advanced settings.
- Optional: If the agent does not pick up within the designated wait time, the caller is given the choice to leave a voicemail or be placed back into the queue.
- Wait Time (sec): The amount of time (in seconds) the system will attempt to reach the agent before checking the voicemail option selected above (this is a required field).
- Show Advanced Settings: This option contains audio settings for routing to the selected agent. These options are as follows:
- Hold Message: This is the first file that will be played for a caller when attempting to reach the agent. The default is a message to the effect of “Please wait while we attempt to reach the agent.”
- Looping Message: The audio file selected here will loop until either the agent or the designated wait time is reached. The default is a ringback audio file.
- Unavailable Message: This message will be played if the agent does not answer within the designated wait time.
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