Freshcaller allows you to configure wait queues for each call queue and place your callers in the wait queue if your agents are busy attending to other calls or unavailable to take calls (offline or not answering). To understand the wait queue behavior, check About Wait Queues.

This article contains the following sections:

Customize wait queues

Calls will be assigned from wait queues when one of the following events occurs:

• Once an agent is available again to answer calls
• When a new call is received 
• An existing call ends

By default, calls from wait queues are assigned to agents based on the wait queue entry time. However, as an admin, you can customize the wait queue behavior and decide how calls should be prioritized and assigned to agents from wait queues. The options are:

• Wait queue entry time (default): Prioritize calls based on when they entered the wait queue.
• Call received time: Prioritize calls based on when they were received.

You can also choose whether calls should be routed to agents within the same queue or across all applicable queues.

Note: The "Customize Wait Queue Behavior" feature is optional and disabled by default. When disabled, calls are prioritized based on the wait queue entry time and assigned to agents within the same queue. 

To customize the wait queue behavior:

1. Log in as an admin and go to Admin Settings > Configuration and Workflows > Additional Settings.
2. Click on the Customise Wait Queue Behaviour option to enable.
3. Select how you want to prioritize calls from the wait queue. The options are:
   • Wait queue entry time (default): Prioritize calls based on the time the call entered the wait queue.
   • Received time:Prioritize calls based on the time the call was received in Freshcaller.
4. Select the queue from which you want to assign calls to agents. The options are:
   • Same queue: Assign calls to agents from the same queue
   • All applicable queues: Assign calls to agents from all queues
5. Click Save Changes.

Understand wait queue behavior 

Based on your team and agent size, you can customize the wait queue behavior according to your preferences.

For instance, if you have a small business with one team and two or three agents, it is recommended that you use the default behavior and leave the customized wait queue option disabled. 

For businesses with a large number of teams and agents, you can customize the wait queue behavior to prioritize and assign calls from the wait queues.

Use Case

Let’s explore a use case to understand the wait queue behavior in different scenarios. 

Consider you have two teams, US and EU, each assigned to English and Dutch call queues, respectively. Agents Sadie Baldwin and Nick Cross are assigned to both English and Dutch queues, whereas Eesha Shine is assigned only to the Dutch Queue. 

Teams:

US Team: Assigned to the English Queue.

EU Team: Assigned to the Dutch Queue.

Agents:

Sadie Baldwin and Nick Cross: Assigned to both the English and Dutch queues.

Eesha Shine: Assigned only to the Dutch Queue.

Call and Queue Details

Here’s how calls are placed into the wait queues:

Call assignment based on wait queue behavior customization

The calls from the wait queues will be assigned to agents based on the wait queue behavior you choose.

• Same Queue Assignment: Calls are assigned to agents only within the same queue the call was received.
• All Applicable Queues: Calls are assigned to any available agent across both queues if applicable.

The following table shows how calls will be prioritized and assigned to agents based on these settings for the above use case.

Configure wait queues

You can create call queues and set up wait queue configuration as a fallback action. If you  

1. Log in as an admin.

2. Go to Admin Settings > Configuration and Workflows > Call Workflows.

3. Select the call queue for which, you want to configure the wait queue. For instructions on creating a new call queue, check Setting up your Call Queues.

4. In the call queue, choose the rule for which you want to enable the wait queue setting.
   The rules available are:

   • If (agent) not answering

   • If agent is online but not answering.

   • If agent is offline

5. Select the fallback action as Place caller in Wait Queue. This step enables the Wait Queue Settings.
   Note: This option which enables the wait queue setting, is available only from the Blossom plan.
   

6. Scroll down to see the Wait Queue Settings and expand to see the options.
   The different options you can find here are:

   Option	Description
   Play wait message for caller	Select the message to play when the customers enter the wait queue. For example, “Thanks for waiting in the queue. You will be connected to the next available agent in a short while.” You can select from the list of messages available in your account or create a new message.
   Append queue position to wait message	Enable this option to tell the customer’s queue position along with the wait message. For example, “Thanks for waiting in the queue. You will be connected to the next available agent in a short while. Your current wait position is 3”.
   Of size (queue size)	Set the maximum number of callers you want to place in the wait queue.  Note: The default queue size is 20. However, for Pro and Enterprise customers, the queue size can be extended to any limit (only on request).
   If this queue is full	Select the fallback action to take if the queue size has reached the maximum limit that you have set. You can take the following actions: Send to voicemail: Select the voicemail message to play or create a new message. Send to another call queue: Select the call queue from the list of queues available in your account or create a new call queue. Note: This option is available only from the Garden plan. Hangup: The call hangs up after playing the hangup message.
   For max time	Enter the maximum time (in seconds) you want to place the callers in the wait queue. This prevents customers from waiting in line endlessly even if they are within the maximum queue size for that queue.  For example, if your queue size is 5 and your maximum waiting time is 60 seconds, the 6th caller need not wait for more than 60 seconds in the queue. Note: The default minimum and maximum waiting time values you can set are 30 seconds and 15 minutes (900 seconds) respectively. However, for Pro and Enterprise customers, the maximum wait time can be extended to 4 hours (on request only).
   If the customer waits longer	Select the action to take if a customer waits longer than the waiting time you have set. The actions you can take are: Send to voicemail. Select the voicemail message to play or create a new message. Send to another call queue. Select the call queue from the list of queues available or create a new call queue. Note: This option is available only from the Garden plan. Hangup: The call hangs up after playing the hangup message.
   Callback	Enable this option to callback or return a customer’s call.  When this option is enabled, the customers will be given an option to request a callback instead of waiting in the queue. On confirmation, the customer will receive a call from the next available agent. Note: The callback option is available only for Estate and Forest customers. For more details, see How to set up queue callback.
   Play callback message for caller	Select the message to play to your customer for requesting a callback. For example “Press 1 to continue in the wait queue, press 2 to request a callback on the same number you are calling from”.  You can choose this default callback message or you can create a new message.
   Play callback confirmation for caller	Select the message to confirm the customer’s keypress response. For example, “Your request for callback is confirmed. The next available agent will call you shortly.” You can choose the default “callback confirmation message” available or you can create a new message.
   If the callback is unsuccessful	Select the fallback action to take if the callback was unsuccessful (for example, the customer did not attend the call). The options are: Send to voicemail: Select the voicemail message to play or create a new message. Send to another call queue: Select the call queue from the list of queues available or create a new call queue. Note: This option is available only from the Garden plan. Hangup: The call hangs up after playing the hangup message.
   If the caller presses * while in wait queue	Select the voice message to play if a customer presses * while they wait in the queue.

   
   
7. Once you configure the wait queue settings, click Save to save the call queue.

Monitor callers in the wait queue

As a supervisor or an admin, it is important that you make sure your callers do not wait for a long time in the queue. With Live Dashboard, you can easily monitor the number of callers currently waiting in the queue and quickly take the following actions:

• Assign the caller to another available agent 
• Directly attend the call

For more details, see Monitoring Your Customers In Queue.

Learn More

• Setting up Call Queues
• Setting Up Smart Escalations
• How to set up queue callback