Incoming calls are "stacked" and delivered to eligible employees as they become available. Users can customize prompts, add hold music, play "chime" messages while the customer waits, and monitor call load and employee availability.
The Options screen lists announcements and recordings, times (timeouts), other (final destination, displays, auto-logout), callback, and statistics options. Each of these areas is editable -- all defined below.
Announcements and Recordings
There are six different recording options within this section. Create recordings either by using a text-to-speech tool, voice recording, or uploading a pre-recorded file. This pre-recorded file must be in .wav and mono format with a sampling size from 8bit to 32bit, and a sampling rate of either 8khz or 16khz.
| Welcome Announcement | This is the first recorded voice message that a customer hears when calling. Welcome customers and explain that they will be transferred to the next available agent. |
| Queue Music | Upload recorded music to play while the customer is waiting in the queue for the next available agent. Using copyrighted music without permission is illegal. |
| In Queue Chime (Periodic) | Record a message to play at set intervals to the customers who are in the queue waiting for an agent. Frequently this “Chime” is used to introduce customers to additional products or services or describe special offers. |
| Queue Full Announcement | This announcement is used under two different circumstances: the maximum number of calls in the queue is reached or the queue timeout limit is reached. A sample message could include that all agents are currently busy, and that the customer will now be forwarded to what has been designated as the Final Destination (a voice mailbox, an extension, or a personal number). |
| Voicemail Prompt | When the customer is sent to voicemail, this is the recording they will hear. It should instruct customers to leave a message. |
| Agent Announcement | This announcement is played for the agent as an introduction to the call. When an agent is assigned to multiple queues, this announcement helps them quickly identify which queue the call is coming from. |
Times
There are four timing options to consider:
| Queue Timeout | This measurement controls the maximum amount of time (in minutes) that a caller can remain in the queue waiting for an available agent. This time must be between 1 and 720 minutes. |
| Agent Ring Timeout | This measurement regulates how long an agent’s phone will ring with a call before that call is directed to the next available agent. The time constraint must be between 15 and 300 seconds. |
| Chime Frequency | This measurement sets the chime interval. A pre-recorded message will play for any customers in the queue after the amount of time set in this field has passed. It will then wait the interval time again before replaying. This limit must be between 5 and 90 seconds. |
| Agent Wrap-Up Time | This is the amount of time that each agent is allowed after completing a call to “wrap up” any details such as making notes or closing files, before another call is forwarded to him or her. This limit must fall between 1 and 3000 seconds (50 minutes). Agents may cancel their wrap-up time by logging back into the ACD Extension. The agent is then made available for new calls while preserving the existing call order. |
Other
Included in this section are configuring the final destination, maximum calls per agent and queue, call recording, number and name display, position and wait announcements, and auto-logout.
Note that in order to log out of an ACD directly from a phone, an agent must have access to an available phone line. When the ACD multi-line feature is in use, calls received by the ACD are sent to multiple lines of any phone logged in to the ACD. In a very busy ACD environment, it is possible that agents will be receiving calls continuously on all phone lines. To enable agents to log out in a busy multi-line environment, it is important to configure the system with adequate agent wrap-up time or to configure one line on each phone as an extension not related to the ACD.
| Final Destination Type | Choose where the call will be routed when the caller uses the Final Destination Shortcut, the Queue Timeout and Max Calls in Queue limits have been reached, or the queue is unattended (if enabled). Choose a final destination of an Extension, a Personal Number, or a Voicemail. |
| Final Destination Shortcut | Designates a number key that allows the caller to skip to the Final Destination. Available options for the number key are any number between 0 and 9, the pound symbol #, or the star symbol *. The shortcut only works if the caller presses the key when actually in the queue, not while listening to the ACD Greeting. |
| Maximum Calls in Queue | Maximum number of calls that can be in the queue at any time. Additional calls will be redirected to the Final Destination. The limit must be between 5 and 100 calls. |
| Maximum Calls per Agent | Maximum number of calls that can be addressed by each agent at the same time. (For use when all agents have multi-line phones or are logged into more than one queue.) Choose to include non-ACD calls in this limit or not. The limit must be between 1 and 6 calls. |
| Final Destination on Unattended | If this is selected, an incoming call will be immediately sent to the configured Final Destination if no agents are logged in. |
| Record All Calls | Choose to record all calls on this extension. All messages, upon completion, will appear as system messages in the Crexendo Messages Inbox with the conversation in an attached .wav file that can be played with the QuickTime Player. This permission must be enabled by Crexendo Customer Service. The rights and responsibilities of the recording and disclosing of call content differ from state to state and are also covered by federal statutes. Please refer to the Crexendo Terms of Service for more details. |
| Incoming Call Name Display | Choose the Caller ID Name that will be shown when a call is received on this extension. This will only apply after the call is answered. Choose between caller name and called name. |
| Incoming Call Number Display | Choose the Caller ID Number that will be shown when a call is received on this extension. This will only apply after the call is answered. Choose between caller number and called number. Note that Incoming Call Number cannot be edited on the SIP 200 Phone. The label “HD” or the current time will display in the second line (dependent upon the phone’s Codec selection). |
| Queue Music Shuffle | Shuffle the Hold Music (or any recorded message) to resume playing at the point in the recording when the customer was last taken off hold, regardless of how many times. |
| Caller Position Announcement | Choose when to play the caller's current position in the queue. Choose between never, after welcome, or after welcome and chimes. A pre-recorded message stating "There are <Number> of callers ahead of you" will be played at the interval specified. |
| Current Wait-time Announcement | Choose when to play the caller's current wait-time in the queue. Choose between never, after welcome, or after welcome and chimes. A pre-recorded message stating the wait time in minutes will be played at the specified interval. |
| Change Agent State on No-Answer | Automatically change an agent's state if they receive an ACD call and do not answer it. Available states to choose from are disabled, break, or available. |
| ACD Supervisors | The currently selected ACD Supervisor group is displayed here. If none is displayed, select one by going to Account >> Groups in the dashboard. Select a group. In the ACD Supervisor sidebar, add the ACD Extension to which this group should be a supervisor. Users in a Supervisor group are able to view all activity in the assigned ACD Extension(s). |
| Agent Auto-Logout | If enabled, all agents for this queue will be automatically logged out at the specified time each day. Available options are listed in half-hour increments. |
Callback
In this section, choose to designate a number key between 0-9, the pound symbol #, or the star symbol * to allow the caller to request a callback.
Record Message allows the caller to leave a message that the agent will hear first when returning the call. This feature can be optional or required. Add the prompt here. For example, "We are unable to answer the phone lines at this time. Press 1 to receive a call back within 2 business hours. Continue holding to record a message and receive a call back before the end of business day."
Statistics Options
In this bottom section, customize how statistics will be shown on the Statistics screen. For each available statistic, type in an upper or lower threshold (hover over each label to see which threshold it requires) that can be a number or a percentage. Choose a font color and a background color to display the information.
