Call Queue behavior

[biggreyphone]

Hello all!

I've been using 3CX for my small office for a few years now. I have been traditionally using ring groups for 3 employees to answer incoming calls with one receptionist being the preferred person to answer incoming calls. If calls are not answered, the calls then go do a digital receptionist to leave a message.

I am strongly considering switching to Call Queues to be able to allow alternate receptionists to sign in and out of the queue and also for better tracking of how incoming calls are handled.

I set it up and tried it out today and had a question in testing. Once the Call Queue is turned on and I make a test incoming call, the call is initially answered with what I think is 3CX on hold music. I found it a bit confusing experiencing for the first time. I am imagining being a customer and hearing a phone call being answered like this and thinking if there is a mistake and if I should hang up.

Curious what others think and how they handle this situation.

Best

 

[Alphabetic]

With the queue you can add an intro prompt, this is where your welcome prompt should go. Alternatively, use digital receptionist to take on the calls initially before passing over to the queue. Or, change the MOH to just a "ring ring" tone.

 

[VoIPTools]

I concur with @Alphabetic. 99% of the time I will use queues rather than ring groups. Queues have all the same capabilities of a ring group, but more. The only disadvantage of a queue is that your agents can choose to logout of a queue, whereas they cannot logout of a ring group. As you noted, however, being able to log in/out of queues can also be an advantage. I will always chose a queue over a ring group unless you do not want to allow the agent to log out.

As mentioned by @Alphabetic, if you want to have calls answered live, then add an intro prompt to your queue. But, in my view, sending callers to an IVR first is preferred. Having an IVR as the first contact gives the caller the ability to call an extension directly without having to wait for someone to answer the queue, and allows the caller to self-direct to the appropriate group -- just keep the initial IVR options small if possible. For example: Sales, Support, Customer Service, and Company Directory. People generally lose patience when presented too many choices.

For what it is worth...

 

[biggreyphone]

Thanks @Alphabetic and @VoIPTools.. Good food for thought. When I first set up a PBX many years ago, I was excited to have the IVR and set up all the options. I soon found out my customers really liked having a live person answer the phone because they so rarely see that now. I guess maybe I will try an initial prompt of something to the effect of "welcome to the office of X, please hold while we connect your call"