Call Queue Recording

[Shadragon]

Good Day,

Our current phone system allows us to record client calls only when they come in through the call queue and the agent is logged on. A user initiated call from their extensions is not.

From what I can see in the latest version of v15 Call Queues cannot be recorded. Only individual extensions can be set to record. Recording someone having a fight with their wife won't go over well with our customer support team and might be seen as a deal breaker to some.

Can call queues be set to record as I described in the first paragraph? If not, why not and when can we expect to see this in 3CX.

Thanks.

 

[VoIPTools]

Hi Shadragon,

You have two choices (1) record all calls, or (2) have the agent manually invoke the recording of a call. There is no option to only have inbound queue calls recorded.

Having said that, you can use the Call Control API to automate which calls are recorded. It would, obviously, require some coding. If I were to design the feature, I would create a simple web portal to display a list of queues and allow the user to select which queues should be recorded. Then, the service would need to monitor all newly connected calls and determine if the call was an inbound call originating from one of the selected queues. If a match is found, then the service would use the API to invoke the recording of the call.

It can be done.

 

[Shadragon]

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the response. The whole concept of replacing our current system is due to it being antiquated and having lots of workarounds. However, it does what we want and fits the call flow needs of the business.

I had a bad experience with custom workarounds on 3CX in my last job. Every major point release of 3CX broke our customization's and we had to hire someone to redo them over several weeks. This will not fly in a multi-national business that requires 24/7 contact with clients.

I'm sure it can be done, but having 3CX contain (and maintain) these features is the whole point of buying a license. Otherwise, I'd just grab the open source version and modify it to our needs.

I do like 3CX, but I keep hitting walls like this for the simplest of things. I just can't see how modifying 20+ extensions for call recording is better then one check box on a Call Queue.

 

[VoIPTools]

Hi Shadragon,

I understand completely. I've been pondering adding this feature to our 3CX Recording Manager add-on for some time. If we were to do this, it would become part of our commercial product which means it would get the regular updates, and testing that any of our commercial products get. Still, we don't get any special access to early releases of 3CX so there is some lag time between when 3CX releases a new version and when we can safely say our products are compatible with the new release.

We have made some efforts to minimize the impact of 3CX changes on our products. For example, our products don't talk directly to 3CX. Rather, we developed a small proxy (VoIPTools Relay) which talks to 3CX and our products talk to the Relay. I'll not dive in to all the benefits of our relay here, but to your point, when 3CX makes a change, we just update the Relay, and in theory all our products simply work with the new version of 3CX. Being honest, the theory doesn't always match reality. For example when 3CX 15.5 released the new Call Flow Designer application, we had to update all our tools that used the VAD to use the new CFD. To complicate things further, the CFD requires our code be in .net core. In addition, the entire distribution process for CFD applications changed. Fortunately, this magnitude of change is a rare occurrence. Usually a few modifications to our Relay (if any) is all that is required.

All that being said, a large 24/7 operation is probably not going to be an early adopter of new 3CX releases. That should ensure we have enough time to get any needed modifications implemented, and broadly tested, before you are ready to implement the latest 3CX release, right? Nevertheless, your concerns are valid and something that always needs to go into the calculus of when to implement the latest release of 3CX.

 

[Shadragon]

Morning,

I appreciate honest answers even when the result isn't what I want.

Yes, I do agree with your post. Thanks for that.

 

[kenzoo]

Shadragon, do as following:
1. Create a virtual extension
2. In the field Mobile Number enter your Queue Number
3. In forward rule check Ring my mobile simultaneously
4. in Options: Enable on this virtual extension call recording
5. Don't forget to check Accept multiple calls

You shoud record all your Queue even if no agent login.