Combine call queue and ring group - comments, better way?

[perfect-touch]

I need to play announcements (and ideally music) while customers call - but as a small company, I need to ring in-use agents too.

To get around this limitation, I have created a queue with a single extension as an agent. This extension has a ring group's number as it's mobile number and I've checked "ring mobile simultaneously" and "accept multiple calls".

This works (almost perfectly) - the caller gets placed in the queue, all members of the ring group receive a call every 30 seconds which if they're busy appears as a waiting call (with the flashing line light on the 3cx windows client).

The only gotcha in this approach is that an incoming call now consumes two SC licenses - one for the inbound call and one for the simultaneous call to the "mobile" (which is an internal extension).

To be honest, given that for the last few years despite requests to allow call queues to call in-use agents, it seems to me that 3cx regard call queues as suitable for large call-centres and can't seem to acknowledge the downside for smaller organisations that would like to play the announcements and music on incoming calls etc - with this in mind, I think stumping-up for the additional SC licenses might be worth it.

Unless anyone can suggest anything better to me...?

Until now I have run the queue on FreePBX with a single agent which was a misc destination which dialled a trunk to the 3cx server. I just wanted to go with a 3cx-only solution.

 

[perfect-touch]

I forgot to mention - this also "fixes" (well, negates) the annoying behaviour of the 3cx windows client when a call comes in from a queue or IVR - the client doesn't seem to know what codec is being used and displays the incoming call as video or audio - since the call is coming from a ring group the windows client correctly shows just the Answer/Decline/Voicemail options.

 

[perfect-touch]

Can anyone confirm that I'm correct about the SC license usage? Because the mobile number for the dummy extension is used to call the ring group, on "active calls", I see both legs after the call is answered - queue to dummy extension and dummy extension to final extension. Is this two SCs?

 

[Alphabetic]

TLDR - You want agents to be able to receive multiple calls?

What is a SC?

"A simultaneous call is a single call from "end-to-end" or a complete circuit. If a complete circuit hasn't been achieved yet it is still a call.

Some examples:

* A call from any extension, gateway line, voip line, DR, queue is a single call.
* An inbound call over PSTN or SIP is a call.
* Each inbound call waiting in the Queue is a call.
* One unusual circumstance is if a call comes into a DR and user presses an option and it is transferred: It becomes 2 calls until the call is transferred and connected.
* One other circumstance is if a call goes across a 3CX bridge it will take a call on each 3CX server. "

 

[perfect-touch]

TLDR
Too Long, Didn't Read.
Term used to explain something(Usually a post) that's too long, and they were too lazy to read. Hence the name.

Don't bother replying then... if you had read what I was trying to achieve you would have known that what you wrote didn't answer the question.

But I guess just writing ANYTHING is important to you

And yes, I want agents in a queue to be called even when they're busy... it's not rocket-science - but I also don't believe it's supported by 3cx

 

[Alphabetic]

"An extension which is part of a ring group or queue will not be able to answer multiple calls. That is the essence of a ring group, as if you have a lot of calls, it would be impossible for one extension to handle all the calls, without some of them being unanswered.
If you want the "Accept multiple calls" feature, remove your extension from the Ring group and try it. "

and also

"Please note that the option "Accept multiple calls" located under extension settings does not apply for Queue calls. When an extension is on another call the Queue manager will skip that extension until it is available.
The option "Accept multiple calls" only applies to direct calls to the extension, so the behaviour you are experiencing is the designed one.
Currently there is no way to change this behaviour so i would recommend posting this as a feature request to our ideas section of the forum https://www.3cx.com/community/forums/3cx-ideas/ . All posts are reviewed by their corresponding Departments and, if feasible and voted for by other users as well, may be implemented in an upcoming service pack or update. "

These quotes are from two members of 3CX staff that i found.

 

[perfect-touch]

Jeez this is hard work.

I know the above. I am trying to find a way AROUND this restrictive functionality which, if you'd taken the time to read the opening post you would know I have done.

MANY customers would like multiple calls both from ring groups and call queues. By amending the ALLOWUSEBUSYOPTFORGROUP (unsupported!) this functionality can be enabled for ring groups. I was asking for comments as to whether anyone could see an issue with the approach I've taken - or suggest an alternative...

And, specifically, whether setting the mobile number for a dummy extension to a real internal extension could potentially cause an SC breach

 

[Alphabetic]

With that attitude no one is gonna help you.

Have fun.

 

[perfect-touch]

Advanced certified bronze partner in quoting other people's posts... what a great service you do to the community

 

[JohnS_3CX]

Hi @perfect-touch

Ultimately you want a functionality that we do not currently offer.

There is no workaround that we currently support, and your current solution has its drawbacks, but if it works for your needs that's ok.

I don't see this feature changing in the near future so you can either work using your current solution or you can run a queue the way we originally designed it, and use the wallboard to inform your agents of how many people are waiting in the queue. This can help them wrap up their current calls quicker so they can respond to the remaining callers. I imagine that's what your intended end-goal was to begin with.

 

[perfect-touch]

Hi @perfect-touch

Ultimately you want a functionality that we do not currently offer.

There is no workaround that we currently support, and your current solution has its drawbacks, but if it works for your needs that's ok.

I don't see this feature changing in the near future so you can either work using your current solution or you can run a queue the way we originally designed it, and use the wallboard to inform your agents of how many people are waiting in the queue. This can help them wrap up their current calls quicker so they can respond to the remaining callers. I imagine that's what your intended end-goal was to begin with.

Yes - but the wallboard isn't an option. The business doesn't have a dedicated call centre - the customer is an automotive garage - the mechanics each have N720-based DECT handsets and the management team (who receive calls from the queue) have DECT handsets and (shortly) 3cx windows apps.

Originally I had the call queues hosted on an Asterisk server which called a 3cx ring-group - but I was trying to rationalise the functionality into a single server.

I will run with the ringgroup as a mobile number for the dummy extension for now - if it causes issues, I'll have to reconsider