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Incoming Calls

Incoming calls are calls from customers that reach you through one of your queues, or that a colleague transfers to you. To receive them, you need to be Ready, logged in to a device and logged in to at least one incoming call queue. This page shows how to answer a call, work with it, and hand it over to a colleague.

Answer an Incoming Call

When a call is offered to you, a notification appears in a black rectangle and you hear a notification sound. You can drag the notification around your screen.

Tip

You can also minimise the notification into your Waiting activities using the arrow in its bottom left corner.

The notification displays:

  • the customer's details. Click their name or account to open their CRM details.
  • the name of the queue and how long the customer has been waiting in it.
  • how long ago you received the notification.

Click Accept or Reject. You may see a white button next to Reject: it opens a web page your administrator has set up.

Warning

You may have only a limited time to answer the call. If you reject it or don't answer in time, you may be put on the Inactive pause automatically β€” see Pauses.

Notice the Waiting Activity Badge?

You may be able to answer a call even if you don't get a notification β€” for example because you are logged out of its queue, or because the call is being offered to a colleague. Click the Waiting activities button in the sidebar. The waiting activities window opens. Click Accept to answer the call.

Call Details

When you accept a call, it opens in a new activity tab, labelled with the caller's name or phone number. The call button in the sidebar turns red and shows how long the call has lasted. Click the red call button to open a list of actions:

  • Hang up.
  • Put the customer on hold, or take them off hold.
  • Invite another agent to the call.
  • Transfer the call to another agent.

Click the call tab to see the call details. Click it again to return to the previous screen (for example the Dashboard).

Info

The call detail screen may contain different widgets, set up in a different order for each queue. The Phone widget is the only mandatory one.

Phone Widget

The Phone widget header displays the queue number and name; the body displays the customer's phone number and the call duration. Use the widget to manage the call.

Phone widget with numbered controls for status, recordings, important flag, assistance, numpad, transfer, invite, screen pop, hold and hang up

  1. Select a status. If the queue offers statuses, you must select one before you can save the call.
  2. Select a recording to play to the customer. Playback controls appear once you select a recording.
  3. Mark the call as important.
  4. Ask for assistance with the call.
  5. Open the numpad.
  6. Transfer the call to another agent.
  7. Invite another agent to the call.
  8. Open a screen pop (a web page your administrator has set up).
  9. Put the customer on hold, or take them off hold.
  10. Hang up.

After your call has ended:

  • Click Call again to call the customer back.
  • Click Save to save and close the activity. You may need to select a status first.

If you move away from an open call activity, a toast notification may remind you that it is still open.

Is someone listening to my call?

Supervisors can monitor calls. Depending on how your queue is set up, an icon in the call activity may show you that your call is being monitored, and you may hear a short recording when monitoring starts and ends.

Transfer a Call

Transferring hands the customer over to a colleague or a queue. There are two ways to start a transfer:

  • Click the red call button in the sidebar and click Transfer.
  • Click the Transfer button in the Phone widget on the call detail screen.

The Transfer activity window opens. Select where to transfer the call β€” a specific person or a queue. Then choose how to hand the call over:

  • Blind transfer β€” the call leaves you as soon as you click the button. The customer is on hold while your colleague's phone rings, and is connected to them as soon as they answer. Your colleague only sees the customer's name or phone number and that you transferred the call.
  • Transfer (an assisted transfer) β€” the customer is put on hold and you are connected to your colleague first, so you can explain what the customer needs. When your colleague answers, your Phone widget changes so you can complete the handover.

You may see only one of these buttons β€” your user rights decide which transfer types you can use.

Teamwork

While you are talking to the colleague you are transferring the call to, they can also control the call.

Answer a Transferred Call

Answer a transferred call the same way as any other call. The notification also shows which agent is transferring the call to you. If your colleague used an assisted transfer, the Phone widget controls look slightly different after you accept the call, because your colleague is still on the line.

Invite Another Agent to a Call

Inviting adds a colleague to the call while you stay on it. There are two ways to start:

  • Click the red call button in the sidebar and click Invite.
  • Click the Invite button in the Phone widget on the call detail screen.

The Invite to activity window opens.

  1. Select who to invite to the call β€” a specific person or a queue.
  2. Click Invite.
  3. The Phone widget now shows the customer as well as the agent you invited.

You can repeat this to invite more agents. If you put the customer on hold, you can also transfer the call to the other agent on the call.

Teamwork

The agents you invite to the call can also control it.

For administrators

  • Which transfer buttons an agent sees is set by Can transfer call in the header of their user rights. Ask for assistance is set in the same place.
  • Answering a call from Waiting activities that wasn't offered to the agent needs Call pickup on the Queues tab of their user rights.
  • The monitoring notice and audio are the queue settings Show monitoring notifications to agent and Play monitoring audio notification in call. The automatic Inactive pause is the queue setting Automatic Pause. See Inbound call queue settings.

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