ACD Queue Core Features

This blog is called ‘asterisk acd’ so lets review some core features one would expect with a system providing ACD queues. These features are some of the key functionality that allow ACD queues to improve customer relations and call taker productivity.

• Queue Priority. Often higher priority queues are requirements for a center. These allow higher priorities callers to be answered sooner than the others but when all things are equal the longest waiting caller is answered. Using a mix priorities with queues requires a well thought out configuration to balance the number of call takers are assigned to which queues as you want to ensure the lower priority queues are still served in a timely manner.
• Queue Overflow. This can mean a few things. First is once a queue has hit the high water mark for callers waiting in queue any new callers can be directed in the dialplan to avoid an excessive wait. Second, once in the queue if callers wait beyond a time limit they can leave the queue and go to another or elsewhere in the system. The last is to skip the queue if no call takers are currently logged in that would service that queue and continue in the dialplan to either a staffed queue or any action needed.
• Queue Callback. Allows a caller to keep their position while not waiting on the phone. This is typically a DTMF triggered option that is announced while they wait in the queue and might, and usually should, confirm the number to be called back.
• Queue Announcements including Position. Allows playing a message to any caller waiting in queue. This can be helpful to announce their position in the queue so they have an idea of how long they will be waiting. I would not include wait time as previous answer times are often not accurate for those currently waiting, it is especially bad if the times announced are past by the caller.
• Queue Reporting. To manage all of the above and ensure their configuration is working as expected one needs to be able to monitor the state of the queues. This would require a combination of a WallBoard to watch queue status in real time plus a historical report to allow mining data from the past to predict future needs and/or adjustments.