What are callbacks?

Callbacks are when a caller or an agent arranges to get back in contact at a later time. This could be a caller in a queue requesting to be called back or an agent scheduling a callback during a call or wrap-up period.

Callbacks requested by callers #

While waiting in a queue, a caller can request to be called back, rather than continuing to wait. The caller then hangs up and their request is added to a pending call list (the call stays in the queue after the caller disconnects). The caller is called back once they reach the front of the queue.

Administrators can also configure call slots which allow callers to request a callback and choose a convenient time for it to happen.

Callbacks instigated by agents #

During a call or the wrap-up period following a call, an agent can schedule a callback to the caller by specifying the time to attempt the call. The number to call back is set to the CLI of the current inbound call (unless the inbound caller has withheld their number). The source (originating) queue is the queue that the current inbound call arrived on. At other times (between calls), an agent can schedule callbacks by specifying:

• The destination number to call (the contact’s number)
• The source queue, which is used to determine the CLI and the agents that can handle the callback. Agents can only specify queues for which they can handle calls as the source queue.
• The time to attempt the callback (the start time). This can be specified either as an absolute time (local time) or as a number of days, hours and minutes from the current time.
• Whether or not they should handle the callback
• An optional comment.

Agents can view any pending callbacks that they may handle and edit their scheduled times or delete them. Agents can also trigger an immediate call to a callback destination. If an immediate call is successful, the pending callback entry is removed.

How callbacks are handled #

At the specified time for a callback, Contact places the call request into an outbound calls queue. Each inbound queue has an associated outbound calls queue for scheduled calls, and the outbound calls queue that is selected depends on the source queue that is specified for the callback. The agent to handle the call (if any) is associated with the call request in the queue, as is the number of retries remaining, and any comment and CRM record specified for the callback.

When a call request with a specified agent (that is, the agent has requested to handle the callback themselves) reaches the front of the outbound calls queue, Contact calls that agent (if they are available). If they are on a call or in the wrapup period, the call remains at the front of the outbound calls queue, but the next call in the outbound calls queue is also handled as though it has reached the front of the queue. Contact continues trying to call the agent for a configurable time. If the agent is unavailable at the scheduled callback time (for example, on a break, logged out, or no longer handling calls for that queue), or if the agent has remained on a call or in call wrapup for too long, the call is treated as though no agent was specified and the source queue is used to select fallback agents to handle the call instead.

When a call request with no specified agent reaches the front of the outbound calls queue, Contact calls the next available agent who is handling the associated source queue (similar to normal queue handling).

When a call from the outbound calls queue is presented to an agent, any comment specified for the callback is displayed to the agent. Once an agent has answered the call, Contact runs a call flow (configured in the associated source queue) to connect the destination, play any announcements, etc. If the destination answers, the call is handled in the same way as a standard outbound call, with a wrap-up time and the ability to schedule a further callback, if required. If the call to the destination fails for any reason and there is at least one retry remaining, the call is added back onto the list of scheduled callbacks, with the number of retries decremented. The target time for the callback is a fixed number of minutes from the current time, as configured by a company administrator. The agent to handle the callback and the source queue is the same as the original callback.