Tell callers their place in line and wait time

Callers are more patient when they know where they stand. An enhanced ring group can greet each caller, tell them where they are in line and roughly how long they'll wait, and play a message of your own while they hold.

Wait announcements are part of enhanced ring groups, which come with every plan. Contact Center Lite adds live wallboards, a member performance dashboard, scheduled reports with automated delivery and Smart Callback.

Some labels in your portal or apps may look slightly different from this guide.

Before you start

To use your own recordings, upload them first. See upload greetings and audio file rules. The group only lists files whose names start with the right prefix. For the message that repeats while callers wait, the name usually starts with periodic-announce-. The greeting list may use the same prefix. If a file you uploaded doesn't show up, see why a greeting isn't in the list.

Announce position and wait time

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open the group

   In the admin portal, open the enhanced ring group and find its greeting and announcement settings.

2. 2
   Step 2:

   Choose a greeting

   Pick a Greeting. It plays once, as the caller joins the line.

3. 3
   Step 3:

   Turn on place in line

   Set Announce Position to on so callers hear where they are in line.

4. 4
   Step 4:

   Turn on wait time

   Set Announce Hold-Time to on so callers hear an estimate of their wait.

5. 5
   Step 5:

   Set how often

   In Announce Frequency, enter the number of seconds between announcements. Enter 0 to turn them off.

6. 6
   Step 6:

   Save and test

   Save the group. Call it while every member is busy and listen to what a caller hears.

Fine tune the timing

• Min. Announce Frequency is the shortest gap allowed between announcements. The default is set for your account, and you can change it.
• Announce Round Seconds rounds the wait estimate. Set it to 0 to give the estimate in minutes only.

Play your own message while callers wait

A periodic message is good for opening hours or your website address. On Contact Center Lite, it can also remind callers that they'll get a call back if they hang up, when your group's callback is set up that way.

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Upload the recording

   Name the file with the prefix above and upload it.

2. 2
   Step 2:

   Choose it

   Pick the file in Periodic Announce.

3. 3
   Step 3:

   Set the timing

   In Periodic Announce Frequency, enter the seconds between plays. In First Periodic Announce Delay, enter how long a caller waits before hearing it the first time. The default delay is set for your account, and you can change it.

Tips

• The wait time is an estimate. Word your greeting so callers don't hear it as a promise.
• If callers can press a key to leave the line, say so in the greeting or the periodic message. See what happens when nobody is available. On Contact Center Lite, you can also offer callers a callback.