Call Queues: hold callers in line until someone is free

Queue callers with hold music and position announcements, choose how calls reach your agents, and set what happens when the wait is too long.

Which plans include it

Included on Growth and above. On Free Trial, Entry, Plus you can add it on its own at £3.00 a month from Features & add-ons.

What it means

A call queue is a waiting line for phone calls. When everyone is busy, callers wait to music ("You are third in the queue") instead of hearing engaged or going to voicemail.

What it does

• Holds callers in order and passes each to the next free agent (ACD).
• Announces queue position at a regular interval.
• Caps the queue size and the maximum wait, then overflows to voicemail, another number, or hangs up.
• Gives agents a wrap-up pause between calls.
• Shows totals: queues, active queues and agents.

Every part of the page

Total Queues / Active Queues / Total Agents

Summary figures.

Queue Name

E.g. "Sales Queue".

Ring Strategy

Ring All, Least Recent (the agent idle longest), Fewest Calls (the agent who has taken fewest), or Round Robin.

Max Wait (s)

Longest a caller waits before overflow.

Queue Size

Most callers allowed to wait at once.

Wrap-up (s)

Seconds after a call before the agent gets another.

Announce queue position / Every

Tells callers their place in line, repeated at the interval you choose.

Overflow Action / Forward Destination

Voicemail, Hang Up, or Forward to a number when the wait or size limit is reached.

Agents

Tick the users who answer this queue.

Queue Active

Switch the queue on or off without deleting it.

How to use it

Examples

Recommended settings

• ★Least Recent is the fairest strategy for most teams.
• ★Max Wait 2–3 minutes, then overflow to voicemail — long waits lose more callers than voicemail does.
• ★Wrap-up 10–20 seconds so agents can finish notes.
• ★Pair with Hold Music so callers hear something useful while they wait.

Abbreviations on this page

ACD — Automatic Call Distribution

The logic that hands waiting callers in a queue to the next free person. Call Queues use it.

Example: In a call queue, ACD hands the next caller to the agent who has been free longest.

Ring strategy

The rule for which phone rings next: Ring All (everyone at once), Sequential (in order), Round Robin (take turns), Least Recent (whoever has waited longest since their last call) or Fewest Calls.

Example: Ring all, one by one, or taking turns: each is a ring strategy.

Wrap-up — Wrap-up time

A pause after a queue call ends before that person is given another, so they can finish notes.

Example: A 30-second wrap-up time lets an agent finish their notes before the queue sends the next call.

Overflow — Overflow routing

Where a call goes when a queue is full or has waited too long — voicemail, another number, or hang up.

Example: If nobody in Sales answers within 2 minutes, the call overflows to the Office group.

MOH — Music On Hold

What callers hear while they wait on hold or in a queue — music, a message, or both.

Example: The music a caller hears while you check stock is MOH.

Questions

Related help