Life as an intern: Week 5

This week is back to research again...im starting to not like research..but i have to.. :(


1st topic: Call Queue:

A queue is a holding area for inbound calls so that callers can sit on hold waiting for someone to answer instead of getting a busy signal or being forced to immediately leave a message. The Asterisk queue system can tell callers their place in the queue and the estimated wait time. Agents must be logged into the queue for calls to be routed to them.

Call Queuing is a sophisticated queuing system that allows you to accept more calls into your telephone system than you have extensions or employees capable of answering them. It allows you to deal efficiently with calling peaks without losing valued customer’s calls and projects a professional image of your business. With Call Queuing, instead of getting an engaged tone your customers are answered automatically and held in a queue. While they are waiting for a representative they receive personal messages about how many calls are in front of them followed by music while they are waiting. You never lose a customer because you couldn't answer the phone.

Usually, a call queue works as below:

• Calls are queued
• Agents answer the queue (logged in agents)
• A queuing strategy to distribute the calls is used.
• Music on hold is played while the caller waits.
• Announcements can be made to callers, warning about waiting time.

sample of the calls being queued

2nd topic: Automatic Call Distribution Systems

In telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is a device that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals that agents use. It is often part of a computer telephony integration system. ACD systems are often found in offices that handle large volumes of incoming phone calls from callers who have no specific need to talk to a certain person, but want to talk to a person who is ready to serve at the earliest opportunity.

An ACD is a computer telephony function associated with automatic phone answering systems. Here is a common definition for this term: 

"In computer telephony, an ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) is a system that automatically distributes phone calls to a specific group of agent work stations."

Benefits of ACD:

• Improved customer care
• The enhanced performance of customer care
• Reduced OPEX
• An intuitive, user friendly interface
• Compatibility with any CTI-enabled PBX
• Scalability
  CBOSSacd doesn’t limit the number of agent workplaces, allowing the migration to a more powerful PBX.

Automatic Call Distribution Systems

-thanks faithful listener-