📞 Call Queue Management

What are Call Queues?

Call queues (also called ACD - Automatic Call Distribution) are a powerful feature that allows incoming calls to be distributed among a group of agents based on various strategies. When all agents are busy, callers wait in line and are connected to the next available agent.

Common Use Cases

• Customer Support: Route customer calls to available support agents
• Sales Teams: Distribute incoming sales inquiries fairly among sales reps
• Help Desk: Queue technical support requests with priority handling
• Reception: Handle overflow calls when main receptionist is busy
• Departments: Route calls to accounting, billing, or other departments

Queue Strategies Explained

Ring All

All available agents ring simultaneously. First to answer gets the call. Best for small teams where you want fastest answer time.

Least Recent

Calls go to the agent who hasn't taken a call in the longest time. Ensures fair distribution of call volume.

Fewest Calls

Routes to the agent who has answered the fewest calls. Perfect for balancing workload.

Random

Calls distributed randomly among available agents. Simple and unpredictable distribution.

Round Robin (rrmemory)

Cycles through agents in order, remembering where it left off. Classic fair distribution method.

Linear

Always starts from the first agent and works down the list. Good for priority-based agent ordering.

Weighted Random (wrandom)

Random distribution but respects agent penalty scores. Lower penalty = more calls.

How to Create a Queue

1. Go to the "Manage Queues" tab
2. Click "Create New Queue"
3. Enter a queue number (e.g., 5000 for sales, 5001 for support)
4. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Sales Department")
5. Choose a ring strategy (start with "ringall" or "leastrecent")
6. Set timeout (how long to ring each agent - 15 seconds is typical)
7. Configure other settings as needed
8. Click "Create Queue"
9. Click "Apply Configuration" to activate

How to Add Agents to a Queue

1. Go to the "Queue Members" tab
2. Select the queue from the dropdown
3. Click "Add Agent to Queue"
4. Enter the extension number (e.g., 2000, 2001)
5. Optionally set a name for easy identification
6. Set penalty (0 = highest priority, higher numbers = lower priority)
7. Click "Add Member"
8. Click "Apply Configuration" to activate

Understanding Agent Penalties

Penalties control agent priority. Lower penalty = higher priority.

• Penalty 0: Senior agents, answered first
• Penalty 1-3: Regular agents
• Penalty 4-5: Backup/overflow agents, only when others busy

Example: Set your best agent to penalty 0, regular team to penalty 1, and trainees to penalty 3.

Agent Pause/Unpause

Agents can pause themselves to temporarily stop receiving queue calls (for breaks, meetings, etc.)

To Pause an Agent:

1. Go to "Queue Members" tab
2. Select the queue
3. Click "Pause" next to the agent
4. Enter a reason (optional but recommended)

Agent Pause Codes (Dial from Extension):

• *75 - Log in to queue (unpause)
• *76 - Log out from queue (pause)

Using the Live Wallboard

The wallboard provides real-time queue monitoring. Perfect for supervisors to display on a screen.

What you'll see:

• Number of calls waiting
• Available, busy, and paused agents
• Average and longest wait times
• Individual agent status
• List of waiting calls with wait time

Tip: Auto-refresh is every 10 seconds. Open wallboard on a dedicated monitor for queue oversight.

Understanding Queue Settings

Timeout

How long to ring each agent before trying the next. 15 seconds is standard.

Retry

Seconds to wait before retrying agents after everyone was tried. 5 seconds is typical.

Max Wait Time

Maximum time a caller can wait in queue. 0 = unlimited. Set to 300 (5 min) to prevent excessive waits.

Max Callers

Maximum callers allowed in queue. 0 = unlimited. Prevents queue overload.

Announce Frequency

How often (in seconds) to play periodic announcements to waiting callers. 90 seconds is common.

Announce Position

Tell callers their position in line ("You are number 3 in line"). Choose "yes" for transparency.

Announce Hold Time

Tell callers estimated wait time. "yes" = announce every time, "once" = only when entering queue.

Wrap-up Time

Seconds after finishing a call before agent gets next call. Allows time for notes. 30-60 seconds typical.

Service Level

Target time (in seconds) to answer calls for SLA reporting. 60 seconds = "calls answered within 1 minute".

Routing Calls to a Queue

To route incoming calls to a queue, you have several options:

Option 1: Direct DID Routing

In Inbound Routing, set the destination to the queue number (e.g., 5000)

Option 2: IVR Menu Option

Create an IVR menu with options like "Press 1 for Sales" routing to queue 5000

Option 3: Transfer from Extension

Any extension can transfer a call to a queue by dialing the queue number

Option 4: Time-Based Routing

Use Time Conditions to route to queue during business hours, voicemail after hours

Best Practices

• Start Simple: Begin with "ringall" or "leastrecent" strategy
• Set Realistic Timeouts: 15 seconds gives agents time to finish typing/switch tasks
• Use Penalties Wisely: Don't over-complicate. 0-2 levels is usually enough
• Monitor Regularly: Check statistics weekly to identify bottlenecks
• Set Max Wait Time: Don't let callers wait indefinitely. Offer callback or voicemail
• Use Wrap-up Time: Give agents 30-60 seconds between calls for notes
• Announce Position: Transparency reduces hangups ("You are next in line")
• Test Thoroughly: Call the queue from external number to experience caller journey
• Train Agents: Ensure agents know how to use *75/*76 pause codes
• Review Statistics: Use SLA metrics to optimize staffing levels

Troubleshooting

Queue not ringing agents

• Verify queue is enabled
• Check that agents are added as members
• Ensure agents are not paused
• Click "Apply Configuration" after any changes
• Verify extensions are registered (check admin dashboard)

Calls going straight to voicemail

• Check DID routing points to correct queue number
• Verify queue has at least one available agent
• Check if max_callers limit is reached

No music on hold for waiting callers

• Check music_class setting in queue configuration
• Verify MOH files exist in /var/lib/asterisk/moh/
• Set to "default" for system default MOH

Statistics not updating

• Statistics are calculated from Asterisk CDR (Call Detail Records)
• Ensure CDR logging is enabled in Asterisk
• Check database connectivity

Feature Codes Quick Reference

Code	Function	Description
*75	Queue Login	Agent dials to unpause and start receiving queue calls
*76	Queue Logout	Agent dials to pause and stop receiving queue calls
5000-5999	Queue Numbers	Typical range for queue extensions (configurable)