Need help to implement some crazy stuff? Please heeelp :)

Hello good people,

One of our clients asked about some really crazy stuff (maybe not so crazy for you experts :slight_smile: ).
I really don’t want to waste time on something that might not be possible to configure.

Ok, let’s gooo.

When it’s out of hours and when someone calls, IVR will answer and he/she can choose some options.
When he/she chooses something then the call will be forward to our vendor (some mobile number).

Also, after some time if that vendor doesn’t pick up the phone, the call will be transferred to the first escalation, then to the second.

What the client wants…

The client wants when someone calls out of hours and chooses some option, our vendor mobile will ring (so far so good), then if no one pick up the phone, he/she will hear a message “Please call again!”.

Then the same person will call again, and then with that second call, we will have first and second escalation.

Basically, a person will call the first time with no answer, will hear a message “Please call again” and then with the second call we will have escalations (of course if the vendor doesn’t pick up the phone).

Uhhh I really hope you guys understand me :slight_smile:
I tried to google this stuff but with no luck.

Thanks in advance and have a nice day :slight_smile:

Srdjan

You would need a system that remembers the callers number and treats the second call as different to the first based on that?

I have set up a good few systems and not seen that feature, although recently I have called a company that was able to recognise my number as a previous user of their services so who knows now.

You could offer a different call back number at the end of call one and then treat that call differently, might be a simple solution?

Also you need to handle calls when caller ID is not presented?

I’ve had some luck using Twilio for funky call flows. I just use the FreePBX’s time conditions to forward the calls out to Twilio and then I can house most of the funky logic there. Their service really is pretty comprehensive. Handle everything from SMS to IVR operations to SIP trunking.

This is not overly difficult, it would involve doing an SQL query in the CDR for the most recent previous call from that CID and branching the call flow based on the result. Can be done entirely with Dynamic Routes, the hard part is getting the query.

If this were my system, after the primary agent on call failed to answer, I’d play a message to the customer, something like “We’re sorry, but our support agent is unavailable. If your situation is urgent, please press 1 and your call will be escalated, or stay on the line to leave a message.” This is easier to implement and IMO a better experience for the customer. I believe it will do at least as well at eliminating undesired escalations. If this is unsuitable for your application, please provide more details.

If your business has a few big-ticket VIP customers, you might recognize their caller IDs and use a more aggressive call flow, for example ringing multiple standby agents in parallel and connecting the first one to answer. If the system passes the customer’s number to the agent, they could set up their phones so VIP calls override do-not-disturb or have a distinctive ringtone.

Hi Stewart1,

This approach is really good, I like it (and I think my client will like it too :)).

One question, we have IVR and for example, option 1 is for Madrid, it’s a virtual extension and also the mobile phone is configured in Misc Destination. I can enable Fine me/Follow me, and if no one answers in “Destination - No Answer” put a new IVR with option 1 for escalation. I tested it and it works, just to ask do you know maybe some better solution for this?

Big thanks…

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