Hello
We trying to set up a pickup group with 5 agents but do not know what has to be set up under the Line Key settings in each of the phones’
guis. We want one line key to ring and for any of the five agents to be able to pick up the respective extension that has been dialled.Thanks in advance.
We are using Sangoma S500s and are on PBX Version 12.7.5-1807-1.sng7.
Best Regards
Mihailo
Ideas for accomplishing this:
Could you have all extensions route to one queue? Put all five agents in the queue.
Use PJSIP extensions (multiple endpoints) and register every station to every phone (the Sangoma S500 only supports registering up to 4 SIP accounts).
Ring groups
SLA
http://rapidtechguide.blogspot.com/2012/03/shared-line-appearancebridged-line.html
Would a queue enable all 7 agents to be able to pick up a colleagues phone?
I am not sure what you are asking. Can you clarify your workflow?
I would use the wikis to learn about the full functionality of queues:
https://wiki.freepbx.org/display/FPG/Queues+Module+User+Guide
Call parking & pickup:
https://wiki.freepbx.org/display/F2/Parking+Module+User+Guide
So, in essence, 2 managers want to be able to pick up anyone’s phones in their department. (5 members in total). We don’t have enough line keys on each phone for each extension so what we need to know is this; how is it possible to create a pickup group so that it is represented by one line key on each of the managers’ phones?
Trust this is a bit clearer, but if not please feel free to ask!
If the managers would like to barge (force) in you will need Chan Spy:
If the manager needs to take the call from an agent after being alerted, the agent could park the call, then the manager could pick up the parked call. You could have a parking lot for each agent extension.
It’s not quite barging they want, they want just to see Joe Bloggs has a call coming in and then grab it. Is that possible?
If it is important that the call be answered live:
In that case, you could make each agent its own queue, with the agent and managers in the queue. The queue name could be the agent name, so they know where the call is coming from. With a ring-all strategy the managers would ring at the same time as the agent, and have the option to answer it. If the caller is not answered the caller says in queue.
If the call can go to voicemail:
Make a ring group for each agent, with the managers and agent in the group. The ring name could be the agent name, so they know where the call is coming from.With a ring-all strategy the managers would ring at the same time as the agent, and have the option to answer it. If the caller is not answered the caller leaves the ring group for the next step.
https://wiki.freepbx.org/display/FPG/Ring+Groups+Module+User+Guide
There is directed call pickup, where the manager dials the code (see the Feature Codes page in your Admin area) and the extension and they can pick up the phone.
Thanks cynjut. In the set up you describe is the manager aware the colleagues phone is ringing? I mean is there a notification on their phone?
Hmmmm.
The nature of SIP telephony makes this kind of ‘old school’ scenario hard to replicate exactly.
Since you don’t have enough sidecar buttons to monitor each of the phones individually, doing anything that requires info input to the managers on phones ringing is going to be kind of hit or miss. The problem is that individual extensions are just that - individual extensions. You have seven extensions in your network and six button to monitor. This leads me to some kind of compromise where some of the phones are treated as a group of individuals, but as a real group.
The simplest way to set this up would be to establish a queue and have everyone be part of the queue. The managers should be “always on” members and the others could log in and out. THis way, when the queue is ringing, they know and can be ‘first in line’ to grab calls. This gives the managers the notification that the phone is ringing and through creative management, you should be able to set it up so that the managers’ phones don’t actually ring.
Another approach that uses a similar mechanism is to have the members in in the queue and have the managers get a Hint on their phone that is on when the queue is in use. Probably not as useful, since the BLF will be on whenever anyone is on the line, but the notification would definitely be quiet.
A Ring Group, in spite of the name, isn’t actually a collection. It rings all of the phones “as if” they are in a group, but they are treated as individual calls. To snag these, your phone has to be part of the group, or you can grab the call using a directed pick up. Once again, a hint should be available for this, and the managers can always be part of the group.
After that, you’re going to start getting into stranger combinations that require more and more programming. Honestly, the simplest way is to try out a few alternatives and see which, if any of them, give you the kind of functionality you are looking for. Changing the reaction of the system is simple, so setting up different scenarios is actually very easy.
Thanks Cynjut for the comprehensive reply there, given my circumstances probably the ring group option suits me best. What options need to go in the phone gui though? I can’t find any Sangoma documentation anywhere as to what needs to go in. In the value column do I put the ring group number for example? And in the type column do I select Group pickup?
I’m gonna guess (because I have zero experience with Sangoma phone config) that you put the Ring Group number in “Value” and head out from there.
Tried that…fails.
I’ll probably have to open a support ticket with Sangoma as their documentation on the phone gui is non-existent.
Thanks for your and comtech’s help!
Mihailo
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