Queue

A queue in VICIdial is the waiting system that holds inbound or transferred callers until an agent becomes available to handle their call. While callers wait in queue, they hear hold music, periodic position announcements, and estimated wait time updates. VICIdial implements queuing through inbound groups, which combine queue management with ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) routing.

How It Works in VICIdial

When a call enters an inbound group and no agent is immediately available, the caller is placed in queue. The queue plays configured hold music and can announce the caller’s position in line and estimated wait time at regular intervals. Queue settings control maximum wait time (after which the call is routed to overflow), maximum callers in queue, and the behavior when agents return.

Queue priority determines the order in which queued calls are answered. Higher-priority calls jump ahead of lower-priority calls in the same inbound group. The no_agent_no_queue setting controls whether calls queue at all when no agents are logged into the group — this prevents callers from waiting indefinitely for agents who are not coming.

VICIdial’s queue monitoring is visible on the real-time dashboard, showing the number of callers waiting, longest wait time, and which inbound groups have queued calls. Supervisors can see queue buildup and respond by logging additional closer agents into affected groups.

Why It Matters

Queue management directly impacts customer experience and abandonment rates for inbound operations. Long queue times cause callers to hang up, and each abandoned inbound call represents a lost opportunity or unsatisfied customer. Industry benchmarks target answering 80% of inbound calls within 20 seconds (the 80/20 service level).

Proper queue configuration includes appropriate hold music, position announcements (which reduce perceived wait time), overflow routing for surge periods, and callback-from-queue options. VICIdial’s blended inbound/outbound capability helps manage queue depth by diverting outbound agents to inbound queues during high-traffic periods. See the analytics dashboard feature page for queue performance metrics.