At a Glance
About In-Queue Scripts
To provide high quality customer service, users may want to perform tasks on a queued customer session, in order:
- for the system to provide information to the caller while in the queue
- to retrieve data about the caller, and manage the session based on that data
- for the caller to provide information to the system while in the queue.
Softdial Contact Center™ (SCC) provides this functionality using in-queue scripts, created within Softdial Scripter™, Sytel’s powerful and intuitive work flow design tool. Scripter allows a non-developer to create complex and flexible task flow without needing to write code.
A script is simply a set of steps in the form ‘in response to X, do Y’, linked in sequence to form a process flow. Scripts are assigned to queues, so that when a session enters a queue, the assigned script runs and the steps defined are actioned.
Usage examples
Many tasks can be performed on a queued session to improve customer service, including:
- Playing recordings or text-to-speech to the caller, e.g. with queue position or average wait time
- Using a caller’s CLI/ originating address to identify the caller, by performing a lookup against a database, using Scripter’s SQL Query and Data Lookup steps
- Re-queueing a call based on the result of a query. For example, if a caller is identified as having a particular customer profile such as overdue for a bill payment, the call can be redirected to a queue specialised for collections.
- Assigning a preferred agent to a session. For example, if the caller has been in contact with the contact centre in the last 24 hours, the last agent they contacted could be deemed to be the preferred agent to help them again. If that agent is currently logged in, the session may be tagged to be delivered to them as soon as they become available.
- Having the customer complete a survey while they are waiting. This allows the customer’s time in the queue to be used in a way that is productive to the contact centre. The survey length could be determined by the caller’s expected wait time: the longer the wait, the more survey questions may be asked.
As these tasks are performed before a session is dequeued to an agent, queued calls retain their position in the queue, and therefore give an accurate representation for reporting purposes of the activity that took place.
Designing scripts
Scripts are developed in Scripter using a drag-and-drop design tool to create flow charts, familiar to most as a method for visualising business process.
The designer has an extensive library of commonly used script components which can be simply dragged onto the design area, and connected into a process flow.
This screenshot from Scripter Designer shows the process flow for an example in-queue script.
