Basics about Callback appointment schedule

• Limit and distribute call peaks for the contact centre.
• Offer customers to set up phone appointments with the contact centre via IVR.
  • Let the IVR read out an appointment time, i.e. when to be called back.
  • Optionally, let the customer change to another than the first offered time.
• Create a callback appointment schedule for each department or group that needs to manage their own appointments.
  • Let the group define their own rules for how to work with callback appointments.
  • Give agents a pre-set reserved duration time for each callback call, suited to the complexity of the topics to be discussed.
• Make appointment reservations on behalf of the customer, via CallGuide Edge Agent: See Book Callback appointment in Edge Agent .

The callback appointment function allows customers to book appointments with agents in the contact centre, via the IVR. The IVR present suggestions of time slots to be called back, as defined for each individual appointment schedule in The Callback appointment schedule window . The agents can also create appointment reservations manually, on behalf of the customers as described in Book Callback appointment in Edge Agent .

The callback appointment records are routed to the agents via specific waiting lists, showing the due records in green and overdue records in yellow or red (depending on defined standards of service). The agent working in CallGuide Edge Agent can also be alerted with a sound signal, set via CallGuide Agent default settings.

Included in the feature there is a predefined dialogue flow in the cloud service. The flow includes standard phrases, i.e. sound files read out to the caller making various menu choices.

This is how a callback appointment is handled in the example contact centre OrgLtd....

1. Customer Maria calls OrgLtd, dialling the phone number leading to OrgLtd’s IVR entrance used for counselling.
2. The IVR reads the ordinary welcome message included in OrgLtd’s main menu, mentioning counselling.
3. Maria selects the menu choice for counselling, and thereby the flow for the Callback appointment schedule function is started.
4. The IVR collects information from the OrgLtd’s counselling appointment schedule (as configured in CallGuide Admin) for example the customer's options for changing the offered appointment time. In this scenario, the customer has no options for changing the offered appointment time.
5. After making a preliminary reservation of the first available appointment in the OrgLtd’s Callback appointment schedule the IVR reads out a standard phrase, requesting Maria to accept the suggested appointment by pressing 1.
6. Maria, having accepted the time, is now asked if the detected A-number or another number should be dialled at the appointment occasion.
7. Maria enters the number to another phone, and the IVR reads out that number, asking Maria to press # to confirm that it is the correct number to be called at.
8. After confirmation, a callback record is created including:
   • the reserved time, when Maria is to be called,
   • Maria’s new telephone number,
   • the names of the OrgLtd’s entrance and menu, used by Maria,
   • the name of the callback appointment schedule (counselling),
   • other collected contact data, such as task type.
9. After Maria has hung up, the OrgLtd’s counsellor working in CallGuide Agent sees Maria’s callback record in a waiting list containing callback records created for the counselling appointment schedule. Each record in the waiting list is tagged with a colour indicating if the record is due or not. As the call to Maria is not yet due the record is uncoloured. Callback records that are due are displayed with green colour, overdue are displayed in red and yellow in accordance with defined standards of service.
10. When time comes for Maria’s appointment, a counsellor selects the record from the waiting list, accepts the contact, and CallGuide Agent calls Maria.

Bookable, current and future day

A Callback appointment schedule is a basically a weekly schedule, with bookable slots per day.

• For a divergent day, such as during holidays, you can make an exception date schedule, replacing the weekly schedule for the specified day.
• For the current bookable day you can make some changes to the schedule. To e.g. fit the actual staffing situations, you can increase or decrease the amount of concurrent appointments allowed per bookable slot.

Appointments are always made for one specific day, normally the current day. However, where the IVR lets you make reservations during evenings and weekends, the appointments can be for a future day.

Example - Current day

Counselling in the IVR is open 08.00 - 10.00 on weekdays. The callback appointment schedule admits bookings 13.00 - 16.00 on weekdays. Reservations made would be for current day.

Example - Future day

Counselling in the IVR is open 16.00-23.00 every day. The callback appointment schedule admits bookings 13.00 - 16.00 on weekdays. Reservations made Monday to Thursday evening would be for the following day. Reservations made Friday evening, or during the weekend, would be for the following Monday.

The same rules apply when an agent reserves an appointment via Edge Agent. See Book Callback appointment in Edge Agent .

Rules for callback schedules are set up in CallGuide Admin, the The Callback appointment schedule window , found under the Media | Outbound telephony | Callback Appointment schedule menu choice. However, before you start any configuration, please read Best practice for handling callback appointment schedules.