Using multi-interaction routing

When multi-interaction routing is enabled for your account, you will notice some changes in ContactPad. For information about these changes, see Vonage Contact Center omni-channel solution.

What can I do with different types of interactions?

Depending on which type of interaction you are handling, you can perform different activities on the interaction. You can perform the following activities on the different types of interactions:

• Live (such as a voice or video call)

  • Release
  • Hold and retrieve from hold
  • Consult and transfer

  You can perform these interactions using ContactPad in the usual way, that is, without multi-interaction routing. For information about performing these actions in ContactPad, see Making and receiving calls in ContactPad.

• Semi-live (such as a Live Agent chat)

  • Release
  • Abandon (only if Release isn't working)
  • Consult

  For information about releasing or abandoning a semi-live interaction, see the How do I finish working with an interaction? section later in this page.
  For information about consulting with an agent about a semi-live interaction, see the How do I consult with a third party about a semi- or non-live interaction? section later in this page.

• Non-live (such as an email or case)

  • Release
  • Abandon (only if Release isn't working)
  • Consult
  • Transfer

  For information about releasing or abandoning a non-live interaction, see the How do I finish working with an interaction? section later in this page.

  For information about consulting with an agent about a non-live interaction, see the How do I consult with a third party about a semi- or non-live interaction? section later in this page.
  For information about transferring a non-live interaction, see the How do I transfer a non-live interaction to another agent or service? section later in this page.

How do I open the record that relates to the interaction?

When Vonage Contact Center (VCC) routes an interaction to you, VCC might pop a related record in your browser. Exactly what happens depends on the configuration of your account and the type of interaction:

• Live

  For information about what happens when VCC routes a live interaction to you, see Salesforce record display and popping in Vonage Contact Center.

• Semi-live

  When VCC routes a semi-live interaction to you and if using Salesforce's Live Agent for semi-live interactions:
  • If auto-acceptance is enabled, VCC pops a Live Chat Transcript in Salesforce, and you are connected to the interaction.
  • If auto-acceptance is not enabled, the interaction appears in your Salesforce Omni-Channel widget. You must click Accept before VCC pops a Live Chat Transcript in Salesforce, and you are connected to the interaction. The interaction shows as Alerting in ContactPad until the agent accepts it in the Omni-Channel widget.
  • If VCC routes a semi-live interaction but the Salesforce Omni-Channel widget cannot accept the interaction, you receive a message about unsuccessful interaction delivery. The interaction will disappear from ContactPad, and Vonage will route it to another agent.

• Non-live

  When VCC routes a non-live interaction to you, VCC pops the related case in Salesforce. If you close the case tab in Salesforce, clicking the respective item in ContactPad reopens the tab.

When you are handling multiple interactions, to swap between interactions and their related records, click individual interaction's links or, if enabled for your account, select an interaction in the interaction list in the information panel. Salesforce opens the tab for the record related to your chosen interaction.

How do I consult with a third party about a semi- or non-live interaction?

If the cross-media consult feature is enabled for your account, you can consult with a third party while you are handling a semi- or non-live interaction. For information about cross-media consult, see Cross-media consult.

To consult with a third party about your current interaction, perform the following steps:

1. In the interaction list in the information panel, click the interaction that you want to consult with a third party about.

2. Click Consult or Transfer. A new dialog box appears displaying all agents.

   If you are able to transfer the interaction, a Consult|Transfer button appears above the list of agents. Click Consult.

   You can only consult with an agent who is in Available now or Interruptible status. For more information, see Extended agent presence (calls) in ContactPad.
   
   Perform one of the following steps to find the VCC agent, agent group, interaction plan, short code, or other type of contact, you want to call:

   • Scroll down the list of agent, queue, service names, and agent groups using the arrow keys or mouse. Press Return, or click the name, to select the appropriate name.
   • In the Search field, to filter the list, type part or all of the name of the agent you want to consult. Use the arrow keys or mouse to scroll down the filtered list to the agent. If the name is unique, it is selected automatically. Press Return, or click, to select the appropriate name.

   • In the Search field, type the telephone number of the person you want to consult.

     A No matches found message appears when you type a telephone number. Ignore this message when consulting a telephone number.

   • In the Search field, to filter the list to include agent groups only, type '@' followed by part or all of the name of the group. Use the arrow keys or mouse to scroll down the filtered list to the group. Press Return, or click, to select group and display agent names from that group. 
     

     Typing '@' in the Search field removes everything other than groups in the list.

   Optionally, in Callback number, select the callback number you want to present to the contact. For information about callback numbers, see Callback numbers.

3. Press Return or click Dial to connect to the selected agent or the telephone number provided.
   You hear ringing until you are connected to the target agent or telephone number, or until the consult times out.

   The timeout for consulting with another agent or telephone number is configurable in System Settings. For information about configuring the timeout, see Editing Configuration (Account Settings).

4. When you are connected to the target agent or telephone number, you can see the active call on the interaction list. You can manage the call and the original interaction separately; releasing one of them does not release the other.

How do I transfer a non-live interaction to another agent or service?

When a non-live interaction is assigned to you, you can transfer the interaction to another agent or service. You might want to assign a interaction to another agent or service if you do not have the skills or the time to deal with the interaction for example.

To transfer the non-live interactions to another agent or service, in ContactPad, click Transfer. A new dialog box appears displaying all agents and interaction plans in alphabetical order.

You can transfer a non-live interaction to any agent but how soon they can handle the interaction depends on their status:

• Available now. The agent can handle the interaction immediately.
• Logged in. The agent can handle the interaction when they become available.
• Logged out. The agent cannot handle the interaction until they are next logged in.

For more information, see Extended agent presence (cases) in Unite.

Perform one of the following steps:

• To find the agent or service you want to transfer the non-live interaction to, scroll down the list of agent and interaction plans, using arrow keys or mouse. Press Return or click the name to select the appropriate name.
• In the Search field, to filter the list, type part or all of the name of the agent or service you want to transfer the non-live interaction to. Use the arrow keys or mouse to scroll down the filtered list to the agent or service. Press Return or click the name to select the appropriate name.

Press Return or click Transfer to transfer the non-live interaction.

How do I finish working with an interaction?

When you have finished working with an interaction, click the interaction in the information panel and click Release. The interaction automatically goes into Wrap Up state and Wrap up appears alongside the interaction in the interaction list. The Wrap Up state ends after a configured timeout.

To finish an interaction before the timeout, click End alongside the released interaction. You can also use End to end the interaction in the event of a Fault or Unexpected state.

If you can't release your interaction, you can abandon the interaction instead. Abandoning an interaction deletes the interaction from VCC. Only abandon interactions if necessary, not as the default way to finish working with an interaction.

To abandon an interaction, select the interaction in the interaction list in the information panel and click the abandon (!) button. A message appears to check that you want to abandon the interaction. Click Yes to confirm.

Abandoning interactions

Occasionally, when you end an interaction, ContactPad becomes unresponsive. You might not be able to use the call control buttons or change your state—you might remain in a Busy state and do not return to Ready, Ready for Outbound or your chosen intended state. The interaction continues to use your capacity and you may not be able to receive any new interactions.

In case of such problems, you can abandon the interaction.

To abandon an interaction, click the no entry icon on the information tab. A message appears to inform you that you must only abandon the interaction if releasing it has not worked. To proceed, click Abandon.