Queue Wait Time Announcement with a Task automation

Would you like to inform your customers about the estimated waiting time in your queue? Follow these steps to implement the Queue Wait Time Announcement.

Prerequisites:

Before we begin, please complete the following:

1. Contact Support
   Reach out to support@babelforce.com and let us know that you would like to implement the “Queue Wait Time Announcement as a Task Automation” for your account. Once we receive your request, we will initiate the necessary processes and tailor the Task Automation for your account.
2. Confirmation
   Once the setup is complete, we will notify you, and you can proceed with the next steps.

Steps to Implement:

1. New Audio Prompt: Welcome Prompt

To get started, we need to create a new audio prompt that will be used to announce the waiting time. You will also need to set up the corresponding local automation that will add the task template.

Required Variables:

• Body.last_x_minutes = e.g., “60” for the last 60 minutes
• Body.queue_id = This is provided through the Developer Tools (more on this in Step 1.2.).
• Body.call_id = Use the expression {call.id}.

1.2: How to Obtain the Queue ID

To retrieve the Queue ID, we need to create an ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) module with a queue, which we will use in our flow.

There are three Options to identify the Queue ID:

Option 1:

1. Open the ACD and select the associated queue.

2. Open the Developer Tools:

   • On Mac: Open Google Chrome and press Cmd + Option + I (⌘ + ⌥ + I).
   • On Windows: Open Google Chrome and press Ctrl + Shift + I (Strg + Umschalt + I).

   Alternatively, for both Mac and Windows, you can right-click on any part of the page and select "Inspect".

3. Navigate to the Network tab in the Developer Tools.
4. Open the queue and click Save. You should see interactions displayed in orange.
5. Click on one of the interaction items to reveal more information, including the Item ID of the queue (highlighted in red). Copy this ID.
6. Return to the local automation from Step 1.2 and paste the Queue ID.

Option 2:
You can also find the Queue ID using our API endpoint /api/v2/queues: Access the API Endpoint.

For more details about our API documentation, visit: babelforce API Documentation.

Option 3: 

1.2: Local Automation - Task Automation

Once the Queue ID is obtained, insert it into the Task Automation.

Example:

• Body.last_x_minutes = 60 
• Body.queue_id = 2509bbf240484b469ba0ded82f405ds8a
• Body.call_id = {call.id}

2. Set Up a Switch Node to Check Waiting Time

Now, you will need a Switch Node to check the waiting time. Create a routing rule to send the call to a Text-to-Speech or new audio module, which will announce the waiting time.

Trigger:

Check if the waiting time is equal to or more than 1 minute.
In Expert Mode, write the following variable: ivr.wait_time_minutes

After the Switch Node:

Use a new Audio Player Module, for example, called “Waiting Time Announcement”, with a message like:
“Your estimated wait time is under 1 minute. We will connect you with a team member 

Shortly.”

Your Switch Node should be configured as follows:

3. Finalizing the Waiting Time Announcement

After setting up the Switch Node, move on to the new Audio Module "Waiting Time Announcement" and insert the following expression:
{ivr.wait_time_minutes} — this refers to the waiting time of the queue ID added earlier in the Task Automation.

Example Audio Announcement:
“Thank you for your patience. We will now connect you to the next available employee. The estimated waiting time is {ivr.wait_time_minutes} minutes.”

Final Flow Overview

At the end of the process, your flow should look something like this:

1. ACD Module with Queue and Local Automation →
2. Switch Node to Check Waiting Time →
3. Audio Player with Announcements (with dynamic waiting time message).