Turning on customer callback


Customers can choose between waiting on hold in a queue or requesting a callback. When customers select callback, their place is held in the queue and their call is automatically returned when an agent is available to talk with them.


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Customers can choose between waiting on hold in a queue or requesting a callback. When customers
select callback, their place is held in the queue and their call is automatically returned
when an agent is available to talk with them.
For the customer callback feature to work, at least one agent must be logged in and they must
have a status of either Online or Away.

SIP-IN lines are compatible with callback.
If the caller doesn't enter a phone number, the caller number for callbacks is extracted
from the username contained in the "from" SIP URI.
Callbacks on SIP lines are dialed from the associated outbound number configured in the
SIP line settings. If you don't associate an outbound number, callback will be
unavailable.




Important: You can't configure callback for digital lines. Toll-free numbers are supported though some
carriers don't support outbound calling from a toll-free line. Check with your carrier
before you configure callback on a toll-free number.

This article contains the following sections:
Understanding the end-user experience
Understanding the agent experience
Reporting on callback activity
Turning on callback




Understanding the end-user experience

When this feature is turned on for a number, your customers will hear a Callback
greeting after the Available agents greeting has played. This greeting informs them
that they can press 2 to request a callback. After that, they have the following options:
Press 1 to request a callback to the number they called from.
Press 2 to request a callback to a different number. The number must be in E.164
format [+ or 00][country code][subscriber number including area code]. If it's not in
the correct format, the customer will be prompted to enter the number again.
Press 3 to return to the queue and wait on hold.


Tip: If you've set up an IVR, the callback greeting won't be played.
However, once they are in a queue, customers can still press 2 to request a callback.
Consider adjusting your IVR greeting to advise callers about how to use the callback
functionality.

If the customer requests a callback, they'll also hear a second Callback
confirmation greeting confirming their choice. The call will then end while keeping
the customer in the queue.
You can select a language for the callback confirmation greetings when setting up callback,
see Turning on callback.



Understanding the agent experience

Agents click Call to call the customer back or Decline from the call console
to send the call back to the queue.

The callback request is sent to all agents for one hour. The following are the possible
outcomes:
If an agent accepts the call, a ticket is created with an internal comment indicating
that the callback request was attempted. If the customer doesn't answer, the call times
out or the agent may leave voicemail, if available. No automatic redial is
attempted.
If all agents decline the call, the callback request is canceled and a ticket with the
subject Callback is created for an agent to action later.
If, after 60 minutes, no agents are available the callback request is canceled and a
ticket is created.


Take into consideration how the callback request handles agents in unavailable
statuses:


If an agent is Offline or in Transfers only, they're treated as if they declined the
request.
If an agent is Away or busy on a call, they'll receive the request if they become
available within the 60 minute window and no other agent accepts the callback
request.




Note: If omnichannel routing (OCR) isn't enabled, additional callback requests for the same number
are ignored, preventing queue overloading. With OCR enabled, each new callback generates a
ticket stating, "Queue callback request: Ignored, customer already in queue", which can be
automatically closed using triggers.




Reporting on callback activity

Use the Talk dashboard to analyze your account's callback from queue activity using the
metrics Callbacks in queue, Total callback calls, and Average callback wait time. For more
details, see Analyzing call activity with the Talk dashboard and
Zendesk Talk dashboard metrics reference.



Turning on callback

Callback is configured for each individual phone number. You can't configure callback for
digital lines.


Note: You cannot configure callback as a menu option in an IVR. However, if a customer is
waiting to be routed to an agent in the queue, they can request a callback by pressing 2.
Make sure that your IVR greeting informs customers about this capability. For help, see
Route incoming calls with IVR.

To turn on callback

In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Talk and email > Talk.
Select the Lines tab.
Click the number you want to edit.
Select the Callback tab.
Click the Callback? toggle to turn on callback.

In the Language field, select a language for your callback phone number
confirmation greeting. This setting affects only the message that plays after customers
have pressed 2 to request a callback. It doesn't affect the language of the Callback
greeting or Callback confirmation greeting.
Note: If you do not select a
language, your Zendesk default language is used. If your default language is set to a
language not included for voice, the greeting will be played in English.

In the Callback greeting field, select a greeting from the dropdown list. This is
the greeting that plays informing callers that they can press 2 to request a
callback.
In the Callback confirmation greeting field, select a greeting from the dropdown
list. This is the greeting that plays after callers press 1 to confirm they've selected
callback.
Click Save changes.



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