Customize your consumer's experience by configuring specific deflection paths for consumers who try to contact you outside your hours of operation. Configure your hours of operation first, then enable and configure deflection at the global level on the Call Settings and Chat Settings pages. Deflection after hours of operation can be further customized for each leaf-queue in Settings > Queue.
The global Languages and Messages settings includes the setup for the voice recordings or Text-to-speech prompts needed once certain settings are enabled.
Add the appropriate messages once announcements or deflections are enabled.
Details
When After Hour deflection is enabled, calls and chats will be deflected based on the specific operation hours for the queue, language, or channel the consumer has selected or has been routed to. While deflection options and configuration is done on the Call settings and Queue Settings pages, the actual hours are set on the Support Center Details settings page. There are multiple options you can offer callers once this setting is enabled.
After-hours deflection applies to contacts that arrive outside your hours of operation. Overcapacity deflection, which applies when wait times are high rather than when you are closed, is configured in the same Portal sections — Caller Announcements for calls and Web & Mobile Deflection for chats. For those options, including the overcapacity options for chats, see Call settings: Overcapacity deflection and caller announcements.
Steps to fully enable and configure After Hour deflection
Configure hours of operation for your environment - global and custom hours for each queue, channel, and language as needed.
Enable and configure After Hour deflection for calls.
Enable and configure After Hour deflection for chats.
Configure per-queue deflection options (optional).
Configure and upload appropriate greetings at Settings > Languages and Messages.
CCAI Platform configuration
To configure after-hours, follow these steps.
Enable and configure After Hour deflection for calls
Go to Settings > Call > Caller Announcements.
Toggle Enable After Hour Deflection to On to deflect callers when dialing in after scheduled hours of operation (set at Settings > Support Center Details).
Select Allow transfers to queues outside of hours of operation for the following behavior:
Agents will be able to see the following queues as options to transfer to in the Agent Adapter:
All queues within operating hours
All queues that are outside of operation hours with after hour deflection enabled
All queues that are outside of hours of operation with no deflection enabled and active, logged-in agents
All queues that are after-hours with an assigned virtual agent in 24-hour availability mode
Agents won't be able to see the following types of queues:
All queues that are outside of operating hours with an assigned virtual agent limited to queue hours of operation
Select Web & Mobile call deflection options
Under Web & Mobile Calls, in the After-Hours Deflection block, select the options to offer consumers outside your hours of operation. The regular call and chat options don't appear, and only the options you select are available.
After-Hours Deflection: Deflects consumers by presenting alternative options.
Scheduled Call: Shows a set of available times within the hours of operation for the queue to request a call.
Email: If after-hour deflection is enabled for email, a message is presented to end-users after-hours asking them to contact the email address listed. The email address listed is always the email listed in support center details.
Web: gives the consumer the email address to contact.
Mobile: default email app is launched with an email address in the "To" field, and data like app version and device type can be added to the email body by default.
Email address is set in Settings > Support Center Details:
Phone number or Outbound SIP transfer: Only for Mobile SDK. Deflects consumers to a phone number or SIP URI that you enter, or to a destination you select from a contact list. When a phone number is configured, the option appears as Call now and displays the number to dial.
Voicemail: Only for Mobile SDK. Allows consumers to leave a voicemail. Shows as "Leave a callback message." Voicemails will be delivered to agents assigned to the selected queue for calls.
Example deflection UI
Example Mobile SDK that is set to deflect to all options after-hours.
Select IVR call deflection options
Under IVR Calls, in the After-Hours Deflection block, select the option to offer callers. Outside the hours of operation set in Settings > Support Center Details, calls deflect to the option you select.
Queue: If you have a 24-hour queue or just one with longer hours set, all calls will be sent to this queue.
Phone number or Outbound SIP transfer: Deflects the caller to a phone number or SIP URI that you enter, or to a destination you select from a contact list.
Voicemail: Allows caller to leave a voicemail.
Agents assigned to the queue that was called when operating hours were reached will be alerted of voicemails left as a result of this deflection setting. If this is applied to a top-level queue with no assignments, voicemails will be available in your CRM.
The message can be customized in Settings > Languages & Messages > Voicemail message.
Additional Voicemail message options are available under Custom Callbacks.
Voicemail - Phone Number Blocked
Voicemail - Request Phone Number
Voicemail - Phone Number Input Success
Message Only: "After Hour Deflection" message plays and the call ends. The message can be customized in Settings > Languages & Messages > After Hour Deflection message.
Click Save Caller Announcements to save the settings.
Enable and configure After-Hour deflection for chats
Go to Settings > Chat > Web & Mobile > Web & Mobile Deflection.
Enable After-Hour Deflection: Enable to deflect chat requests outside of operating hours.
Under General, select Allow transfers to queues outside of hours of operation for the following behavior:
This setting is optional and applies whether Enable After Hour Deflection is on or off. When After Hour Deflection is enabled for the destination queue, the consumer receives that queue's after-hours deflection experience after the transfer.
Agents will be able to see the following queues as options to transfer to in the Agent Adapter:
All queues within operating hours
All queues that are outside of hours of operation with no deflection enabled and active, logged-in agents
All queues that are after-hours with after hour deflection enabled
All queues that are after-hours with an assigned virtual agent in 24-hour availability mode
Agents won't be able to see the following types of queues:
All queues that are outside of operating hours with an assigned virtual agent limited to queue hours of operation
Under After Hour Deflection Options, select Email, External Deflection Links, or both:
Email: Deflects a consumer to email when they request chat support outside operating hours. The consumer is presented with the email address set in Settings > Support Center Details, within the body of the chat interaction.
External Deflection Links: Presents the consumer with the external links you select. For more information, see External deflection links.
Click Save Deflection.
Configure queue-specific settings
Available for IVR, Mobile, and SMS channels. Not available for Web.
IVR
Go to Settings > Queue > IVR.
Click the queue you want to edit.
Under Custom After Hour Deflection, turn on the switch.
Message: A message will play, then end the call. Default message set in Settings > Call or a Custom Greeting can be used.
Queue: Deflects the caller to another queue.
Phone number: Redirect callers after-hours to a phone number. Additional charges for call time apply.
Voicemail: directs the caller to voicemail with an option to customize the voicemail greeting.
Click Save After Hour Deflection.
Mobile
Mobile configuration allows for either deflecting to a queue, or a combination of other deflection options. If you are deflecting to a queue, the consumer cannot also have another option like leaving a voicemail.
Go to Settings > Queue > Mobile.
Click the queue you want to edit.
Under Custom After Hour Deflection, turn on the switch.
Deflect to Queue: deflects the consumer to another queue
OR
Deflection Options (select one or more):
Scheduled Call: When scheduled calls are enabled in the Channel Settings for this queue, you can select this option to present consumers with timeslots for a scheduled call during operating hours.
Email: If after-hour deflection is enabled for email, a message will be presented to end-users after-hours asking them to contact the email address listed. The email address listed will always be the email listed in support center details. Default email app is launched with an email address in the "To" field, and data like app version and device type can be added to the email body by default. Email address is set in Settings > Support Center Details.
Phone Number: Deflects consumers to another phone number. Shows "Call now" and displays the number the phone will be dialing.
Voicemail: Allows consumers to leave a voicemail. Shows as "Leave a callback message." Voicemails will be delivered to agents assigned to the selected queue for calls.
External Deflection Links: Presents the consumer with the external links you select. For more information, see External deflection links.
Select Save Custom After Hour Options.
SMS
Go to Settings > Queue > SMS.
Click the queue you want to edit.
Scroll to SMS Chat System Messages section and mark the checkbox next to Enable after hour message.
Enter the text message to send to consumers.
Click Save.