Forums/Feature Requests
Do not allow away users to keep skill online.
Carl Gregory
suggested this on April 12, 2011 04:50 pm
If all users are away, no users available, and someone sends a chat request, the system will accept that request and either queue them or what have you. This is a problem if the employees are typically away for hours at a time (ie, they leave for the day or went to lunch and don't log out), now the customer sending the chat is getting highly upset while waiting for a response.
I would like a setting under advanced as where you can check "Do not allow away users to keep skill online." If that is checked, and a customer sends a chat request, and nobody is available (not counting away users) then the customer is given an offline/leave a message window.
Comments
Hi Carl,
it looks like you have a queue activated, so even though there are no operators available, the visitors are still accessing the queue.
We work on changing the status logic: the visitors will be able to access chat window or queue (depending on the Automatic or Manual chat selection choice in the control panel) only when operators are Available.
If all operators will be Away, chat button will be offline and only leave a message window will be displayed.
Will that be helpful?
Yup, if they are away they should be given the offline leave a message window rather than waiting around for an agent to come back. Thanks.
Sorry - I should really read what I type before I hit submit :)
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Yup, if the chat agents are away the customers should be given the offline leave a message window rather than waiting around for a chat agent to come back. Thanks.
OK, this change is planned.
It requires some development in every part of our system (both desktop and mobile apps, control panel and statistics, server logic), but is on the shortlist for the nearest future.
Thanks!
Great.
By the way - what about this scenario. What if a customer is waiting in the queue to do a chat. At that time a user is available, so waiting in the queue is OK. The agent actually walks away from the computer and after X minutes, he is set to away. Now all users are away, will that customer still be sitting in the queue or be forced to an 'opps, seems all agents are offline, leave a message'? I haven't tested this, but is a likely scenario.
Well, every time the visitor enters the queue, the operator is notified about it with a sound + popup notification.
Automatic chat selection: System will not allow more users to enter the queue after operator goes away, but all visitors who get in the queue will automatically get assigned to the operator.
Manual chat selection: Blame the operator if he goes away from the computer without responding to the visitor from the queue. :)
We use Manual.
I wish I could blame them, would make life easier.
I'm thinking we probably are the opposite of the typical customer LiveChat built the system around. Where most companies might use dedicated chat agents where they sit by and wait for a chat - that is what they do and what they get paid for, we do not. We use chat for our sales department and is a secondary duty. If a sales agent happens to be available, great. But they typically are not available, always on the phone, giving sales pitches in person, doing campus tours, etc.
Also, you assumed I used automatic to queue users in a previous message. We use manual. That queues users too.
I am sure that once we implement the changes I described above, I you'll be good to go :)
Also, I think getting your sales reps equipped with mobile LiveChat apps will help too.
We have introduced minor changes in chat routing. I guess that the discussed issue has been resolved.
More info here: http://www.livechatinc.com/blog/2011/05/minor-changes-in-chat-routing/