Call queues let you manage high call volumes by placing callers in a waiting line until an agent is available. Instead of sending callers straight to voicemail when your team is busy, queues hold them with music and position updates while dialnote finds the right person to help.

You can set up queues from Settings → Call Queues or add them directly inside a call flow using the visual builder.

How Call Queues Work#

When a caller enters a queue, dialnote plays hold music or a custom message while it looks for an available agent. The system picks agents based on your chosen ring strategy:

• Round Robin — rotates through agents in order, spreading calls evenly
• Longest Idle — rings the agent who's been free the longest
• Simultaneous — rings all available agents at once
• Random — picks a random available agent

Only agents with an Available status get calls. If someone's set to Away or Do Not Disturb, dialnote skips them automatically.

Setting Up a Queue#

To create a new queue, go to Settings → Call Queues and click Create Queue. You'll configure these options:

Basic settings:

• Name — a descriptive label like "Sales Queue" or "Support Line"
• Ring Strategy — how calls get distributed (see above)
• Assigned Users — individual agents who'll receive queued calls
• Assigned Groups — ring groups whose members join the queue automatically
• Active/Inactive toggle — quickly pause a queue without deleting it

Wait experience:

• Hold Music — upload a custom audio URL or use the default
• Hold Message — a text-to-speech message played to waiting callers
• Announce Position — tell callers their spot in line ("You're caller number 3")
• Announce Wait Time — share the estimated wait ("About 2 minutes remaining")

Timeout rules:

• Max Wait Time — how long callers wait before the timeout action kicks in (default: 5 minutes)
• Timeout Action — what happens when time runs out: send to voicemail, forward to another number, offer a callback, hang up, or overflow to a different queue

Accept/Reject Mode#

By default, dialnote auto-dials the next available agent when a caller is waiting. But if you turn on Accept/Reject mode, agents get a notification and can choose to take the call or pass it along.

This is useful when agents need a moment between calls or when certain calls require specific expertise. If an agent rejects or doesn't respond within the timeout window (default: 30 seconds), the caller goes back in the queue for the next agent.

Adding Queues to Call Flows#

The most common way to use queues is inside a call flow. Open the call flow builder for any phone number, add an Enter Queue node, and select your queue.

You can place queues after business hours checks, IVR menus, or any other routing step. For example:

1. Caller dials your number
2. IVR menu asks "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support"
3. Press 1 → enters the Sales Queue
4. Press 2 → enters the Support Queue

Each queue runs independently with its own agents, hold music, and timeout rules. If the queue times out, the call continues to the next step in your flow — like voicemail or a forwarding number.

Queue Analytics#

dialnote tracks key metrics for every queue so you can spot problems and improve response times. Go to the queue's analytics tab to see:

• Total Enqueued — how many callers entered the queue
• Answered — calls that connected to an agent
• Abandoned — callers who hung up while waiting
• Callbacks — callback requests made
• Average Wait Time — how long callers typically wait
• Service Level — percentage of calls answered within 60 seconds

You can also see per-agent breakdowns showing how many calls each person handled and their average pickup time. An hourly volume chart helps you identify peak hours so you can staff accordingly.