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Attendant - Consultation Call

A more advanced Attendant scenario is to consult with an expert before a transfer to either an internal contact or an external PSTN Number. This allows the attendant to pass on information to the expert before sending the call over or merge it to a consultation call.

NOTES BEFORE YOU START

The Steps below refer to UI areas and concepts explained on the Attendant Console main page. We're assuming you already know the basics of the UI, focusing only on the new points of interest.

Please note that Consultation Calls work with the following destination scenarios:

Supported Destinations
Not Supported
  • Consultation Calls to internal Microsoft Teams Users
  • Consultation Calls to PSTN (☝ see PSTN limitations below)
  • Consultation Calls to Nimbus Services
  • Consultation Calls to external UPNs (User Principal Names)
 

Steps

Caller accept & outgoing Consultation Call

✅ Precondition: Caller is shown within the Incoming Call Queue.

  1. You accept the call, informing the caller that you need to consult with an expert first.
  2. You start an outgoing consultation call by searching either PSTN number or a contact via one of the "Actions". → In the meantime, your original Caller is put into "Park" position, listening to waiting music. 
     
    💡 In case your contact isn't found in search, a PSTN number may be entered and called instead. ☝ PSTN limitations and supported scenarios (see above) apply. 
    Example: A consultation call to a (known) contact / expert is intiated.

Active consultation

While your consultation call is ringing , the following outcomes might occur depending on the expert's response:

 Contact accepts the call

  1. You're connected, talking only to the the contact / expert
  2. Decide on the option you want to go forward with:
    1. Transfer → the customer is put out of hold, transferred to to the consultant. 
      💡 You're immediately freed up for further calls.
    2. Merge → Merges the call with all three participants in the same conversation.  
      🔍 This scenario is explained in the next step
    3. Swap → Switches caller and contact on-hold state.
    4. Terminate → Ends the call with the contact. 
      💡 The customer stays on-hold until you resume.

💡 The example below shows all possible call control options:

Contact doesn't respond or rejects or abort

In any of the following cases the caller remains on hold:

  • After 30s of no contact response, the call is aborted
  • When declined by the contact
  • When you cancel the dial out

✅ You need to un-hold the caller to attempt a second dial out.

Merged consultation conference

✅ At this point we assumed you want to merge previous conversation between yourself, the "parked" caller and your contact / expert.

  1. You click the merge button ⇆ 
  2. The conversation is now merged into a conference between all 3 participants. You can:
    1. Mouse over the information icon to see additional details
    2. Continue talking to both participants simultaneously
    3. Leave the conference. 💡 The MS Teams session persists as long as at least any two participants remain present.

🔍 Note: Any types of transfer (safe/blind/consult) will be disabled during a merged call.

After the Call

  • If a call was successfully transferred to a contact target or after you've left the consultation conference you're free to take on the next call → Step 1.
  • The search field is cleared automatically to show your default favorites.

Limitations

EARLY STAGE - KNOWN CONSULTATION / CONFERENCE LIMITATIONS

💡 Please note that this feature is still new and in continuous development. We're currently aware of the following limitations:

Consultation to PSTN linked to an internal O365 Account can cause problems in sessions. → Workaround: When starting an internal consultation call it is best to select the UPN from the contact's dropdown. 
💡 Calls to the user's phone number assigned in teams can lead to various problems due to the team-internal redirection. This is due to an issue on Microsoft side which Attendant Console cannot circumvent. We continue to monitor the situation and will notify when it is resolved.

  • It might take 10-15 seconds for the call to appear on a PSTN consultant's mobile phone..
  • An unsuccessful consultation call attempts requires the attendant to "Unpark" the caller first before the next consultation attempt can be started.
  • The "Park" button will be disabled during a merged call conference.
  • In the Teams Reporting view the latest consultation callout result overrides the user/service session outcome. This means that a failed consultation attempt may adversely impact KPI although an Attendant took the call
  • In Nimbus Reporting Model the HoldCnt and HoldTime fields include only the time when a customer was "on hold" during consult sessions. Park attempts are not included.
 

TRANSFER TO PSTN LIMITATION

Out-of-the-box, Nimbus and affiliated addons can only perform PSTN transfers according to Microsoft's licensing and constraints.

Which PSTN license do I need to acquire?

As a tenant administrator you need to acquire the following licenses and assign them to the application instance of the respective Nimbus SOURCE service (team) that will act as PSTN transferor:

Your Setup Required License
Direct Routing "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account"
Calling Plan "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account"
+ "Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan" or "Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan" or "Microsoft Teams Calling Plan pay-as-you-go"+ "Communication Credits" (if these aren't already included as part of your plan)
Operator Connect "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account"

☝ As of 2023 "Microsoft Teams Phone Standard" licences are no longer supported by Microsoft. Previously those licenses were viable for Nimbus. → Regardless if you are using Direct Routing, Calling Plans, Operator Connect - the "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account" license is now always required. 

☝ Please note that Luware staff cannot make recommendations on which license plan is best suited for your needs. Depending on your scenario, additional Teams App licenses may be required. Exact details are to be discussed with your Microsoft contacts.

🔍 Also see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-on-licensing/virtual-user
 
 

How does PSTN licensing affect Service and Call Transfers?

Assuming that Service A has a PSTN license assigned - but further Services don't - the following scenario may unfold:

 
  • Scenario A - Service A workflow is configured to transfer the caller to Service B. The license of Service A is used, the PSTN transfer occurs. The PSTN license is re-used throughout further transfers to Services C..D...x.
  • Scenario B - Service B is called directly instead. Now the workflow of Service B attempts a redirect to either service A or transfer to C. The PSTN transfer fails due to a missing license on Service B.

LEARNINGS

  • For one first-level-response Service: If you handle first-response calls always via the same Service you need a PSTN license for that particular first-level Service.
  • For multiple first-level-response Services: If you handle first-response calls always via multiple Services you need a PSTN license for all those first-level Services .
  • Nimbus will attempt to use the PSTN license of the first service that responded to a call, regardless of how many further internal service transfers are performed thereafter.
  • If no PSTN license is found on a service that requires it for a transfer, the transfer task will be considered as failed and be treated as such by the system (e.g. workflow exit announcement, reporting "transfer failed" outcome).
 

☝ Note that handling and tracking of running cost for PSTN licenses is outside of Luware support scope.
If you require assistance in extending and/or configuring your Nimbus services for PSTN our support will gladly assist you:

🔍 Refer to the external reference: Microsoft Teams PSTN connectivity options and Microsoft Teams add-on licenses.

 
 

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