BCM450 "Warm Transfer" (Conference)

[telebub]

BCM450, Release 5 with Contact Center, PEPs updated last month.

Customer uses conference as a "warm transfer" in the following scenario:

Call comes into Agent A.
Agent A feels that Agent B would be better suited to handle the call so he conferences in Agent B.
All 3 parties are on the line when Agent A presses the "transfer" softkey to release himself and let the caller and Agent B carry on the conversation.

This works fine in the above scenario as long as the caller is an INBOUND caller to the agent.

The issue is that Agent A checks voice messages and has to call a client back. Using the same scenario as above, only Agent A has called the client rather than the client call into the call center, the "transfer" softkey never shows up allowing Agent A to "warm transfer" the call to Agent B.

Make sense? Is this just a limitation of the system or is there a setting to the phone I can change?

 

[ironhorse17]

Is the scenario the same if both agents are logged in or logged out or combinations?

 

[telebub]

Typically both agents are logged in. The conference call to Agent B is to their DN key.

 

[cook1082]

Are you shure it is a conference and not just a transfer.
A conference is put caller on hold make other call press conference button press held line and the 3 partys are connected . You can't transfer a conference.
Any incoming or outgoing call you get the transfer soft key.
How is agent A checking VM making the call?
It should work.
Plus on a transfer 3 partys arn't connected at one time.

 

[ECartman]

First off, why are you using conference and not just transferring ?

 

[telebub]

ECartman, they want to "hand-off" the caller to Agent B, not just transfer. That was my 1st question.

Cook1082, They're not trying to transfer the conference. The agent that sets up the conference wants to hand the caller off to the other agent then remove himself. Once he initiates the conference, he has to press transfer to remove himself while keeping the other 2 parties up. If he releases, he drops all 3 parties. If he makes an outbound call to the client, then conferences in his colleague, the transfer button never shows up allowing him to release himself.

 

[ironhorse17]

You can try to put the call on hold at your end while on conference, and change the hold timer to none.

 

[telebub]

That's an idea. I'd have to make sure Music On Hold is set to "Silent".

 

[ironhorse17]

Or if it is an option from your provider press link on that line call back on a back door # and access agent "B" let the provider do the conference call then you can back out.

 

[telebub]

Correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't the ability to call forward external and transfer external come from turning on "allow redirect"? I enabled that setting on an extension and asked the user to try it and let me know.

The system uses Music on Hold so placing the call on hold won't be an option.

The trunking is PRI so I'm not sure link will work.

 

[telebub]

More info on 4 call scenarios:

1) Inbound call to Agent A, Agent A conferences in Agent B, all 3 parties on line, Agent A presses "transfer" to release himself, Agent B and caller remain on line - Call success

2) Inbound call to Agent A, Agent A dials out and conferences in external party, all 3 parties on line, Agent A presses "transfer" to release himself, external party and caller remain on line - Call success

3) Agent A makes outbound call, conferences in Agent B, all 3 parties on line, Agent A presses "transfer" to release himself, Agent B and caller remain on line - Call success

4) Agent A makes external outbound call, dials out and conferences in another external party, all 3 parties on line, "transfer" softkey doesn't appear so Agent A cannot release himself from the call - Call failed

Any ideas why scenario #4 would fail while all 3 others work? I checked the setting for "allow redirect" on the telephone of the user testing and it made no difference.

 

[telebub]

I appreciate your responses. I found in Norstar documentation the following excerpt:

"When you remove yourself from a conference using the Transfer feature, and both callers are from outside your system, one of the callers must have called you on a disconnect supervised line, or the call is disconnected."

I'm assuming this limitation was carried forward into the BCM but I can't find this same caveat documented in any BCM documentation.

I've informed the customer of this limitation and considering this resolved as of now.

 

[cook1082]

Have you tried the feature code for transfer. F70.

 

[Rustymutt]

As apposed to a cold transfer, a warm transfer is a more polite way of doing it.